Punkin and Bean

Conversations in the Explorer: #1

2012-02-01T18:18:00.000-08:00

I am starting a new series of posts revolving around the ridiculous conversations that occur in my Explorer between my two daughters and myself....sometimes even the hubby. I can't make this stuff up, and why would I? My kids are quirky and so am I. We really can't help it.

Here is tonight's conversation:

Me: Avery, you need a bath when we get home. You smell like the outside.
Avery: What does that mean?
Me: You know....that outside, boy smell. You smell like sweat.
Avery: No, I do not. How do you know it isn't yourself that you smell?
Me: Because I know.
Avery: I don't smell like sweat.
Me: Yes, you do, and you are taking a bath.
(enter Piper into the conversation....she is notorious for joining conversations late in the game and for her witty one liners)
Piper: Well, I smell like chicken.

There you have it, friends. Conversations in the Explorer: #1.

Have a good night!

Change of Plans

2012-01-11T18:17:00.001-08:00

I came home tonight with every intention to go back to my classroom tonight. Tomorrow about thirty second grade teachers (every single one from our school corp!) will be watching a model lesson in my classroom given by a corp trainer. My classroom is in a crazy state of affairs. Twenty three kids and three projects in my room means that you cannot even see the counter top or tabletops at all. Oh, then there is my desk. It looks like the absent minded professor took over my room. A messy classroom is a learning, creative environment....right? Yes, absolutely! However, there are some neat freak teachers out there that would have an absolute cardiac if they saw my room!

The problem with going in tonight is that I have a backache. My lower back is really hurting tonight. I have been chilling out in the recliner with my laptop while my girls played happily together. Hubby worked late....the dreaded tax season has begun. When he finally got home, he asked me if I wanted some ice cream before I left for work. Hmmmmm.....let me think. I never turn down ice cream! He brought me some of my favorite Blue Bunny ice cream called "Red Velvet Cake." It is to.die.for.

Okay, so sitting in the recliner and eating ice cream.....
You can see why my plans of organizing my classroom have gotten sidetracked. So I made a change of plans (thanks to my friend, Elizabeth's, suggestion). She suggested I just go in early tomorrow, so I will! My change of plans consists of red velvet ice cream, my warm slippers, a blanket, the recliner, and lots of Pinterest inspiration.

Don't judge.....

Food for the Soul

2012-01-07T18:17:00.001-08:00

Sometimes I come across truly amazing things in the blogosphere. Tonight, as I was checking in on blogs that I have followed in the past, I found this amazing post by Marisa over at or so i feel. I loved her post so much, that I am posting it myself! Please, please follow this link and read her post. It is such a good message for women! This piece of writing, "Awakening" is written by Sonny Carroll. Click below!

Awakening

Convertibles, January, Indiana

2012-01-07T16:34:00.000-08:00

Now those are three words that you never see together!
Today, since our temps were in the high 40s, I took the girls out to drive the cars they got from Santa. Avery got a hot pink Barbie Jeep and Piper got a hot pink Barbie Mustang. Later I will attempt to post the video of the girls when they opened the letter from our Elf on the Shelf, telling them that Santa brought gifts that were too big to fit inside the house. Their reaction was priceless.

As I followed the girls around our culdesac and down our street, I was hit was some Mommy tears. I got all teary watching them, which rarely happens! I got caught up in the pure joy of it all! Long hair blowing in the breeze, glamorous sunglasses, big imaginations. I want to freeze these moments in time. Two sisters just loving life and each other!

I loved that the girls stopped to "get gas." They also discovered that you can open the hood of the cars, which led to several "repairs." I was a proud Mama when we discussed how girls can fix their own cars because girls can do anything! Duh!

I would like to thank global warming for making this post possible!

Hmmm....

2012-01-04T16:31:00.001-08:00

So I just read the comments on my previous post. One of the comments was from my mother.

It said:
"Stay on the plan for all your ideas you shared with me regarding your goals."

I vaguely remember a conversation with her about some goals. Now what were those goals exactly?

Seriously, is this what my life has come to? I can't remember a recent conversation regarding some personal goals that were important enough to tell my mother about....
I only tell her things that I want her to hold me accountable for, but here I am trying to remember what the heck I told her.

I had this same problem at work today. I was racking my brain to think of a word. It was on the tip of my tongue, but I just couldn't think of the right word. Much later the word popped into my head. The word was "intervention."

Maybe I need an intervention! I remember telling my mom something elaborate with a definite goal attached to it, but I am not sure what the goal was or what I told her.

I know you, sweet reader, will say that every mom has these brain issues. You will make me think it is okay because I have two kids, two jobs, etc. However.....

IT IS JANUARY 4TH, PEOPLE.

How did I already forget?

Mom, please email me about this one.

Deck the Halls 2011

2012-01-03T18:09:00.000-08:00

I have not yet put away all of our Christmas decorations, but probably will this weekend. Last year I shared some of my favorite pictures of our Christmas decorations, so I thought I would do the same now.

This was a fun little corner near our dining room. I put my collection of Lenox snowmen all together, along with the wall decoration that I bought at Target last year. I wanted everything to have a retro/vintage look to it, and I think it did! You can kind of see my vintage window frame....I put vintage wrapping paper on each pane of glass for a fun change just for the holidays.

This year a dream came true for me....having a white Christmas tree! The new white tree was such a bargain. I love having two trees now. The white tree is in the sunroom and is my fun, girly tree. The larger traditional tree is in the family room and has all of our colorful family ornaments on it. The day we bought the white tree, I also saw this stunning tree topper that looked like a giant Swarovski crystal. Hello, bling!

Here is a close-up of the white tree with white lights. Even before the ornaments were put up, it looked beautiful!

I was EXTREMELY picky about what ornaments were to go on my special girly tree. I wanted the ornaments to have a certain color and have a vintage quality. I dragged my entire family (poor hubby!!) to every store I could think of to find ornaments like the vision in my head. I finally found them at Michael's! I love how the tree turned out. It almost looked good enought to eat....if that makes sense, considering it is a Christmas tree!

Don't get me wrong, I love my family ornaments. However, there is something really special about having a tree all to yourself!

Daily Purpose

2012-01-02T17:20:00.000-08:00

Some of you may be waking up tomorrow with lots of worries on your mind. Some of you may be waking up tomorrow and returning to work after holiday time off. Some of you may be waking up tomorrow with the weight of the world on your shoulders.

Whatever it is, you CAN do it.

The First Miracle of 2012: My Kids Liked Dinner!

2012-01-01T17:19:00.000-08:00

I am a huge believer in cooking with fresh ingredients, and I try to avoid shortcuts that diminish the flavor or freshness of a recipe. Tonight, on our first dinner of 2012, I decided to try two new recipes that I discovered on Pinterest, which is my favorite spot on the Internet. I think it is also important to include your children in the cooking process because it makes them more likely to at least try what they helped cook. Tonight, we had Beef and Bean Chimichangas and a modified version of Deconstructed Guacomole Salad. Links will be provided to the recipes at the end of the post.

I put Avery, my seven year old (she turned seven yesterday!), on the time consuming task of taking cilantro leaves off the stems. Our family loves cilantro, but it is a flavor that not all people enjoy. It could easily be left out of the dishes I made tonight. If you would like to read a fascinating article about why some people hate cilantro, click here. My husband shared this article from the New York Times with me a few months ago. Avery happily took the leaves off an entire bunch of cilantro, which actually took a lot of time, but allowed me to have great conversation with her!

Here is a picture of the bean and beef mixture that you make for the chimichangas. You use a lot of fresh spices, instead of a packet of taco seasoning. If you want to save time, you could probably use a packet of taco seasoning....but no guarantees that it will taste as amazing!

You spray nonstick cooking spray in a skillet. Then you roll the bean and beef mixture with cheese into flour tortillas that have been heated in the microwave for 20 seconds. Traditional chimichangas in restaurants are deep fried. This is a healthier alternative, and tastes just as good. I did grate a block of sharp cheddar for the cheese. Grating cheddar yourself makes a huge difference in how the cheese tastes and how it melts. However, obviously, it would be a time saver to just buy pre-shredded cheese.

I do not have a recipe for this rice because I totally winged it! My kids LOVE the cilantro rice at Chipotle and Qdoba, so I kind of guessed what was in it, since we have eaten it so many times. I made regular rice, then added a small amount of seasoned salt, lime juice out of a fresh lime, and a generous handful of cilantro. The girls went bonkers over this rice! Avery asked me how I managed to make Qdoba rice!

I really wanted to make the recipe for Deconstructed Guacomole Salad as it is written in the link below, but our grocery didn't have any avocados. I made my own modified version. I made the dressing exactly as it is written on the link. I included chopped romaine lettuce, which is not in the recipe. I also used premade guacomole, since there were no avocados available. I would definitely make this again, only do it the way it was written. My husband and I loved the flavor of the homeade dressing, which was so easy to make. I love making homeade dressings. They taste so much fresher than bottled dressings.

This is what it all looked like plated up. Your kiddos may not be fans of cilantro lime rice or the salad, but they may just love the simple yummy flavor of these chimichangas. My kids have become very, very picky recently. I never jinx myself and say, "You guys will love this." I just hold my breath and wait for the reaction. I can't tell you the last time BOTH of my girls said "yum" about a meal that I cooked. I was so excited! Avery ate seconds, which also never happens.

Here are links to the recipes!

Bean and Beef Chimichangas
Deconstructed Guacomole Salad
Please note: In the salad recipe, the author refers to coriander leaves. That is the exact same thing as cilantro, as far as I can tell, based on his photographs. The author is Irish, so this may just be a more common name for cilantro in Europe.

May your new year be filled with successful dishes!

Welcome, 2012!

2011-12-31T22:08:00.000-08:00

I have been thinking about New Year's Resolutions for awhile now, and how or if I would blog about them. Suddenly, this morning, a thought occurred to me. My resolution can be summed up so simply.
Be More Fabulous.
Yes, that is it! Every choice that I make, I am going to stop and think, "Will this help me be more fabulous?" If the answer is no, then I won't do it! This saying below, by Ghandi, will serve as inspiration!

I am making my whole family follow this resolution. However, I am not sure if "being fabulous" translates into man talk. I was trying to come up with a catch phrase for my husband's quest for fabulosity that doesn't sound so....well, girly. Then I came across this amazing old photograph online. These chicks knew what was up, even in 1928. "Badass" will be my hubby's version of fabulous.

May the new year find you with many blessings!
May we all be a little more fabulous and badass in 2012!!

Words of Wisdom

2011-12-31T10:47:00.000-08:00

Today in Bodhgaya India, when the Dalai Lama was asked if he had a message to the world for the new year, he said:

"Prayer alone will not make a happy life. A happy life must be built. You must act."

How will you "act" toward building a happier life in 2012? Leave some comments!

It's Beginning to Look A Lot Like....

2011-12-03T09:13:00.001-08:00

Christmas!!!
We are starting to deck the halls...
And our elf, Freddy, is baaaaack and up to some unusual antics. He built a fort around himself that we decided looked like an igloo. We didn't have marshmallows at our house, so we think either he brought them from the North Pole, or he stopped at Kroger's during his nightime flight back from Santa's.

Freddy also used his marshmallows to spell out what the girls told Santa they wanted for Christmas. Piper has been asking for a pink car, and Avery wants to get some Monster High dolls. It is amazing the things that Freddy knows! We are so excited to see what kind of antics he will get into!

This is our family tree. I have a really special girly tree to put up in the sunroom, but haven't yet. Once that is done, I will post pictures. I love our family tree. My husband and I both feel that anything less than 9 feet tall is UNACCEPTABLE. When we went to get a new tree, my husband said, "Go big,or go home." I couldn't agree more! We had to buy a new tree this year. Our old 9ft tree was a wedding present from my mom and stepdad, so it was over ten years old. It was magnificent until this past summer when we found that a mice family had taken up residence in it's box in the garage. When a mouse took a flying leap out of the box at my husband's face, he decided it had to go to the dump. Too disgusting! We got our new beauty at Garden Ridge. We did not want a pre-lit because once the lights go out, you can't fix it. So we got this 9 foot stunner at Garden Ridge for only $150! Such a deal! It is important to note that we are of the "white lights" group of people. No multi-colored lights here! This is another thing that hubby and I agree about. Our tree is a hodge podge of family ornaments accumulated over time. This year's favorite was my husband's Muppet ornament from 1980!!! It actually says 1980. Vintage Muppets = Awesomeness.

Lots more holiday fun to come! Stay tuned!

Dear Me

2011-11-27T17:52:00.000-08:00

I have now spent most of this fall season being sick. I am used to dealing with some allergy issues or an occasional cold, but I have been really sick! First it was the weeks and weeks with walking pneuomonia, now it is strep throat combined with an allergic reaction to medication. My body is worn out!

I think my body is telling me something. It started like a whisper, but now it is more like a scream inside my head all day long. My body is telling me to take better care of itself. Take vitamins, drink more water, exercise, eat healthy, get more sleep....the whole shebang!

I think this latest bout with strep throat is the final straw. Finally, I think I am starting to listen to that voice and maybe, just maybe I will actually do what it is telling me. I have lost sight of who I am and the potential of who I can be.

I told my mom a few weeks ago about what I call "Project Me." I think it is time that I start taking that project seriously. My biggest enemy is myself, and that is what needs to change the most.

Words of Wisdom

2011-11-20T14:57:00.000-08:00

I read in a magazine that Maria Shriver reads this prayer every day. Whether you are religious or not, the message is beautiful. Shriver said, "I read this comforting prayer all the time, and I love everything it implies: that whatever I need I already have, because it's within me, and wherever I am is where I'm meant to be." Read this prayer. Read it again. Let it soak in. Try to live it.

May today there be peace within.

May you trust God that
you are exactly where you are
meant to be.

May you not forget the infinite
possibilities that are born of faith

May you use those gifts that
you have received,
and pass on the love that has
been given to you.

May you be content knowing
you are a child of God.

Let this presence settle into
your bones and allow
your soul the freedom to sing,
dance, praise, and love.

It is there for each and every one of us.

This Blog is Not Dead

2011-11-18T19:09:00.001-08:00

So my mom emailed me today. She said to get back on the blog because it had been too long. Funny because I had been thinking about it for weeks. For those of you that have read this blog since the beginning, you may remember a post a long time ago where I said that in hard times, I blog less. I lose my inspiration. I lose myself for awhile. Well, I am in one of those times right now. Don't get me wrong....some very happy, magical things have happened in the last couple of months. Then there have been days like today. Days where being a mother of two trying to balance two jobs gets the best of me. I am learning some tough life lessons lately. For years, my mom has been saying adamantly that nothing matters to her more than her own family. I couldn't agree more. Now that I am experiencing the cruel realities of the adult world, I totally understand. If I could just stick my family in a happy bubble, I would be content. The hard part about being a blogger is that when times get tough, that is when you need to write the most. Unfortunately, those are also the things that are too personal for the blog. So you are stuck.

I don't know a lot of things right now.

But, mom, I do know one thing. This blog is not dead!

Holy Cuteness, Batman!

2011-09-16T18:10:00.000-07:00

This is my youngest brother Daniel and his wife Amber. Let me tell you about these two crazy kids. The first time I ever met Amber was at my daughter's one year old birthday party. My first reaction was, "What on earth? Daniel brought a girl???" Then when this particular girl continued to hang around him year after year, the two of them just kind of started to morph into one big squishy mushy ball of cuteness. These two are cute. I mean they are "gag me with a spoon" cute. They gaze into each other's eyes in front of anyone and everyone. She lays her head in his lap and he pets her hair at family functions. We honestly don't know whether we should laugh or cry from the sweetness that oozes out of them. Sometimes we even wonder if they need the cuteness slapped right out of them.

When they got their engagement photos done (with the fabulous Stephanie Stewart of Stewart Imagery), they even wore a cute little Batman mask to show a glimpse into Daniel's other true heart's desire....Batman. He has been having an affair with Batman since he was old enough to speak.

Then when they had their actual wedding pictures taken on the big day this summer, Daniel once again showed his love for the caped crusader.

Now this cute couple has done it again. They have gotten a disgustingly cute little dog. I don't even like dogs, but this dog is just about the cutest I have ever seen. If I knew how to make the photo bigger, I would....sorry! Now they can be a little crazy cute family of three living their dreams in Hollywood. Oh, wait...did I forget that part? Yes, they actually have moved right outside of Hollywood. Daniel is an intern at Ashton Kutcher's production company and a grad student studying cinematography at Chapman University. Amber, each week, experiments with making new cute cupcakes to send with Daniel to his production meetings for his internship. Yes, she loves creating fabulous, cute baked goods. They spend their cute days together in Cali. Now they will add this sweet little dog to their days of cuteness.

The dog's name is Bruce Wayne. Yep, Bruce Wayne.

I am not sure where I am going with all this. 1. I miss them both terribly. 2. I wish people in my family would stop buying dogs, since i am allergic (Is this a pattern of family trying to keep me away from their homes?) 3. I secretly wish I could live my life so cutely.

Yes, all of the above. I thought Daniel came from a family of dog haters.

In an old original Batman episode, Robin is quoted to have said, "You she-devil! Have you short circuited Batman's brain?"

The answer is once again yes.

P.S. I love you Daniel and Amber!

(The first two images were by Stephanie Stewart of Stewart Imagery. The third image was by Ashley Nelson. The last image was by the she-devil herself.).

Never Forget

2011-09-11T07:18:00.001-07:00

My sister-in-law, Beth, found this haunting photo. It is a picture of her in 1995 standing with my father-in-law in front of the twin towers on a trip to NYC. We lost the twin towers ten years ago on one of the worst days in American history. We lost my father-in-law to cancer two years ago. This photo is a reminder that things in your life can vanish in an instant.

Treasure each other. Say thanks for the blessings in your life.

Never forget.

Thirties

2011-09-04T08:16:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I put on my socially conscious shoes (Tom's), went through Starbucks drive-thru, and drove to Ikea with my husband and two daughters.

Hmmmmmm.....
Tom's, Starbucks, Ikea

Do you see a theme here? Yep, I am knee deep in my thirties. Hahaha!

I texted one of my brother's these thoughts and he basically said that I am a total loser. He in his twenties.

At Ikea, it felt like a big reunion of everyone who was ever born in the 1970s. Smiling over their $2.99 plates of meatballs. Furiously writing down Swedish names of furniture with golf pencils. Marveling at how cheap the Poang chairs are.

On the way home, I woke myself up by snorting loudly in the car. My husband and daughters laughed hysterically that my own snort/snore woke me up.

Yep, I am knee deep in my thirties.

Cortney and Me

2011-09-04T07:52:00.001-07:00

A long while back I dedicated a post to my favorite husband/wife designers, Robert and Cortney Novogratz. Here is my post about their show on Bravo, called Nine by Design.

They have a new show on Bravo called Home by Novogratz, which I love even more than their first show! This show is SOOOOO me. I love their style, their personalities, the way they treat people, etc. I love how they interact with their SEVEN children! Yep, seven. We have been recording every episode on the DVR and watching it as a family. Did I mention that I LOOOOVE how my husband appreciates these shows too?? Swoon! We spent Friday night getting caught up on Project Runway and Home by Novogratz, and it hit me how very lucky I am to have a guy that not only will watch the shows, but appreciates them! We actually discuss the designs together! My kids love it too, which is an extra bonus.

I am telling you all this to build some background on what I am about to tell you......something very nerdy that I am about to tell you. On a whim last night, I sent a friend request on Facebook to......wait for it.......Cortney Novogratz's personal page. I sent her a quick note about what a fan I am (yes, I felt like a total creeper). This morning when I woke up, CORTNEY NOVOGRATZ ACCEPTED MY FRIEND REQUEST. I was so excited.

Don't you dare think,"But Lindsay, Cortney probably accepts all friend requests since she has over 1,000 friends." Of course, I know that could be true. But then again, I know high school/college students with over 1,000 friends. So I am just going to hold on to the belief that Cortney Novogratz and I are now friends.

Cortney, if you read this, I really need you and Robert to come and do something about my very large blank wall above my couch. Actually, since we are now friends, I may just message you on Facebook.

P.S. I promise I am not a stalker.

Finding Your Passion

2011-08-27T15:22:00.000-07:00
It is obvious that we can no more explain a passion to a person who has never experienced it than we can explain light to the blind. T.S. Eliot

Great dancers are not great because of their technique, they are great because of their passion. Martha Graham

I believe that education is all about being excited about something. Seeing passion and enthusiasm helps push an educational message. Steve Irwin

I have been feeling very passionate about my classroom lately. As weird as it sounds, I kind of feel like I am starting to "come into my own" at work. It's about time after ten years of teaching!! It is amazing how much power I have over the classroom environment. I am now starting to believe that teachers are the greatest variable in the classroom, not the students. I have been doing so much professional reading....because I am really into it, not because I have been asked to. Instead of feeling frustrated that school is taking up so much of my time, I have felt motivated and inspired. It is such a great feeling when you start feeling like your job is your passion. Work isn't feeling like "work." I look forward to each new day.

What is your passion? Have you found it yet? I would love to get some comments!

It's a Sister Thing

2011-08-22T19:33:00.000-07:00

Crazy, Stupid, Love

2011-08-13T07:22:00.001-07:00

Last night my husband and I went to "Crazy, Stupid, Love" which has an all-star cast including Steve Carrell, Julianne Moore, Ryan Gosling, and Emma Stone. Wow. I got a lot out of this movie. This movie has a lot of heart. I laughed and cried through the entire thing. There were parts of the characters that really struck a chord with me. The most beautiful part was the story behind Steve Carrell and Julianne Moore's characters. They played a married forty something couple that had been married since they were teenagers. They met in high school when they were fifteen and fell in love. The story of their journey was so beautiful to me. They believed that they were each other's soulmates, but they lost each other along the way as life happened. Anyone who married their high school sweetheart MUST go see this movie. Just like the main characters, my husband and I have never been apart since our first date when we were seventeen. We got married when we were twenty-two. Sometimes people are doubtful that you can find a soulmate when you are only seventeen. They think you have to be with many different people before you could possibly know the right one for you. While this may be true for some people, it isn't true for all. It is possible to find your soulmate when you are young and to stick with them and still feel all that love you felt in the beginning. Of course, it doesn't work out for some people, like all things. Marrying your high school sweetheart gives you a unique opportunity to essentially grow up together. People grow and change as they age. But....if you found the RIGHT person....this can be a powerful and wonderful journey. My husband and I are not the same as we were when we were seventeen. We appreciate each other and the journey we have been through. We laugh at the changes we have gone through together. In the movie, Julianne Moore said, "I am still glad you bought me that ice cream cone" in reference to their first date. So, last night after the movie, I said, "I am still glad you took me to "Twelve Monkeys" (the movie we saw on our first date) in your pick-up truck." My husband said, "Are you still glad that I drove like a maniac on purpose that night and did donuts on the ice?" I laughed and told him that yes, I was indeed still glad that he did that (better not do it now though!) and that is one of the many reasons I fell in love with him in the first place. Even though my husband doesn't take me out on wild drives on the ice anymore, "that guy" is still who he is at his core. When life gets busy and stressful, it is easy to lose sight of who you were when you first fell in love with someone. People get so wrapped up in the day to day drudgery of trying to make ends meet, keeping up with the Jones', doing laundry, packing lunches, work, etc, etc that they don't take time to stop and remember. Remember that person that you fell in love with because they are still THERE. Under the wrinkles, laugh lines, gray hair, dark circles, bald spots, and all other signs of life as a busy, stressed adult, you are still the same person at your core. I would never, ever change the fact that I got married when I was 22 to the person I had been dating since I was 17. Have there been struggles? Yes. Have there been days when I feel like giving up? Yes. But then I come to my senses. I realize that there is no better person on Earth for me, and that we are who we are because of EACH OTHER. My weaknesses are his strengths. His weaknesses are my strenths. When he is angry at our daughter for accidentally breaking his back scratcher (not that that really happened in the last ten minutes *wink*) and I think he is crazy, I just have to stop and smile inside because I know how he is. Go see this movie. It is for people in their twenties, thirties, forties, fifties, and so on. It is for single people and married people. If you have ever loved ANYTHING in your life, you will enjoy it. Because love is crazy and stupid. But it is also magical.

While you are out seeing this movie, I will be out finding a new back scratcher to put in my husband's nightstand. The things we do for love!

I Like Your Swag

2011-07-20T20:38:00.000-07:00

Tonight, out of the blue, Avery (our six year old) said, "Mom, zebras have a lot of swagger." Ummmm.....WHAT?!? I am pretty sure "swagger" will not be on the first grade word wall when school starts. It is no secret that Avery is in love with zebras. We went to see the movie "African Cats" on Earth Day when it came out. There is a part where the lions are hunting zebras. Avery freaked. I was never the kind of kid to love a certain type of animal like that, so part of me just doesn't get it. I thought about her statement and have decided that she is totally right. Zebras have all kinds of swag.

After her interesting statement, I couldn't resist asking how much swagger I have in Avery's eyes. She squinted her eyes, looked me up and down, and said "about this much" as she spread her hands about six inches apart, which sadly was WAY, WAY less than zebras. I am happy to report that I did have more swag than her Daddy though, according to her.

Is anyone else in America having these sorts of conversations with their six year olds? I would love to know. In the meantime, I will be working on my swagger.

Edit, Edit, Edit

2011-07-20T05:35:00.000-07:00
I am sitting here in our new condo that we are renting from my mother-in-law. Last night was the first night here. Most of our stuff is still at our old house waiting to be packed and moved. I am feeling very Zen right now because we have done such a great job with "editing" our stuff for the move. My husband and I have turned into pack rats. We have way too much stuff. On a recent trip to Arizona to see my mom, I was really inspired. Her house is so welcoming and calm. It is free of clutter and everything is organized. I could tell that she had thought about the "presentation" of everything down to even bath towels. It felt amazing to be in an environment like this. For years, my mom has encouraged me to "edit" my stuff. The problem is that I am a perfectionist. If I can't complete a task all the way and perfectly the first time, I just don't do it. This is pretty common with some perfectionists, which leads them to be some of the messiest people. Organizing is tough for me also because I am a very creative, right brained person. When confronted with disorganized space, I actually feel a mental block and don't know what to do...which leads to avoidance.

My husband and I are turning over a new leaf. We want to have more discipline in our lives. We want more than anything to get our finances in order and to stick to a budget. We want to bring order to our lives. Moving has given us the perfect excuse to finally do some of the things we really needed to do. We went through our closet first. My husband and I each donated probably 75% of our wardrobe to Goodwill. We knew that it is unlikely to make much money through a garage sale, so we just donated it. We filled my Explorer with nine huge trash bags filled to the max with clothes. We also donated some household items. We also gathered most of our furniture into one room and it is waiting to be carried away by an auction company. We bought our furniture while still in college and it has been through a lot. It seems extreme to most people to just all of a sudden get rid of a ton of furniture, but sometimes you just have to be extreme! No, we do not have the money to refurnish our house. That is okay. Less is more sometimes. We will gradually buy some furniture with proceeds from the auction. The auction company said we had enough stuff to have an actual on-site auction (if that gives you any idea about the amount of stuff we are talking about). We will not have an onsite auction because we don't have the yard space or parking available that would be required. Guess what? We also trashed a lot of stuff. Yep...just threw it away. Between the throw aways, donations, and auction items, our life is starting to feel much more Zen-like, which is what we so desperately needed. We aren't downsizing because we have to or because we are under some unforeseen financial struggle. This isn't about getting money for our old stuff. This is a lifestyle choice.

I found a great article last night. Number 19 really applies to us right at this moment because it says to "edit, edit, edit." The article also says to treat organization like a lifestyle change instead of a one time thing. Here is a link to the article. http://lifestyle.msn.com/your-home/cleaning-organizing/staticslideshowrb.aspx?cp-documentid=29329062>1=32026&imageindex=11&OCID=LIKE
This article seriously could have been written by my mom, who has sold her stuff at auction a total of three times in her life, and swears by it!

I am doing the same thing in my classroom, which just got moved as well. I threw out tons of stuff and did a complete overhaul. I organized all the supplies that my students use everyday.

We aren't done with this process. It feels too good to stop just yet. As I type this, I am sitting at a card table because we are most likely sending our kitchen table to auction. It is very damaged, but someone who has the time to refinish it and stain it, would love it! I have no idea when we will get a new one, and the funny thing is that I just don't really care.

Who knew that a card table could feel so Zen-like?
As En Vogue sang in the early nineties, "Free your mind, and the rest will follow!"

Momsick

2011-07-17T20:59:00.000-07:00

This is my mom, and oh my goodness, she is fabulous! She is the best person. You know when people say they are homesick? Well, I am "momsick." It doesn't help that she lives across the country, but on top of that, she is practically on the other side of the world on her delayed, but much deserved honeymoon. This is a pretty long trip and it is impossible to communicate with her like normal. She can't use her phone at all and the time difference is drastic. I want her to go home already, so I can call her like usual and tell her all my crappy day stories, so she can cheer me up. She inspires me so much and helps me keep myself together mentally, if that makes sense. So tonight, like a lovesick puppy, I looked at my mom's pictures on Facebook and realized I am so hopelessly momsick!!!

Whoooooo Doesn't Love Owls?

2011-07-09T17:19:00.000-07:00
I am a frustrated decorator...in my classroom! I know this is not something you normally hear from an elementary teacher (I teach second and third graders in my multigrade classroom), but it is true! I love to have a theme in my classroom, simply because it allows me to express myself creatively and it serves as a great conversation piece for the kids (as if my little high ability kiddos need more reasons to talk!). I have done many themes over the years. I am restless and cannot commit to one, until maybe now! Unless you are blind to the retail world, you have probably noticed that cute, funky owls are everywhere these days! My classroom theme is going to be all owls! Last year I had a rock n' roll theme and I just didn't feel real excited or inspired by it. I had a life size Elvis poster, but every time an adult came into my room they assumed I was some die hard Elvis fan (one substitute teacher even asked me to judge in an Elvis impersonator contest!!). If I am going to slave away in my classroom for nine months out of the year, I like to be surrounded by whimsical and lovely things. People have been asking me what kind of owl things I am looking for and all I can say is that I only like cute owls. I know that sounds strange, but there are some weird and scary looking owls out there. Luckily, there are a lot of teacher materials out there with an owl motif. I managed to find a calendar, job board, border, and even these nametags.

Why stop at the usual "teacher" decorations? I found this statuesque wooden owl for CHEAP at a Z Gallerie and snagged it. He looks so scholarly standing on the books. I knew he had to be mine. I am brainstorming a name for him. My kids eat stuff like that right up! I am leaning toward Theodore....any thoughts?

This white umbrella stand is going to hold all my meter sticks. You may be asking yourself, "How many meter sticks can one teacher have?" To answer your question...I have probably at least fifteen! Anyone who is well versed in the world of Everyday Math knows that your math series comes VERY well stocked with manipulatives!

While in Arizona, my mom surprised me with this owl paperweight for my desk at school.

I also could not resist this charming owl timer for my desk. Yes, I have a high tech timer on my computer that I can use on my high tech projector, but this is an OWL timer!!!

At Francesca's (a really unique store), I also found this pillow that will fit nicely on my rocking chair.

These are my favorite stuffed owls. Their names are Penny and Joy and they will join my family of owls in the classroom.

I found these two little funky owls at the Children's Museum in Indianapolis. They do not yet have names.

Okay....so here's the part where you will think that I am a little out of control (if you didn't think that already). While at Francesca's, I spotted this fabulous owl ring. Do I need a ring with a be-spectacled owl wearing cat eye blue glasses? The answer is yes, of course. I learned a long time ago that I am happiest as a teacher, if I just be myself. I am a girl of whimsy. I wear big earrings and crazy cocktail rings, and I am proud of it. I am happiest when I allow myself to be my weirdo self at school. The students appreciate it and remember it, and it makes me happy. The kiddos will think this owl ring is so crazy! (because it totally is) I love to shock them! It keeps them on their toes! Plus, the ring was all of five bucks!

So this is just a preview of my owl fabulous classroom. I realize some of you are thinking, "Who the heck cares?" Well, then.....why are you reading this?! I post things that make me happy, and whoooooo doesn't love owls?

Someday I hope one of my students (all grown up) will say, "Remember that crazy owl lady that we had in second grade? She was my favorite teacher!"

Big Girl Souvenirs

2011-07-09T16:55:00.000-07:00

Remember the days of going on vacation as a kid and coming home with t-shirts with location names or trinkets from souvenir shops? Well, grown up girls like souvenirs too...just not quite so location specific. While visiting my mom in Scottsdale, AZ, she made sure that she got to take me to a store that she knew I would love. LOVE was an understatement. My mom knows me well because this store completely rocked my world. The store is called "Sunny and Chair." It was possibly the most special store that I have ever been inside because almost everything was my taste! The store has unique and whimsical decor and art. Mommies of grown-ups still like to buy their grown-up girls souvenirs, apparently, because my mom bought me two beautiful things to hang in my new house when we move.

The "Dwell in Possibility" picture (top of this post) was the first souvenir. I like the inspirational message and the butterfly. I also like the groovy patterns. This will be hanging in my new sunroom very, very soon!

The second souvenir (and best) is a gorgeous calendar (at least in my opinion). It has so many things that I love....birds, ancient looking text, rhinestones, etc. This calendar serves a dual purpose. It is art, of course, but it also can be used year after year as a calendar. It is magnetic and you just move the little pieces to show the correct date. My mom is convinced that I will not remember to move the date, but I will prove her wrong!!

No Arizona t-shirts for this girl! I will take unique decor any day of the week!! Sunny and Chair is independently owned and the owner has the most gorgeous dog that walks around the store. The dog is an Airedale, which if I had a dog, I would love. It is so cute and sweet! Sunny and Chair has a fan page on Facebook and a website, but the website looks kind of amateur-ish and doesn't really show much of what they have to offer. Regardless, if you ever go to Scottsdale and you love beautiful things, you must check this store out!
http://www.sunnyandchair.com/

More Reasons Why I Love This Girl

2011-07-06T21:37:00.000-07:00

Avery, the source of my greatest joys and frustrations, has been quite the traveler in the last few weeks. Today, as we drove across America, I was reminded of just why we love this crazy Punkin of ours so much.

1. She has repeatedly watched "Bye Bye Birdie" on her portable DVD player. Bye Bye Birdie is one of my favorite old musicals, starring Dick Van Dyke and Ann Margaret. As my little six year old belted out the tunes from the movie, I literally felt my heart melt.

2. Driving through Texas and Oklahoma, we spotted many, many herds of cattle. We got in a discussion about milk and how Avery should drink more of it. She was worried that milk came from the same hole as the cow's pee. I was explaining to her all about udders and how the milk comes out. She said, "Teats are my worst enemy." Avery has some of the wittiest, most timely quotes of anyone I have ever known and I love it.

3. We realized that we were in trouble as we traveled across the toll roads of Oklahoma without cash. After a frantic search for more change at the bottom of my purse, Avery yelled out, "Wait!! I have three dollars in my purse!!" My husband and I were thrilled that she saved the day. The toll booths do not take credit cards and we didn't have any cash at all, other than her three dollars. After basking in our praise she said, "Of course, if you use my three dollars, you will owe me five." Little smartie wants interest!! That will teach her mom and dad to not travel without cash!

I love my Avery so much.

Things to Know...

2011-06-22T14:26:00.001-07:00
Just as I was ready to hunker down and do some major summer bloggin', my computer pooped out on me. Geek Squad informed me that it was the result of a power surge and that my computer was rendered useless. This was very, very bad news because I had no computer access, other than the Public Library. So let me get you caught up on a few things in our life!

1. Geek Squad managed to recover all our data from the old computer for a mere $150 (insert sarcasm), but I figure it is worth it.
2. We now own our first laptop. I still don't know how to use Wi-Fi, so I am using the laptop like a desktop like a big nerd.
3. My brother, Daniel, got married to his beautiful, wonderful long-time love, Amber.
4. The wedding was wonderful, except the part where Avery accidentally downed vodka (thinking it was water).
5. I survived another wedding of being the oldest (by a lot) bridesmaid, survived yet another bridesmaid dress that made me feel like a giant piece of manicotti, and survived walking in a crowd with high heels on.
6. I moved my entire classroom to another classroom in my school. Yes, it was only one hallway away, but do you have any idea how much stuff teachers accumulate in cabinets and drawers??
7. I had my little girls' hair cut. This is NOT a regular occurence. Avery told the lady she wanted something "short and sassy." Then she informed me that this new bob is her "first grade do." Piper got her baby hair (waist length) cut for the first time. I am happy to report that her hair is still curly.
8. We are getting ready to move...AGAIN. If you think moving a classroom would be bad, you haven't seen my garage.
9. We are getting ready to embark on a road trip across the country to visit my mom in Arizona, then my dad in New Mexico. Driving for 24 hours with a six year old girl and a three year old girl (both with flairs for the dramatic) will either be a) A fabulous, grande adventure b) A geographically enriching learning experience c) The biggest mistake of our lives or d) all of the above!
10. I attempted to mow the lawn for the first time. I didn't even get to the point of actually starting the mower because I may or may not have filled the oil tank with gas. This became both my first and last mowing experience.

Pictures and stories to come!

I'm Baaaaaack....With Glee!!!

2011-06-04T09:33:00.000-07:00
Okay, so I took a little blogcation. But....I....am....back!!! During my little blogcation, I was finishing up the school year, tying up loose ends, and living life. I am so glad to be back though. Summer is here! It will be a busy summer, but that is okay. I love the laid back feeling of summer. It really re-energizes me for my next class at school. Guess what else energizes me?

GLEE!!!

My good friend and coworker, Lori, invited me to go to the Glee Live concert with her. We had an absolute blast and it exceeded all expectations. All of the McKinley High students were there: Finn, Rachel, Quinn, Puck, Mercedes, Artie, Brittany, Santana, Mike, Asian girl that I can't remember her name, Kurt, and even Blaine and the Warblers.

Well, helloooo Finn. (Yes, we were that close to the stage)

Did I mention my friend Lori thinks that she is a superstar? Once in high school, where she went to school with about 40 people tops, the lead in the school musical broke her arm on the day of the big show. Lori got a phone call from her teacher asking her to take over the lead because she was the only one who knew all the songs, even though she was just an extra. Lori accepted this challenge and sang her butt off and just winged it on the lines. Seriously!?!? Maybe she is kind of a superstar...

Did I mention she also thinks she is a Cheerio?

Okay, well, I might be a little bit of a diva too. That's why we get along.

Well, helloooo Blaine. Why yes, you may "warble" away for us. You just warble your little butt off!

I think this was the opening act (I never said these pictures were in order). This would be about the time we totally lost our cool because we were so starstruck that the entire cast was there.

At the end, it appeared that the cast was going to "slushy" the audience. The trick was on us. The slushies exploded into confetti. Who doesn't love confetti? We found another skill that we didn't know we had....catching confetti down our shirts without even trying. We really are superstars.

Ummm, who doesn't love some pyrotechnics?!?

We are awesome. Glee is awesome. Being a teacher in the summer is awesome.

We loved when the cast sang "Born this Way" by Lady Gaga. As we were cruising through downtown, I have to tell you that Lori rolled down her window and told a security guard/police officer to "Put your paws up, baby." He put his paws up like a true Gaga Little Monster.

Can you tell that it was a FANTASTIC way to kick off summer?!?!

Paws up, baby!

Days 2-10 of Wooing

2011-04-28T08:25:00.001-07:00
Hehehehe....I really left a lot of people hanging on my last post! I should have known better than thinking I could actually post every day for ten days. Today is already Day 10!! I can't wait to share what my very creative hubby did for me in the last ten days. I need to take some pictures of the gifts he got me, so I can post them. He looked up the traditional anniversary gift list....the one that most people really don't follow. Year 1- paper, Year 2- Cotton, Year 3- Leather, etc. Each day of our "Ten Days of Wooing" represented one year with the anniversary gifts. I hope that makes sense! On Day 1, he got me a lovely sheet of PAPER with a nice note on it. On Day 2, he got me a scarf made from cotton....and so on. This weekend I am going to work on photographing each of the ten days of gifts because they were so sweet and I want to share them with you. Hopefully, one of you will try to do this for your spouse because it really made me feel special! It is amazing what 10 days of feeling special can do for a girl!

Today is the REAL anniversary. We got married on April 28, 2001. A whole decade ago! I got married when I was barely 22, but I have never, ever regretted being that young. I knew then what I know now....that my husband and I are really meant for each other. I will write more this weekend to share how we are celebrating. We are staying local to celebrate this weekend, but we have fun things in store!

Sorry friends for keeping you hanging! My grandma even asked me why on Earth I hadn't followed up with my posts on the ten days of wooing! Many people have been asking, but my excuse is all the same. Being a full time mom, wife, elementary teacher, and Realtor is VERY time consuming! One thing is for sure...I could never do any of it, if it weren't for my husband!!!

Day 1: Ten Days of Wooing

2011-04-19T10:49:00.000-07:00
In ten days, my hubby and I will have been married for ten years!!! We both agreed that this is a major anniversary that should be celebrated!! We know so many people whose marriages NEVER EVER reached the ten year mark, so we feel that in today's modern world, ten years is quite the milestone. I told my hubby that we should have ten days of wooing to represent our ten years of marriage. Why wooing, you ask? I couldn't think of a better word. Basically, we are going to remind each other for the next ten days why we have stuck together through thick and thin and how we have stayed in love for ten years. Make sense?

I think I will start out Day 1 by telling you about that first spark. You know how movies talk about feeling those sparks fly? Well, I did. Back in late 1995, my husband and I worked at the same grocery store. He was a VERY quiet guy with long hair (I feel it is important to note that). I was a year younger, but I was kind of the opposite of him by all outside appearances (umm...class president). Yes, we were in high school. I really only knew that he was a guy I worked with. We did not really cross paths at school so much.

One day, like many other days, I was doing my job as a cashier. My hubby was doing his job, as the bagger. It may have been the very first time that he was the bagger in my aisle because I honestly had never spoken a word to him. That day was different because I kept noticing something about the way he was working. He had flair. I mean real, honest to goodness, flair in how he bagged groceries. And that was it. That was the spark. I know without a doubt that that was the exact moment that I developed an infatuation with him. He didn't say a word while he worked, but he acted like a total badass. He bagged way faster than anyone else at work and he would take canned goods and toss them in the air, then catch them and put them gently in the bag. If you would have looked inside the bags, you would see the most PERFECT bagging job that you have ever seen in your life. Everything was very symmetrical and fit together like a puzzle. Readers, you can laugh all you want. I swear to you that watching my future husband bag groceries with flair was when those sparks happened. It makes me laugh just thinking about it!

After watching him bag groceries, I started kind of wishing that he would be at the end of my aisle each day I worked. I kind of looked forward to seeing this silent, giant (he is way taller than me), long haired, sassy bagger. I had never seen such a quiet, shy person who was also such a major show-off. And, folks, he is a major showoff.....just try playing Trivial Pursuit with this guy.

So I have done some analyzing (cuz that is what I do) about why the sparks flew when I saw that my husband was bagging groceries with flair. I mean seriously....it isn't the typical story about sparks flying. All I can think of is that my husband is a quirky dude. And I LOVE quirky. I thrive on quirky. I may have appeared to be a mainstream kind of girl back in highschool, but I am quirky.

I fell in love hard with this quirky guy....and I am still in love with him. Don't even get me started on all his quirks.

.....he is a messy perfectionist
.....he loves the most obscure music (Ex: Zydeco)
.....he is trying to learn the banjo
.....he can see a very long series of numbers and memorize the sequence instantly (kind of like a Rainman)
.....he appears to be very shy and soft spoken, but he is VERY competitive
.....he describes himself as being "an enigma wrapped in a riddle"
.....he does not even pretend to like local sports teams from Indiana
.....if he taps his finger five times on a table, he has to tap it five more times
to "undo" it. (I'm not kidding)
.....he is LOYAL beyond belief to RUSH music, UK basketball, Tabasco sauce

Need I go on? All I know is that I could never, ever be happy with a beer guzzling guy who just watches sports. I also could never be happy with a super preppy frat boy type who is all about his image. I love my husband's imperfections because they make life interesting. Sometimes frustrating, but ALWAYS interesting.

Stay tuned for Day 2. If I can blog for ten consecutive days, it will be small miracle, but I want to share with the world what our ten days of wooing is all about.

Spring!

2011-04-10T08:08:00.001-07:00
I am so annoyed with myself for being m.i.a. on my blog. I love writing on my blog, but I have been suffering from a combination of writer's block and extreme busyness. Most nights I fall asleep watching t.v. and don't make it to the computer at all! Please forgive me and keep reading my posts!

I don't want to annoy anyone with this post, but I just can't help it. I am bursting with joy over Spring. This has been one LOOOOOOOOOOONG Indiana winter. This has been the worst winter I can remember in a long time. However, FINALLY we have some signs of Spring. People's tulips and daffodils are poking through. The trees are starting to flower!! (Hello allergies). The temperature often rises above 55 degrees. You have no idea what this does for my psyche. Would you like to know? Oh come on, you know you want to know....

This weather makes me want to dig my hands in the dirt and plant things. I get this urge every Spring, but I never act on it. Each year the urge is stronger. I may just have to give in to it. I also want to walk around in the grass with my barefeet, wearing a long flowy skirt that blows in the breeze. I want to clean my house and surround myself with beautiful things, then throw open the windows and let the Spring come inside. I want to cook beautiful meals. Spring really inspires me!

I am so sorry for any readers who feel that my last paragraph was ridiculous and weird. I told you I was going to share what happens to my psyche!

I am still annoyed that I haven't written about my life lately. I went through all of Spring Break....a glorious week at home with my girls....without posting even once! We had a truly wonderful Spring Break right here at home. More on that later.

Thanks for reading. If you live in the Midwest, I am sure you are as happy as I am about the signs of Spring all around!!

Victories and Losses: A Week in Review

2011-03-26T09:44:00.000-07:00
Here in Indiana it seems that everyone (with the exception of me, my two daughters, and my cat) are obsessively checking their brackets and watching basketball. Although I am not a sports fan and do not even pretend to be interested in brackets, I have been racking up some victories and losses of my own this week. Let's start with the negative.

"Losses"
1. I was sent home from work with a fever of over 101 on Tuesday.
2. I found out that I have strep throat and fluid in my ears.
3. I can't breathe through my nose.
4. I missed 2 full days of work.
5. I witnessed a car accident between a crazy person and a bus driver. The crazy person yelled at me, even though I had nothing to do with the accident. She said she was going to "turn me in" for not agreeing to stay and wait for the police so I could be her "witness" against the bus driver. Ridiculous.
6. One of my students that I pour a lot of heart and soul into did something really stupid this week that was truly disappointing.
7. Did I mention that I have strep throat?
8. Don't forget I cannot breathe through my nose.

"Victories"
1. From my sick bed, I managed to do two epic things: 1) Sell a house that I have had listed since last May 2) Get invited to be a guest judge at an Elvis impersonator's Convention alongside local politicians and news anchors.

2. Despite my sickness this week, I still pulled off the biggest event that occurs in my class every two years: the Invention Convention. The Invention Convention was fabulous and the inventions were truly amazing. Don't ever underestimate a child's creativity and ingenuity!

3. My husband and I planned something very special for our family of four. Details to come in the future!

These four victories were enough to outweigh the yuck of being sick this week! I would love to tie this all back to basketball and brackets, but I don't know enough about either topic to make that connection! Thank goodness all my Hoosier friends love me despite my lack of concern over basketball!

A Cataclysm?

2011-03-13T08:23:00.000-07:00
Many people do not realize we have a cat. We have actually had the same cat for nine years. Let's just say our cat is not the social type. In fact, we often say that our cat is a jerk. When we first got our cat, as a very young kitten, she hopped around the house like a rabbit. That should have been a sign that she was not quite right in the head. We spent the first couple weeks of having the cat, thinking that she was a he...until the vet told us that our cat was a girl. You may be wondering how on Earth we thought a girl was a boy. I really can't answer that. We named her Tabasco, after our favorite hot sauce. Over the years, as Tabasco has grown into an anti-social jerk, we have renamed her "Bansh" which is short for banshee. (Yes, I am always embarrassed when Avery tells people that her cat is named Bansh, if you are wondering). When people realize we have a cat there are always exclamations like, "Wow, you have a cat? I have been coming to your house for years and didn't even know." Our cat co-habitates with us, but we really don't interact. I think she lives in a secret annex.

A long time ago, a man named Charles Fort, wrote about unexplained phenomena, like frogs raining from the sky. In recent news, there have been unexplained incidents of hundreds of birds falling from the sky and fish washing up dead on shores. My brother, Daniel, recently said that he thought these stories signified the approach of the end of the world or some kind of cataclysmic event.

So this morning when my six year old told me that she made a bed for our cat and that the cat was staying still while she covered her up with a blanket and scarf, you can imagine how alarmed we were. Our cat? OUR CAT? Our cat doesn't interact with humans. WHAT DOES THIS ALL MEAN? I fear that this must be a sign of impending doom. I ran down with my camera to see what was happening. Then, just like Charles Fort did many, many years ago, I decided to write about this unexplained phenomena.

Indeed...this is our cat, Tabasco aka "Bansh", laying on a stuffed alligator, covered with a fleece blanket (which oddly is covered with a rainstorm of sorts of frogs), a knitted scarf, and a Cheshire cat stuffed animal within six inches of a six year old's face.

The cat is clearly pretending to belong to a happy family where she has always taken part in family events.

Our cat is being affectionate? WHAT??!!

Oh no....not Piper. Do NOT bring Piper into this mix. Piper, who my husband affectionately calls "Nell", after the strange woman who raised herself in the woods. The cat surely won't sit still for Piper.

Lord help us. The world must be ending. Our cat, Avery, and Piper...all within inches from each other's faces.

WHAT DOES IT ALL MEAN? Is this a sign? Is the world ending? Did I mention that we potty trained Piper in the last five days? Five days!!! I have no idea what this all means! If Charles Fort were living today, he would surely write about this event.

P.S. I don't care how cute this is...I hold strong on the opinion that our cat is a jerk.

Sign Sign Everywhere a Sign

2011-03-12T18:32:00.000-08:00
This year in kindergarten, Avery has become quite the little writer. She has started to write in complete sentences with punctuation. She loves to write stories at school. At home though, she loves to make signs. Here are my two favorites.

The above sign is so very ironic, considering the face that SHE is the one always coming into OUR room at night! She interrupts our sleep almost every single night, yet we are not allowed to come in to her room to interrupt her sleep. I do like how she softens the blow by saying "P.S. I love you much." I also like how she signs Piper's name, as if Piper had anything to do with it.

The above sign is hanging on Avery's wall over her bed, which is right next to her sister's bed, since they share a room. Piper never gets a break! She is "NEVR" allowed on Avery's bed, according to this sign.

Sign sign everywhere a sign
Blocking out the scenery breaking my mind
Do this, don't do that, can't you read the sign

(I apologize if you now have that lovely tune stuck in your head.)

Sister Inspiration!

2011-03-06T08:12:00.000-08:00
Lately I have been lacking inspiration on my blog. All the things that are on my mind (education reform, family relationships, etc) would either bore you or anger you! I have learned that if I lack inspiration, it helps to read some of my favorite blogs to see what other bloggers are writing about. It worked! Over at the Pioneer Woman, PW was posting "Sister Photos" in a contest that she was hosting. I absolutely love the pictures that she has posted of strangers with their sisters. Now that I have two little girls, I am fascinated by the relationship between sisters...and I have to confess, I am a little jealous. It is true that I have great sis-in-laws, but nothing can compare to the relationship of sisters who share the same history together. I got a taste of this when I recently traveled with my mom and her sister. The sister relationship is so unique. Being able to share a history with another woman is so special, and I hope my mom, aunt, and all my cousins realize how amazing it is that they have sisters to call their own! I highly recommend that you check out Pioneer Woman's Sister Photo posts here. In the meantime, I want to share with you a few of my favorite sister shots of my own two little girls.

This first picture is one of the newborn shots of Piper when she was a week old. The photographer did not tell Avery to pose like this. She just did! This shot is so peaceful and loving. It shows the beginning of their bond together as sisters.

This second picture still melts my heart whenever I look at it. It perfectly captures the girls and their relationship right now, even though this was taken a few years ago. I totally understand what it is like to be the oldest. Avery captures it perfectly with her confident face, staring straight forward. However, the part that really gets me on this photo is Piper's face. I have no idea what it is like to be a little sister to a big sister. Piper adores her big sister. She will do anything for her, just for one ounce of approval. Just yesterday, Piper won a full size bag of M&Ms at Avery's school carnival (a coveted prize at the candy wheel). Avery was jealous to say the least. Piper said, "It okay, Ree Ree (her name for Avery). I share with you." And she did! Piper came home and split that whole bag in half. Such adoration! This picture just takes my breath away and makes my heart burst for Piper, who is desperately in love with her big sister.

This last picture is just a cute one. It reminds me of how Avery is always looking over Piper's shoulders.

I am a little sad that I don't have a sister to call my own. A sister who I fought with through childhood, but became best friends with as an adult. If you have a sister, call her today!!! Share some laughs about all you have been through. In the meantime, I will continue to gain wisdom from observing the sister relationship with my own daughters!

Outrage...

2011-02-22T20:23:00.000-08:00
I was just checking my email on yahoo. When I signed off, an article popped up that caught my attention. I can now say that I just read the most idiotic article ever about one of my least favorite radio hosts....make that my VERY LEAST favorite, Rush Limbaugh. I never post political things, and I am not even what you would call a political person. I don't claim to be part of any particular party. However, everything about this article is idiotic. Curious? Here is the link. It is just outrageous that someone could criticize an anti-obesity campaign for children. Do people actually agree with this man? The scary part is that many people do! This article says that Sarah Palin and Rep. Michele Bachmann also recently criticized Michelle Obama's advocacy of breastfeeding, which is also outrageous and disturbing.

Link: Rush Limbaugh says First Lady is no Swimsuit Model

Dedicated to me...

2011-02-19T20:01:00.000-08:00

Wednesday was my birthday. It was good. Really, really good. I am sure I have better birthdays than a lot of people I know. I am a super happy person to the outside world, but it never fails...every single birthday I go through a short bout of tears and being sad. It has nothing to do with getting old, and it is nothing that I would really blog about. There are just some things in my life that make me sad. This year that sad cry didn't happen until Friday. My mom totally expects this little craziness that happens on my birthday each year. My mom talked me through it for forty minutes on the phone last night...the same way she has talked me through it every year since I can remember. And just like every other year, she reminded me of all the wonderful things in my life. She made me laugh through the tears and she made me forget all about that sadness that sometimes creeps in.

So I am posting this song. It is by Florence + the Machine. I would post the official video, but it would probably scare you. This nice orange background with the lyrics is much less distracting. This song is about happiness, which I am surrounded by!

My Funny Valentine...

2011-02-19T19:34:00.000-08:00
My husband and I had a fantastic Valentine's Day. We celebrated on the Saturday before the real day because we wanted to take our little girlies out on the real day. My mother-in-law came over to watch the girls on that Saturday. We drove to Mitchell's Fish Market for one reason...their out-of-this-world seven layer carrot cake. It is the carrot cake to end all other carrot cakes. My hubby and I shared a seafood platter to save room for the enormous piece of cake. This was our fifteenth Valentine's Day together.

My favorite part of the entire meal was when I whipped out my prescription from my purse that helps prevent colon spasms....I know what you are thinking....damn, this girl is HOT! Hehehe. On your fifteenth Valentine's Day with the same person, it is actually acceptable to take colon medication at the table. The very BEST part of this story is that my husband said, "Eeewww...maybe I should take some of that too." I passed some drugs over the table to him. So, yes, at the ripe old age of 32, we were sharing prescription drugs to prevent colon spasms. You have to keep that spark alive somehow, right? We laughed so hard at the silliness of it. So all in all it was a great date. We shared seven layer carrot cake and stopped all possible colon spasms in their tracks.

If that isn't love, than I would like to hear what is...
Romance is alive and well in this house! Did you have a good Valentine's Day? I hope so!

Valentines

2011-02-19T19:27:00.001-08:00

This is my favorite valentine that I received this year. Trust me when I say I get a lot more valentines than the average person....since I teach second and third graders! This particular card is from my aunt. I love how it looks all old-timey. I love the expression on the girl's face and the touches of glitter. I got some other super sweet cards. My favorite valentine that I received at work was homeade by a former student, who I had two years ago. She wrote an original poem. It went like this:

Happy Valentine's Day to Mrs. Terry
You are so very, very merry
I remember your superheroes
and how you taught me multiplication with zeroes
I hope you enjoy this valentine
because being in your class was divine!

That totally made my day, of course! I love getting sweet cards!

A Couple of Couples...

2011-02-12T19:15:00.000-08:00
Valentine's Day is coming soon. So here are some beautiful celebrity couples to feast your eyes on.

Prince William and Kate Middleton- I couldn't find any images that were very big, but I had to still include them. I have a celebrity girl crush on Kate Middleton. She is so gorgeous!

Sonny and Cher- I recently saw Cher in concert in Las Vegas. Even years after their divorce and Sonny's death, she still pays tribute to him throughout her entire concert. Cher looks amazing in this picture. She still looks pretty amazing.

Audrey Hepburn and Mel Ferrer- I have been collecting Audrey Hepburn stuff since I was little. She was such a beautiful person, inside and out.

Javier Bardem and Penelope Cruz- Perfection!

Brangelina- I mean Brad and Angelina- disgustingly gorgeous people

Claire and Phil Dunphy- Modern Family is one of my favorite shows. I love the dynamics between Claire and Phil.

Lindsay and Matthew.....pictures coming soon. We just celebrated our 15th Valentine's Day together, and I am only 32 (in four days), so do the math!

Sweet Dreams!

2011-02-04T19:42:00.000-08:00
Today was my sweet Piper's 3rd Birthday. We had a great day that included donuts, cupcakes, presents, and Whoopee cushions! As the evening began to wind down, we decided to have a movie night in the "big bed" in Mommy and Daddy's room. Our King Size bed was one of the best investments we ever made because it allows all of us to be in it to watch cartoons together, play board games, etc. Piper got a new Barbie DVD, so the girls decided they wanted to watch that tonight to end the birthday celebrating! Everyone got in their jammies and got in bed. I went to check my email and ten minutes later turned around to see this....

I am not sure if you can tell, but the above picture includes my husband, Piper snuggled up close to him, Avery on my side, and THREE pillow pets: a penguin, a bumblebee, and a ladybug! Everyone was lightly snoring!

I love how Avery has her own area and is guarding the remote control like the control freak she truly is.....that is SO AVERY.

My favorite part of this whole thing is the way Piper fell asleep with her arm around my husband! How sweet is that?? Check out her tiny hot pink fingernails.

I love my three snuggle bugs!!! Now....time to think about how there will be room for me tonight!

Fresh Air

2011-02-03T05:51:00.001-08:00

Today I woke up to the third consecutive day being trapped in my house due to an ice storm that hit the Midwest with a vengeance. As I was laying in bed thinking of what fun I would cook up in our house today, I thought about my recent trip to an Oxygen Bar. I know that many of my Indiana friends have probably not been to an Oxygen Bar, so this is worth describing. Ocassionally you can find these bars in airports and malls, but not really where I live. While walking at the Venetian in Vegas with three adults in their fifties (Aunt Lori is 48, but I rounded up), I could BARELY keep up with them! I made jokes that I was on a trip with some old fogeys, but I was the one who was the fogey! On less than four hours of sleep and after a very long flight, I immediately had to shop with my mom (who is a marathon shopper). We were just window shopping at the Venetian, but I could barely walk.

We saw this Oxygen Bar and I said we should try it (partly out of the desire to sit down and partly out of curiosity). For $22 you can breathe pure oxygen for about thirty minutes. For $5 extra (which I HIGHLY RECOMMEND), they will throw in a back massage, neck massage, and scalp massage. I am pretty sure these oxygen treatments are supposed to energize you. Ha. Ha. Ha. Throughout the forty minutes that we sat there, I slowly turned into a zombie. Not everybody has the ability to live near fresh mountain air every day. Some girls (me) live in places like Indiana, where you basically don't go outdoors for five months out of the year. I'm not used to fresh, pure oxygen apparently. The oxygen was great....it smelled like cinnamon, watermelon, and one other scent that I forget. We also got to breathe in essential oils, like peppermint and my fav- grapefruit vanilla (which they claimed was an aphrodisiac.)

By the time the girl got to me for my massage, I couldn't even lift my head off the counter. Yes, I had my head laying on the counter and yes, a small dribble of drool almost left my mouth. People walking by probably thought I had spent all night up in Vegas. My mom, stepfather, and aunt knew the truth....I just didn't get my seven hour beauty sleep the night before. I am so lame...it isn't even funny. At the end of the massages, the ladies put little pads on our backs that deliver electric impulses to your muscles to relax them. We had remote controls to control how powerful the impulses were on our backs. Little did we know, that if you go above a Level 2, it feels like needles being stabbed into your back. Thanks, Oxygen Bar Lady for telling us after the fact that the higher levels are supposed to feel like acupuncture.

The worst part of this whole story (yes worse than laying my head on the counter and nearly drooling) was that I almost couldn't get up off the stool when it was over. I got really dizzy. I had to hobble behind everyone to exit the Venetian. Have you ever been on the people movers/escalators at the VEnetian? They go uphill, then they switch and go downhill. I was teetering back and forth at a dangerous speed and for the first time ever I thought I would pass out. I have to include stories like this on my blog so you know how truly lame and weird I am in real life.

So of course, I should never have called my relatives "fogeys." Because at this point, they were all making fun of me, saying things like, "Lindsay can't handle her oxygen." Seriously, look at that awful picture of me sitting in between my aunt and mom. I look like I am knocking on death's door. That was before I couldn't peel my head off the counter of the Oxygen Bar.

This post is proof that this girl needs some fresh air!!! When fresh air about knocks you out, you KNOW you have problems! In case you are wondering (which you totally probably are not), I totally plan on hitting up an Oxygen Bar the next time I see one. I would love to see what it feels like when I am actually well rested beforehand.

Go out and get some fresh air today, people!

Sisterhood of the Traveling Lashes

2011-02-02T20:06:00.001-08:00

When I first learned that my aunt would be joining me for a super secret trip to Vegas to surprise my mom for her birthday, I immediately started texting my aunt to see what I should pack. I usually ask my mom these questions, but I could not communicate with her at all about this trip, so not to spoil the surprise! My aunt and I decided early on that we must wear false lashes to the Cher concert that we knew we were going to. My aunt bought some "practice" lashes to test them out, and ended up becoming completely addicted to wearing them to work and just day to day. She is now a certified lash pro. I had only worn false lashes once, but I was more than ready to give it a whirl again.

As soon as we got to Vegas and surprised the heck out of my mom, we told her about our lashes. She was sad that she didn't have any, so we vowed to find the closest Sephora and buy some for her. We found lashes on our first day at the Sephora at the Venetian. My mom (being my mom) insisted that my aunt help her put them on because she was "afraid" that she didn't know how. So Saturday morning, my aunt and I went to my mom's hotel room to have a lash session before breakfast. I wish I had a picture of my aunt's original lashes that day because they were absolutely ridiculous. We totally egged her on to wear them all day and she rocked them. They looked like Twiggy lashes from the sixties, two giant black shades over her eyes! We learned that you have to trim the end off the lashes to make them fit the length of your own lid.

I took the trimmed pieces and glued them under my nose, like a Hitler-esque moustache. This should be no surprise, since I was raised with boys and have never had a sister. While the sisters were doing their "sisterly" things in the bathroom getting ready, I was prancing around entertaining my new-ish stepfather with my Hitler moustache. I am immature (and awesome) like that.

Don't even get me started on the shakiness of my mother's eyeballs. If you try to approach her eye, it starts twitching manically.....like an eyelid seizure. After our lashes were in place, we went out for breakfast and out shopping again. At first I felt like I looked like I had OD'd on Latisse but then I started loving my new lashes.

Walking through Vegas, I loved watching my mom and her sister together. They walked arm in arm through the mall and laughed their heads off all day. They dance in a perfect balance between picking on each other and admiring each other....much like my own two little girls at home. The sister relationship is fascinating to me.

When I watch my little girls and my mom and my aunt, sometimes I am a little bit wistful about not having a sister of my own to fight with, laugh with, share a history with, wear false lashes with. But then I realize, with a fabulous mom and aunt like I have, who needs a sister? I am surrounded by amazing women and I can only hope that some of their fabulosity is rubbing off on me!

STARla

2011-01-24T19:19:00.001-08:00

STARla by Lindsay Terry featuring a snake chain necklace

I created this set on Polyvore in honor of my mom's birthday, which I will blog more about tomorrow. This set captures the true essence of her style. The caption reads: Her life has been quite the journey. She has traveled many roads. Fashion and adventure are great, but at the end of the day, she just wanted to still feel needed by her children. And she was. Her name is Starla. And she is my mom.

Happy Birthday, Mom! Enjoy your fantasy birthday presents from me! Just click on the picture to see the details of each item on Polyvore.

More Polyvore!

2011-01-22T17:08:00.000-08:00

I promise I won't only post about Polyvore now. I just want to finish sharing my creations so far. I am just using a screen capture to show you my collections/sets on the blog. I don't know of another way.

My second collection is called "Women I Know" and it is inspired by real women that I know. Each set is uniquely crafted to fit my image of that individual woman. The captions are both fact and fiction. I will let you wonder what is fact and what is not about each woman! Most of it is actually factual though.

My first creation for this collection was "Amber Goes to Paris." This set is dedicated to my sister-in-law, Amber, who loves everything Paris. I can just imagine her actually walking around in Paris in the outfit I chose for her. The caption reads: "We knew she loved Paris. When she finally took the trip, we feared that she would never return. Her name was Amber."

The other set for my "Women I Know" Collection is called "The Artful Life" and it is dedicated to my sister-in-law, Beth, who is an art teacher that loves Georgia O'Keefe, roses, family heirlooms, and hanging pictures. Now you can see why I chose each item! Beth, herself, actually chose the dress, shoes, and sweater on her own Polyvore, but asked me to edit it for her. I went a little beyond normal editing because now I have learned how to layer and add backgrounds. This set's caption is "New and old. She embraced the past with all her heart, but she yearned for something new. Her name was Beth." Doesn't that sound mysterious? Well, you should know by now that all women have some mystery to them.

If you are a woman that I know, please be warned that you are fair game for my new pretend collection!!! Mom and Kayleigh are next on my list!

I accidentally discovered a blog called Polyvorina. The girl who writes the blog bases her entire blog on her sets from Polyvore!!! She is very, very talented at making sets and definitely makes me look like a total amateur! Check out her blog for more information. Here is the link. http://thepolyvorina.blogspot.com/

First Class

2011-01-22T16:49:00.000-08:00

My second set on Polyvore was pretty much inspired by my mom, who is one of the only people I know of who insists on always dressing up for flights. I love the retro-ness of that idea. This set, of course, is part of my Jetsetter Collection. The caption reads:

Whether you are flying first class or taking a brisk walk down city streets, this outfit will make you feel on top of the world.

If you like my collections and want to know what a certain item is, there are two ways to find out. You could send me an email or comment and I will tell you where you can buy the item, or you could join Polyvore for free and add me as a contact. I will eventually add to my Jetsetter collection, but for now it only consists of this set and the one from my previous post. I am hoping to find a way to embed these sets onto my blog, so they are interactive and you can just click on the individual items to see what they are. It may take me awhile to figure out how to do that!

Polyvore is of course a total time drain.....but is it really a time drain when you are using your mind creatively for something that you enjoy? Hmmmmm. Things that make you go, hmmmmmm.

My New Love

2011-01-22T15:59:00.000-08:00

So far in 2011 I have spent every single Saturday wearing my pajamas all day and not leaving the house because one of my children has a fever. Each weekend my children seem to be taking turns with having fevers. The good news is that I have had some down time to explore and play online, which means I have found some new and wonderfully fabulous things to share. I was catching up on Pioneer Woman's site and read a post in her Home and Garden section about a website called Polyvore. I checked out Polyvore and immediately asked myself where this site has been hiding all my life. This site is EVERYTHING I love. Creativity, self expression, fashion, decor, text, and so much more. It is like grown-up paper dolls. You basically click and paste on different items to create sets or collections. The incredible thing is that each item is something real that you can click on the link and buy online. You can arrange your items by price or color. I stayed up late last night figuring it all out. I could practically hear the beloved Tim Gunn whispering in my ear, "Make it work, people. Make it work." Here's the thing...I never really create anything like painting a painting or making a piece of clothing, but I feel I have a knack at putting things together. I admire people like Rachel Zoe who have built empires on just mixing and matching for people as stylists! So I am going to share my sets/collections with you here on my blog as I create them. Please humor me! I don't want to lose any readers because they get bored looking at my creations off Polyvore. One more thing I must tell you is that I have another weird love of creating captions. It is the creative writer in me. Polyvore allows me to create captions for all my sets and notes about my collections. This first set on this post is part of a collection that I called "The Jetsetter." The Jetsetter collection is inspired by different locales around the world and the lucky women who get to explore them. The caption under this set in Polyvore says:

She loves clambakes and caviar. She keeps a hectic social calendar, but she always seems to find time to sit and stare at the sea.

See how fun this is!!! If you don't, just pretend you think I am normal. I dare you to get on Polyvore and not get completely hooked. I double dog dare you.

He Gets Me

2011-01-15T17:40:00.000-08:00
Earlier today I posted about the horrific day I had with my daughter. Luckily, my head did not explode and she did not lose any toenails, and all is well in our household right now. All is well because of my husband. Being a tax accountant, my husband had to work today, since working on Saturday is pretty much standard during tax season. After a very long day at work, my husband came home to find me sitting on the recliner, rocking our youngest daughter who was fast asleep and wrapped in a blanket on my lap. My oldest daughter was hanging upside down on her kid-sized armchair listening to her iPod. As soon as my husband met eyes with me, he instantly knew what kind of day we were having. He gets me. Plain and simple. He said that it looked like his girls needed a change of scenery, so he whisked us away to Bravo, which is a rare treat for us. As we were sitting in Bravo, all four of us laughing, I felt okay again. My husband is the secret ingredient to happiness in our house. He evens out all the female hormones. My brave little girls tried calamari and loved it, even after we told them what it was. As Avery munched on her calamari, all my feelings of love flooded back for her. She is a fiesty little thing and I wouldn't have it any other way.

We stopped for some coffee on our way home. Then my dear husband told me that I could do whatever I wanted while he helped the girls paint in the kitchen (which is usually a somewhat stressful activity). So here I sit, wrapped in a blanket, wearing my pjs, sipping on oatmeal cookie capuccino, and catching up with my favorite blogs that I have missed out on for several months, while the three loves of my life paint masterpieces in the kitchen.

My husband is a smart and wonderful man.

One More Hour....

2011-01-15T12:37:00.000-08:00

Sometimes having a daughter is like a cruel test of mental endurance. Fortitude. It takes the fortitude of a soldier to withstand the drama of a daughter sometimes. Has anyone else in the world felt like their daughters are just relentless??? (Mom- no comments necessary). My lovely six year old daughter has tested my every ounce of patience and self control that I have today. Did I mention that I feel like mud? I am achy all over. All of the glands in my neck are swollen. I am congested. Do you think my little daughter cares about her mother's health even one iota? OF COURSE NOT. I am envisioning how lovely it would be to just lock myself in a closet and bang my head against the wall for an hour. How did this daughter of mine get to be so dramatic? HOW? In one more hour my husband will be home from work. Until then, here is a song to remind me to be kind to my daughter...even when I fantasize about hanging her upside down from her toenails.

The Best Thing I Ever Ate

2011-01-01T17:32:00.001-08:00
The Best Thing I Ever Ate! is a show on Food Network where the biggest food stars and chefs disclose what they eat in their free time, when they are actually paying. The show is the "ultimate guide to the country's most amazing meals, eats, and treats as told by the pros who spend their lives obsessing over food."

This lovely picture depicts my "The Best Thing I Ever Ate." It deserves its own post on my blog because it is just that good. This is "Chicken Salad Patachou" that can be found at Cafe Patachou in Indianapolis. If I were an inmate on deathrow and I had to choose my last meal, it would probably be this. The chicken salad is their housemade recipe. The menu describes it as "all white meat Indiana raised chicken, mayonnaise, celery, and a bit of bacon." Yes, BACON! The bacon makes this dish. This is not your ordinary chicken salad. It is rich and creamy and not really chunky at all, like some varieties of lesser chicken salad. It is perfection. The bacon just takes it to a whole different level. The generous scoop is served on a bed of fresh field greens next to a generous portion of fresh fruit. The fruit is amazing, no matter what time of year you order it. It is so fresh that the flavors of all the fruit don't mix together at all. The icing on the cake is the cinnamon toast. The toast is made out of their housemade sourdough that is baked fresh daily. The bread is thick and chewy. On top of the toast is this thick mixture of cinnamon and sugar and butter. I love the crunch of the cinnamon and sugar on top of the chewiness of the toast. Simply perfect. The cost of this meal is $9.95, which I realize some may find pricey. It is worth every single penny, I can assure you. Yesterday when I ordered this, I also helped myself at the self serve coffee bar where I tried the chocolate fudge coffee and the butternut creme coffee. Butternut creme was the best. Besides the fact that I was with my three favorite people in the world, this meal is so deeply satisfying!!! If you ever go to Indy, look it up! You won't regret it!

Happy Holidays!

2010-12-27T12:01:00.000-08:00
You have heard it all before.....I have been missing from my blog! I basically checked out of the blogosphere for about a month. I have spent less and less time at the computer at home because I am too darned tired by the time the girls go to bed, or I am just too busy. I haven't even read my favorite blogs in ages.

To say that we had a wonderful Christmas would be an understatement. We had a spectacular Christmas. Everyone was feeling the love this year. We enjoyed everyone's company tremendously at all our family gatherings, we ate way too many sweets, we gave and received wonderful gifts, and we loved every minute of it! In my mind, it was the best Christmas that we have had in recent years.

I hope each and every one of you reading this post also had a great Christmas with the people you love!

Bibliophiles

2010-12-07T19:50:00.000-08:00
I have not written on my blog much lately. It is certainly not for lack of material! The biggest reason is that I am like a hibernating bear, now that it is freezing cold outside. It is nearly impossible for me to stay awake past 9:30 p.m. I get so cold that I pile on the blankets, which leads to falling asleep. However, here I am at 10:52 p.m. and I am wide awake. It could be the three refills of Diet Coke that I had at dinner tonight, on top of the coffee that I had on my way to dinner. It could also be because I just got home from a great book club meeting.

Have you ever heard anyone use the term "book nerd?" I am totally a book nerd. I have loved books since I was old enough to hold them. As a kid, I would wake up super early before anyone else, so I could lay in my room and read. In the summer, I just wanted to sit on the porch swing and read. I tore through several series. So it should be no surprise that I belong to an actual book club.

The weird thing about my book club is that I went into it knowing only one person, and even that person I only knew on a somewhat superficial level. I joined a club of strangers. In this particular book club, there are a wide variety of ages with me being at the young end of the spectrum. There are a variety of backgrounds and careers. I hesitated about really committing myself to this group because I didn't know anyone and they all have different book tastes. I am starting to really enjoy this group of ladies though.

For the holidays, we decided to have a favorite book exchange. There is no way I could choose a favorite book! That is like asking me to choose which one of my children I love the best.....which is obviously an impossible question to answer. I ended up just bringing a book that I love, Divine Secrets of the Ya Ya Sisterhood. In the exchange, I got two books that I have never read before. One was Stephanie Meyers book, The Host and the other was the last Harry Potter book.

It was so nice to sit around with a bunch of other people that really love books. We shared the book that we brought and told why we loved it so much. Throughout the evening we talked about many other books that we have read and loved. Did my coolness factor just go down a few notches? I can't help it. I admit fully to being a total book nerd, and pretty much a nerd in a lot of other ways too. This book club is really forcing me to choose books outside of what I would normally choose. I have been pleasantly surprised about all the books so far....even though I probably wouldn't have picked them on my own.

Leading up to this book club meeting, I kept thinking about the fact that some of my favorite books are actually self-help books. I would never admit that to just anyone...not even my book club. But, hey....I'll admit anything to the Internet. Is that weird to really love several self-help books? It makes me sound like some kind of basket case. My love of self help books could seriously be a whole other post sometime. Or not!

So hooray for books! Hooray for smart people who like to sit and talk about books! Next up on our list for January is My Antonia. I get nervous when people say that a book is a "classic." However, this one seems good so far.

Get out there and read some books, people!!! Reading does a body good! (There goes a few more cool points).

Un-Turkey Day Part 2

2010-11-26T07:45:00.001-08:00
Happy Thanksgiving! Thanksgiving is one of those days for me that have the great potential to be depressing. I have always wished that I had a huge family with aunts, uncles, cousins running around, etc, but I just don't! Due to the unique nature of my family (divorces, people living far away, etc), Thanksgiving is a small affair. My parents live very far away and my husband's family consists of three people. The only way we will ever have the kind of Thanksgiving I imagine is if my siblings and I produce a ton of children and make it happen ourselves! We celebrated our traditional Thanksgiving feast last weekend (see previous post). So on the real day, I decided to make the most of it with whoever was available to stop by! Last weekend I learned that the pilgrims may have eaten seals and eagles at their feast!!! So I thought if the Pilgrims can eat seals and eagles, we can eat whatever the heck we want for our feast! That explains why the only turkey in our kitchen was this turkey made out of an apple, toothpicks, and marshmallows by Avery in her kindergarten class!Who needs fancy Martha Stewart centerpieces? Besides my apple marshmallow turkey, I also had Piper's toilet paper roll pumpkin!
My husband made the MOST SPECTACULARLY DELICIOUS pie I have ever eaten. Words cannot describe. It was a derby pie, but it was extra chocolatey. It didn't set up entirely, so it was literally oozing with chocolate and pecan pie filling. He laced it with bourbon, which is always a nice touch. My future sis-in-law asked if it was okay for the kids to eat the pie with bourbon in it. We paused and said, "Heck yeah! We want them to take a nap!"

Since we decided that turkey wouldn't be a part of our Thanksgiving feast, we had to have some other kind of meat. My husband made his awesome BBQ pulled pork. He made enough for about twenty people, so we will be eating the leftovers for weeks....but that is okay with me because it is THE BEST. Do you see the fried okra next to the BBQ? Yep, you heard me. Every member of my family adores fried okra. It was the only thing at our feast that we did not have leftovers of because every single person gobbled it up. BBQ, okra, derby pie.....I promise we are not Southern!

Last year for Christmas I got a Pioneer Woman cookbook. I have been anxious to try one of her appetizer recipes, but haven't had an occasion worthy yet....until yesterday. We made the BBQ jalepeno peppers. Fresh jalapeno peppers filled with a cheesy mixture, then wrapped in bacon, brushed with BBQ and baked for an hour. Spicy, but delicious!! Word of caution.....wear gloves when making these bad boys!

Here are the finished poppers. One of my brothers said that his bowels would never forgive me.
See?? There are lots of ways you can spread love during the holiday season.
Here is a shot of the side dishes, in case you care. Cheesy hasbrown casserole, corn bread, derby pie, poppers. It was like a Paula Dean Thanksgiving. I promised everyone that they WOULD NOT leave the table without a heaping dose of heartburn!

Now for the guests at this small but festive party. My guests had a thing for hats. I felt a little left out. No one told me, the hostess, that there was a hat theme. Here is Piper in her pilgrim hat that she made at daycare.

Here is Avery in her Indian hat that she made at school.

Here is my brother, Michael, who is clearly the REAL turkey at our table. He wore that hat through the Starbucks drive-thru before he came over to our house. He said that the lady at the window said, "My, aren't you festive?!"

My brother Daniel and his fiance, Amber borrowed the hats from the girls.

Now for the awkward, weird shot. This is Amber, Daniel, and Michael re-enacting the first Thanksgiving when an Indian presented a turkey to a pilgrim....at least I think that is what is going on.

We watched the Macy's Day parade. Amber's sister was in the parade marching with Purdue University. She is in their color guard! There were some very questionable performances at the parade. I felt like I was watching Dancing with the Stars, lots of B level celebrities, acting like people know who they are! We really loved the dancing and singing penguins. Al Roker needs to lay off the Botox. Meredith Veira could probably use some more Botox. Haha!

After all our festivities were over and our guests had left, we took the girls to see Tangled in 3D, and it was precious! I was very thankful for a fun day that was virtually stress free. All in all, my Thanksgiving was certainly not conventional, but it upheld the spirit of the holiday!

Turkey Day Part 1

2010-11-21T13:46:00.000-08:00
Yesterday we had our Thanksgiving with my mother-in-law, sister-in-law, and niece. We showed up to Grandma's house early, so the little girls could play all day. For at least two hours, my mother-in-law was doing all the work in the kitchen while my hubby was sitting on the couch reading Harry Potter, I was under a blanket on the recliner reading every single magazine I could find, and Beth was on her laptop designing a custom Christmas card for me. Luckily, the little girls played peacefully in Grandma's playroom. The house smelled amazing and the afternoon was very relaxing!

Piper ate tons of green beans....and nothing else. She had four helpings of green beans. She slurped each and every green bean down whole. At the time, it was pretty funny. It wasn't so funny several hours later when her Aunt Beth had to change her Pull-up! The details are too disturbing for the blog!

Of course, we stuffed ourselves silly! We tried to get Avery to tell us about the first Thanksgiving, which she learned about at school, but she had a minor freak-out because she couldn't remember the exact details of what her teacher told her class. Everything got better though when we turned the tables and started trying to annoy my husband (which is pretty easy and ALWAYS fun). There was a lot of laughter, and we just had a really nice day together. I am very thankful!

I am also really looking forward to Turkey Day Part 2, which will actually be on Thursday. We have decided to make just some of our favorite foods, not anything that you would typically find on Thanksgiving. I really want my husband to make BBQ pulled pork, because he makes the best! We may have some okra and cheesy hashbrown casserole too. The menu is not set in stone yet. I am really looking forward to just relaxing and hanging out with my two brothers, Michael and Daniel. As far as I know, they are our only guests! We plan on watching the parade, goofing around like normal, eating, then going to the theater to watch Tangled with the girls. It should be another fun day.

Then Friday is DECORATING DAY!!! Let the holidays begin!!!

Trouble...

2010-11-14T14:40:00.001-08:00

I'm not bragging (okay, I am), but if this is what two and five looks like, we are in for some big trouble when we get to 13 and 16!!! I am so thankful for my beatiful girls!

Hollywood

2010-11-06T19:17:00.000-07:00

I LOVE Michael Buble, and have since before he really hit it big. Matthew and I saw him in a smaller venue before he was selling out concerts, and we have absolutely loved him ever since. This morning on VH-1, I saw this new video for the first time. It is so cute, and is offically my new "happy song." The lyrics have a great message. My favorite lyrics are:
So don’t fly higher for your fire
Put it in your head
Baby Hollywood is dead
you can find it in yourself.
Keep on loving what is true
and the world will come to you,
you can find it in yourself
This song reminds me of one of my favorite quotes: "Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that frightens us. We ask ourselves, Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine, as children do. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It's not just in some of us; it's in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others." ~Marianne Williamson.
So, readers, as you start a new week, think about Buble's words, "Keep on loving what is true and the world will come to you, you can find it in yourself!"

They Eloped!

2010-11-05T17:48:00.000-07:00
This is a picture of my mom and Bruce that I took last February. It is important to note that in real life he is much taller than her, but in this particular picture, she is standing on a rock! Today, my mom and Bruce eloped! I have known for about a week that this was coming, and it was killing me not to blab it all over Facebook. My mom isn't the hugest fan of Facebook and she wanted to share her special news herself to people...not online! So I was a good daughter and did not blab. I have been given the green light to blog away now that the ceremony is over though!

Their story is so sweet and romantic. They have known for a long time that they wanted to get married, but all of their kids are busy getting married (except me!). First my brother, Michael got married in August. This coming June, Bruce's daughter (my new stepsister!) is getting married, then the week after that my other brother, Daniel, is getting married. Mom and Bruce did not want to interfere with all their kids' festivities, so they planned to get married this weekend in San Francisco, where my mom is already on a business trip.

They literally arrived at their hotel this week and asked the concierge for a white stretch limo, a minister, a place to get married, and a bouquet. The concierge found them everything in no time! This morning, they got up, made their usual Starbucks run, and got ready! My mom walked to the flower place from the hotel and picked up her bouquet and the boutinere. She wore a simple ivory sheath dress with pearls on the neckline (very Jackie O.). The limo picked them up. Here is my favorite part.....they needed two witnesses for their wedding. They randomly had the limo driver stop in front of a major museum in San Francisco where about 50 or so people were waiting outside the gates for the museum to open. My mom literally jumped out of the limo with her bouquet and asked the crowd if anyone was willing to be a witness at their wedding. Well, of course, people were super excited! A mother and daughter were jumping up and down, begging to do it. So my mom and Bruce found their bridal party! The four of them traveled to the location, which was outside, overlooking the San Francisco Bay and Golden Gate Bridge. The two witnesses cried the entire time!!! The ceremony was wonderful and the minister was perfect.

When my mom called me at work to tell me all about it, I teared up! I was so touched to hear the excitement and joy in her voice. I really love Bruce, and I am thrilled that they have found each other. They balance each other out so well. He is laid back and funny and she is, well, kind of a spaz. I knew the first time I met him, that Bruce would be "the one" for my mom. Now they can grow old together!!!

It took my mom almost 52 years to marry her soulmate, but I believe she now has found her missing half. She was more than content to never marry again and live alone for the rest of her life, and I (being the very wise daughter that I am) said, "When it is YOUR choice to be with someone, it will be different." She knew exactly what I meant and what that had to do with her background and life. Well, Bruce is her choice!

As much as I would have loved being there, I truly think their wedding today was very romantic and adventurous. My grandparents loved it too because they also eloped....and they have been married a long, long time! It really already kind of felt like my mom and Bruce were married, so it doesn't feel any different. They have lived together for quite awhile. They really take care of each other.

Congratulations to my mom and my new stepfather, Bruce!

Shoe Fetish a.k.a. Free Shoe Friday

2010-10-22T18:31:00.000-07:00
Did I get your attention? Well, I do not have a shoe fetish, but I did get three pairs of new shoes today!! My hubby let me sneak out today while he stayed home with the sick girlies. I made a Starbucks stop, then headed to DSW. My mom sent me her reward certificates....all $110 worth of them!!! My mother may be the only person on Earth to have accumulated that many reward certificates at DSW. The clerk at DSW said that she has never seen reward certificates in such high increments in all her years working for DSW. Ha! I told her that the amount of shoes that my mother owns is unnatural and obscene.

Here is the first lovely pair! I have always wanted leopard print flats, and now I have them! Yippeeee! These will look great with black, brown, khaki, red, etc. They show off the tattoo quite nicely too!
Pair #2 are these sassy little numbers. I will wear them with dress pants to work or under jeans on the weekends. I like the distressed leather look. Don't let the looks of this pair deceive you...they are very comfortable!

Pair #3 are purely casual. My husband thinks they look like Eskimo shoes, which is EXACTLY the look I was hoping for. I mean, who doesn't want to look like an eskimo? These shoes will accompany me on many winter errands.

I really hope that the title of this post does not attract any true freaks who are googling shoe fetishes. There is a famous true story in our family about a guy in my grandparent's hometown. He ALWAYS made sure to go to my grandma's yard sales so he could buy all the ladies shoes. He was a total creeper who lived by himself and had a shoe fetish! Sick!!!

I love that my mom gave me her reward certificates! She is the best!!! Shoe shopping and Starbucks can help any girl bust out of a funk.

Happy Song

2010-10-22T17:31:00.000-07:00

Oh my goodness, I love this video!!! This is Cee Lo Green (of Gnarls Barkley) singing "Forget You", also known as "F*** You." If this video doesn't make you happy inside, then I don't know what will.
It is important to also note that I just told my husband that if I could meet Cee Lo, I would want to take him out for a meatball sub.
Yes, I have been confined indoors with sick children.

New Family Favorite

2010-10-22T17:11:00.000-07:00

This is Mumford and Sons performing "Little Lion Man." I love a man who can play a mean banjo! The singer sounds a little bit like Dave Matthews...only better. (Sorry to my friends who are die hard Dave fans). Piper really loves this song. She just got out of the bathtub and danced a jig of sorts before getting dressed. Do you blame her? Enjoy this song too!

Jar of Hearts

2010-10-22T17:02:00.000-07:00

While my little girlies have been sick, I have had the chance to watch a few videos on VH1. I know that my little girls are weak when they let me watch whatever channel that I want! This is my new favorite video. I first heard this song on my all time favorite show, "So You Think You Can Dance." When I saw this video for the first time yesterday, I immediately recognized the dancers because they were on the show! Catherine is the dancer with shoulder length wavy brunette hair and Allison is the dancer wearing all white with long wavy dark blonde hair. They are two of the best female dancers to have ever been on the show, so it makes sense that Christina Perri picked them for her video. Another very weird thing about this video is that my husband swears that Christina Perri's face looks just like a younger version of my mom's face. The jury is still out on that one though! Enjoy this song and video!!!

The Brighter Side

2010-10-21T15:54:00.000-07:00
I can always find the brighter side of life when things go awry. Sometimes it takes me a good 24 hours, but regardless, I always find it!

Now both of my little girlies are throwing up. Right this second they are in their jammies, laying on my bed, germing it up.

However, there is always a bright side.

So here goes:
This morning I woke up before everyone else. I went downstairs with my blankie (yes, I have a blankie). I curled up on the couch and watched an hour's worth of the Today show and the Early Show. This is a rare treat. I love those shows, but never ever get to watch them.

I read two brand new glossy November issues of some of my fav magazines.

I slept for at least two hours with Piper in the middle of the day today. I may have to do an entire separate blog post about the crazy dreams I had.

I am getting ready to sink my teeth into a Jimmy John's sub.

I am getting ready to watch one of my all time fav shows, "Project Runway."

That's a start! It could always be worse!!

Thursday is NOT going to be a good day.

2010-10-20T19:59:00.000-07:00
You know all my big plans for tomorrow? Well, they are all cancelled. Piper (the Bean of Punkin and Bean) is very, very sick. She threw up at her daycare and started what appears to be an epidemic. By the end of the afternoon, four more kids had thrown up....and the babysitter herself started throwing up! Our babysitter had to officially close her daycare for two days so that she could sanitize and air out the place. Piper can't keep anything down...solid or liquid. She is lethargic. The pediatrician is having us give her a teaspoon of water every five minutes to prevent dehydration.

Tonight my brother, Michael, called me. He said, "I just called to say I love you." I said, "Um okay. Why?" I mean, I know my brother loves me and all, but it just seemed like a weird time for him to be shouting it from the rooftops. I was actually worried that his call meant that he was depressed or something. He told me that he called to tell me that he loved me because he had read my blog and saw that I was in a "funk." Wasn't that sweet?!? I felt so loved.

I told my husband about the phone call. He knew nothing of this funk, didn't care for any details, AND admitted to not reading my blog. That's just fabulous.

Tomorrow is NOT going to be a good day. Tomorrow may just be a no good, very bad, horrible kind of day. So much for Fall Break.

Holiday Wishlist!!

2010-10-19T17:48:00.000-07:00
Here is a link to my holiday wishlist so far. These are things that I have wanted for a long time, or am in danger of running out of (lotion and perfume).

I have been a very good girl, as usual, thank you very much.

(I'm kidding about the iPad. But not really.)

Be Present

2010-10-18T15:07:00.000-07:00
Lately I feel myself falling into a funk. I get this way when I feel like I am being stretched too far and the things that matter the most feel neglected. I get lost in my own head and forget to just be present. I have to remind myself all the time to be present. When I forget to remind myself, I just get lost. I feel lost lately....just a tiny bit. When I get like that, I just want to be alone. The thing is, though, when you are married and a mom, you cannot just be alone. So I cope!

The topic today is marriage. Marriage is hard work and not for the light of heart. Marriage requires you to be present every single day. Marriage only works when you put in that hard work each and every day. You have to sometimes remind yourself why you chose the person you chose. When you are in a funk and feel yourself slipping away, you have to be able to count on your spouse to bring YOU back.

I have a wonderful husband. He has his faults, as do I, but we fit together perfectly in the end. It has been almost ten years since we got married. I was only 22 and had a whole lot of growing up to do. He was only 23 and also had some growing up to do. Guess what? We STILL have a lot of growing up to do! The last ten years have certainly had its ups and downs. Life is not exactly what we expected or dreamed of in the beginning. But we are together, and that is something. My husband and I really need each other. His strengths are my weaknesses and my weaknesses are his strengths.

This Thursday is my Fall Break. I don't even feel guilty to tell you that I am taking both of my daughters to daycare (even though Avery doesn't usually go there). This Thursday, my husband is taking off work just so he can spend the day with me. Thankfully, my husband knows that I am an emotionally needy person and that when I am in a funk, I just need him to be there for me to lean on. I can't wait to just hold his hand, ride in the car together while listening to music of OUR choice, eat a meal together without kids, walk around in places we used to go before kids, etc.

Thursday is going to be a very good day.

Wax-Poetic

2010-10-17T18:09:00.000-07:00
Everyone could use a beautiful poem every once in awhile. I saw part of this poem on a frame recently and I remembered how much I really love it. It is by e.e. cummings. e.e. cummings was famous for his free play with punctuation and capitalization, which makes his poetry very unique.

i carry your heart with me (i carry it in
my heart) i am never without it (anywhere
i go you go, my dear; and whatever is done
by only me is your doing, my darling)
i fear
no fate (for you are my fate, my sweet) i want
no world (for beautiful you are my world, my true)
and it's you are whatever a moon has always meant
and whatever a sun will always sing is you

here is the deepest secret nobody knows
(here is the root of the root and the bud of the bud
and the sky of the sky of a tree called life; which grows
higher than the soul can hope or mind can hide)
and this is the wonder that's keeping the stars apart

i carry your heart (i carry it in my heart)

Falling Behind

2010-10-16T06:16:00.000-07:00
I am so behind on blog posts! As always my brain is full to the brim with stuff to say, but I have been so busy that by the time I can sit at a computer, I am falling asleep! I absolutely love the fact that when I don't blog for awhile, people "check" on me to see why I haven't blogged. I think people assume that if I haven't blogged it is because I am in a padded room somewhere having a nervous breakdown. I do feel loved though! I think about blogging every day, but lately the only things blog worthy that pop into my head are related to my job, which of course is the kind of job that requires full confidentiality! Even if I changed names or spoke generally about a story that happened at work, someone who reads this blog would know exactly what or who I am talking about and inevitably someone would take offense!

So today I woke up with another thought that I think of almost daily.....I want a new comforter!!!! There. My husband thinks my brain is polluted with too many thoughts and that I am "thinking" all the time. He is right! Some thoughts are the deep, dark, twisty kind. Some thoughts are day to day normal. Some thoughts are purely frivolous, like: I REALLY WANT A NEW COMFORTER. So maybe you guys can help me. The master bedroom in our house is always the most neglected room because hardly anyone sees it, so it is lower on the priority list. We worked really hard two weekends ago to clean/organize our room, and now it is so huge, stark, and white. It needs some flair! I have two ideas and both involve bold graphics.

Choice 1: This Dwell Studio comforter from Target. I am envisioning the orangey brown color from the design painted on the wall that our headboard is against, with the rest of the walls being a brown color. This would be a rich, cozy choice.
Choice 2: This duvet cover from West Elm. I am thinking maybe an eggplant colored paint on the wall that our headboard is against and a gray color on the other walls, or even a gray color on all the walls. My hubby really loved this choice (but he said he liked the other one too).

I feel equally inspired about both options. Of course, this is all just me daydreaming. Avery is growing like a weed and needs fall/winter clothes. I need fall/winter work clothes. Piper needs fall/winter clothes. In reality, our bedroom will probably be pushed aside again, so that we can try to buy the things we actually need. It is fun to plan though, even if you can't execute the plan!

Sweet Sunday Moment

2010-10-03T08:43:00.000-07:00

Early this morning while my husband and I were cleaning house, we stumbled across this precious sight. Our two girls were sharing a moment of sisterly love! I ran for the camera so I could capture the peaceful moment of two sisters snuggled up in a big blanket on the recliner together.Piper realized first that Mommy was behind her snapping pictures.
Mommy snapping pictures was not as interesting to Piper as her big sister reading a book to her.

I love sweet, snuggly Sunday moments like this!

One More...

2010-10-03T07:50:00.000-07:00

This is my new "happy" song. You know the kind. The kind that you blare in the car when you are driving by yourself. (Since there is no way I could listen to anything other than Radio Disney with my kids in the car). This song is "At or With Me" by the lovely Jack Johnson. Actually, I do not like all of his music. In fact it is kind of half and half for me. I really love this one though! If you want a good laugh, search for this song on You Tube and watch the video he made with Andy Samberg from SNL. I am not posting it here because there is some profanity and violence involved, and I know of one blog fan of mine who is a tween. :) (Hi Kendra). I love when people can make fun of themselves. It is an art that I have pretty much mastered. On the You Tube/SNL video, Andy Samberg is a tough guy making fun of Jack Johnson, who he calls, "Mellow Man." Jack Johnson plays along and it is so funny! Enjoy this happy tune!

Dream

2010-10-03T07:28:00.000-07:00

Sorry I keep posting music, but it just makes me so happy! I have zero musical ability in my own body, but I have a deep appreciation for music. This particular song gives me the chills when I listen to it. It is hauntingly beautiful. The singer is Priscilla Ahn and the song is "Dream." Enjoy!

Gleeful

2010-09-28T19:04:00.000-07:00
Seriously. I think the writers on Glee must read my blog. Didn't I just write about the song "The Only Exception" by Hayley Williams of Paramore? That was last week. I should be getting paid for these ideas.

To see last week's post, click here. (Or just scroll down)

Mind Mud

2010-09-22T19:34:00.000-07:00
Have you ever been plagued by nagging thoughts that won't go away? Don't you hate that feeling? I am talking about the kind of thoughts that take up way too much of your brain, even when you try to push them back into a tiny corner and forget about them. When you try to push thoughts into tiny corners and ignore them, they tend to grow even bigger! It is so hard to control one's mind, and my mind is very muddy sometimes. Always the same topic or topics too! Nagging thoughts are like little black clouds that won't go away.

Enough of those deep thoughts and on to the good news of the week:
I have made a home cooked meal every night this week, and my family has eaten it at the dinner table each night. Yes, it is only Wednesday, but this feels like an accomplishment.
I am so enjoying my time at school. I have no idea what was wrong with me two years ago when I decided to quit, but whatever it was is definitely gone. I enjoy my class so much each day. I am thanking my lucky stars that I got my position back.
I am pretty much caught up on grading. There is no better feeling.
I am reading an amazing book called, "The Help." I host my book club in October, so it is my book pick, and I am glad that it is turning out to be really good.
People keep asking if I got my hair colored and complimenting me on it, which is ironic because my roots are about two inches long. Love the compliments though!
My mom did something nice for me....as usual. My mom loves surprising people, and her surprises are the best.
It is officially Fall....my absolute favorite season. I had some apple cider in honor of the change of seasons this week. Now if this 90 degree weather would go away, we can actually enjoy Fall!
Well, it is now one hour away from Thursday! Two more days until my road trip with Amber and Kayleigh. Of course I will blog about our adventure! I am sure you would rather hear about our crazy road trip, then my neverending "mind mud." '
Goodnight, friends!

Girl Adventure Coming Soon!

2010-09-20T19:02:00.000-07:00
In four more days, I will be leaving early in the morning for a little road trip with my two partners in crime: Kayleigh and Amber. Kayleigh is my brother, Michael's, wife. Amber is my brother, Daniel's, future wife. It is amazing that we have all known each other for so many years, but we have never gone away for the weekend together. I didn't even think it was possible to get the three of us to be available at one time, but the stars aligned this time! I love Kayleigh and Amber because I can just kick back and be myself around them. They don't even rub it in that I am by FAR the oldest in our trio. I can't wait for our girl adventure! We are driving to Columbus, OH to go to the Country Living Fair. Last year I went to the fair with my mom, but this year she can't come. I am thrilled to have people willing to drive the distance with me to attend. Last year at the fair, I discovered my favorite artist, Deirdre Friebely. Since that fateful day, I have acquired eight of her paintings!! I am crossing my fingers and toes that Earth Angels has a booth set up so I can look at the latest Friebely paintings. Stay tuned for tales of our adventure this weekend. Any activity that involves the three of us is sure to be entertaining.

Best of all....

2010-09-20T18:36:00.000-07:00

I know I have posted about Devotchka before, but I don't think I actually posted a video. This is my favorite song. It never gets old. Devotchka is unique in so many ways....unconventional instruments, interesting lyrics, etc, etc! I think this song sounds even better on their CD. Maybe if I listen to some Devotchka, I will bust out of my Writer's Block and get some creative inspiration! Enjoy....or don't! Isn't that the beauty of music?

Paramore

2010-09-20T18:14:00.000-07:00

I hesitate to admit that I love any music that is played daily on Radio Disney, but I can't help but love Paramore and Hayley Williams voice! Avery and I love rocking out to "That's What You Get" when it comes on Radio Disney. And don't even get me started about Hayley Williams part in the song "Airplanes." Those lyrics run through my head all day lately. I will be standing at recess duty and all of a sudden I will be thinking, "Airplanes in the night sky like shooting stars, I could really use a wish right now, wish right now, wish right now....." Sorry if I just got that song stuck in anyone's head. So despite her frequent play time on Radio Disney, I am becoming a big Hayley Williams/Paramore fan. I think "You are the only exception" is such a pretty song. I was bored the other night and started watching Paramore videos on You Tube, since it is now sadly impossible to actually see any videos on MTV or VH1. I have a bit of Writer's block, so I am just going to post music until I find my way out of it!

2010-09-18T17:52:00.000-07:00

Hope is the thing with feathers, that perches in the soul, and sings the tune without words, and never stops at all.
~Emily Dickinson

I Will Never Forget

2010-09-11T11:48:00.001-07:00
9/11 will forever be etched in my memory. I was a second grade teacher. When I got to school that morning, I heard another teacher mention that an airplane hit the World Trade Center. This was just minutes before the arrival of our students, so we really didn't have time to turn on the televisions to see what was going on. I didn't think much of it. As I was teaching that morning, I saw someone tape a note to my door. That had never happened before, so I went to read it. It said that we were not allowed to go outside or turn on the televisions in our classrooms, and that the news was not good. I immediately felt very uneasy that we were not allowed to go outside. Most teachers at that time were doing exactly what I did, we got on the phone or on the Internet to see what we could find out. As the news of the day unfolded before lunch, the fear grew. My husband worked in the tallest skyscraper in Indianapolis at the time. I frantically tried to call him, but couldn't reach him. Later I found out that his office got to go home early. When I took my students to lunch, it was the first time out of my classroom since student arrival. I turned the corner and saw that the office was full of parents who were panicked and wanted to take their children home. I dropped my kids off in the cafeteria, then rushed to the teacher's lounge. Teachers were huddled in a small conference room with their lunches watching the news. One of our teachers was very upset because she had a relative that worked at the Pentagon that they couldn't get a hold of. The terror of that day will never be forgotten. It was the "not knowing" what would happen next that was the worst. We made it through the day and managed to dismiss the kids on time. After school we were instructed to leave immediately to go home to our families. At that time it was just me and my husband. I felt so scared driving home, looking at the sky for airplanes. That day made me realize how precious our lives really are, and how it feels to have to be strong for children in a time of fear. I will never forget that day. I was one of the lucky ones who didn't know anyone affected by the tragedy, yet it was still one of the worst days of my life.

I will never forget that day because it taught me about true patriotism.

Today I felt very grateful that I was standing in a tight little soccer concession stand, serving tiny soccer players their blue Slushies and popcorn with other soccer moms. The sweet, innocent children weren't even born yet when 9/11 happened. This was just any other soccer game for them. Not for me though.

Thank God we live in America and have people who fight so hard for our freedom. Thank God for soccer players and blue Slushies.

Friends

2010-09-06T06:13:00.000-07:00
I have been friends with the same group of people since I was fifteen years old. It is an amazing thing to watch friends like that grow in their lives. We are there to witness each other's lives. We have all suffered great losses and failures, but we have also all had great successes and joys. Last night we all got together for a Labor Day party. The hostess got out boxes and boxes of pictures of all of us from high school, college, and post-college times. It was so funny to see our group hanging out when we were fifteen and sixteen years old in these pictures. I found myself wanting to step inside some of the pictures to relive those moments as a teenager. So many changes have happened in all of our lives, but we have all remained friends. Most of us all have children now and we all look out for each other's children. Those of us who do not yet have children also look out for the children in the group. There are also new people in this group that are amazing and so much fun as well. Like a real family, of course, certain people in this group of friends hold special places in my heart for different reasons.

I bet some of you readers are tired of my rambling posts that are reflections of deep thoughts. Truly these posts just skim the surface.....can you imagine what is really going on in my head?! I know most people like my funny stories on this blog the best, but I can't be funny all the time, right? I think I need to start a journal, so I don't have to just "skim the surface" and I can write everything that swims around inside my head without having to edit it for this public forum! I barely have time to write on this blog, so a journal probably won't ever happen.

I hope every one of you had a great Labor Day weekend and that you, too, have a great group of lifetime friends.

Attraversare

2010-09-01T20:02:00.000-07:00
You were given life; it is your duty (and also your entitlement as a human being) to find something beautiful within life, no matter how slight." — Elizabeth Gilbert

Isn't life amazing? It is only Wednesday, yet I feel like it has been a whole week since Monday. This week I got to hold a friend's newborn baby in my arms when she was less than 24 hours old! I will never lose my amazement of newborns with their scrunchy faces and grasping hands. People asked me today, "Did holding the baby make you want another baby?" What kind of a question is that? No. I wasn't thinking about my own life at all. I was actually marveling at the new life in my arms. New babies always pretty much blow my mind.

I am feeling peaceful this week, despite the fact that my students have talked incessantly all week. Oh wait, it is only Wednesday. I have had so many thoughts in my head swirling around, but that is normal. I keep reflecting on my journey as a person through this interesting life of mine. I remember a time in the not so distant past that I felt paranoid and anxious about every detail of life. I woke up every night at 3 a.m. in an absolute panic. Those feelings are gone for now. At work I see other people who seem to be in a panic about such small details. Now it just makes me laugh. I used to be like that. Now I know, each day is a new day and you can't sweat the small stuff.

My brother celebrated his 26th birthday yesterday. I am the oldest in my entire family and the only girl, so it is interesting to think about how each of my brothers have affected my life and to watch Avery and Piper in their crazy life as sisters. Siblings are so important. When your childhood seems like a blur, they are one of the only people who can assure you that the things you remember really did happen! And boy oh boy, have we had some things happen in our family! People wonder how I am so patient. I have no idea, but I know that my life has led me to grow up to be a very patient person. No need to go on about the stresses in my life right now because stress will always be there. It is a part of life. I am patient because I know that no matter how awful someone is behaving or how stressful something may seem, that it will all pass and that there is a reason for everything.

I saw Eat, Pray, Love tonight with some close friends. Some people really don't "get" the book or care for it, but that book seriously rocked my world. The movie doesn't totally do the book justice, even though it is a good movie on its own. It was weird watching a movie of the book that changed my life. I need to read it again. The movie reminded me of a lot of things that really struck a chord in the book. I love the part in the book/movie where a group of friends are talking about how all things have a word you can associate it with. For example, New York's word is ambition. The movie talked about how people have words too. I wonder what my word is? I don't know yet!!! That's okay though.

Each day it is so important to find that inner stillness that Elizabeth Gilbert worked so hard to find. It is work though. It is work to find stillness in a world where we are bombarded by so many things piled high on our plates.

Speaking of blessings, my mom just randomly texted me at 11:30 p.m. Her text said, "Miss you all. My babies! Love you guys." Her text is a simple reminder that no matter how old I get or how stressed I can be, there is always love around just waiting to be grabbed up!

I hope everyone can find some stillness and peace out there tonight!

First Day Jitters

2010-08-26T15:39:00.000-07:00
Who looks more nervous? Mommy or Avery? This picture was taken on the morning of Avery's first day of kindergarten and my first day back to teaching after taking a year off. I have such a nervous look on my face, but at least it was a good hair day!

Getting into the Swing of Things

2010-08-24T17:00:00.000-07:00
Obviously I have been m.i.a. from my blog. Sorry readers! I have been getting back into the swing of things after a wonderful year off from teaching at home with my lovies. Even though I am exhausted each day, I have several lovely things to share with you.

I adore my class. I have nineteen students between the ages of 7 and 9. I feel really happy these days at how well my return to teaching is going. It has been splendid....marvelous......I am not kidding!! It is nice to fall back into something and realize that I had a knack for it all along.
I adore the parents of my students. I am counting my lucky stars for such a supportive group of parents this year.
My brother's wedding was wonderful. It was truly the most beautiful garden wedding I have ever seen. I have pics and stories to share. Let's just say that my walk down the aisle was less than graceful.
My hubby got me flowers last week for the first time in probably two years. He said it was "just because" but I think it is really because I am finally bringing home some bacon again.
My sweet Piper is doing great things at her new daycare, that is seriously the best kept secret in our town. The daycare is like a little school, even though it is in someone's home.
My big girl Avery is loving kindergarten. She loves gym, which makes me wonder if she is really my daughter. I didn't know that "loving gym" was even possible. Who knew?
I loved my year of lounging around and sleeping in and wearing jammies late into the day, BUT.....I really love getting dressed up for school every day.
I have been walking around with a stupid grin on my face, lost in thought. I am secretly amazed at my ability to juggle so many things right now. Is it good luck? Is it a result of hard work? Is it the anti-depressants? We shall never know.....but it is AWESOME.
Instead of chugging Diet Coke all day at work, I have taken up with drinking Grape Gatorade. I am treating the art of teaching elementary as an athlete would treat their sport. I must get those electrolytes.
Did I mention that a really adorable little student of mine brought me an apple? Precious.
I bought the latest issue of the magazine "Where Women Create" and I loved it so much. I know that I am an artist, but I don't create any art. There is an artist trapped inside me though. I just know it.
Okay, so there is my love fest for the day. I am feeling so much more energetic tonight. This is Week 2 after all. I hope people don't forget that I am also a realtor though. I need referrals!!!

A Revelation

2010-08-06T21:03:00.001-07:00
If you are not female, you might as well stop reading because this revelation does not apply to you. If you are not a female, but enjoy dressing like one, you may benefit from this revelation. The choice is yours. Here goes:

Do not....I repeat....do not EVER try on your Spanx in front of ANYONE.
Spanx must only be dealt with in complete privacy. Even in privacy, don't stand anywhere near a mirror.
Once you have the Spanx on your body, DO NOT EVER allow your children to see you in them.

Unless you like being laughed at and ridiculed.

Not that I know. I'm just sayin.

Now erase this message from your memory. This conversation never happened.

Sorry fans!

2010-08-06T20:17:00.000-07:00
I guess it has been longer than I realized since my last post because three different people have contacted me asking why in the heck I haven't posted anything on Punkin and Bean in awhile! One friend texted and said that since my decision to return to teaching, my postings have gone way down and she hoped my actual career would not interfere with her reading material!!! I have thought many times of blogging, but I have been sucking up every moment of my last days of freedom before returning to my classroom and before giving up my stay at home status! I have three things taking up my time......real estate stuff, classroom preparations, and the upcoming wedding that my entire family is in. Having this many major things on my plate is not good for a gal who has issues with focusing. Not good at all. I really can't believe that I haven't been reading my favorite blogs either!!! Instead I have been spending all my computer time reading teaching related articles and teacher forums.....hunting and gathering great ideas, which I love to do!

I recently spent a four day weekend in Arizona with my mom. She has already called and asked me why I haven't blogged all about my trip. Hi, mom! I actually did intend to blog about sitting in the Indianapolis airport. Oh, the sights! In about an hour's time, I managed to see one man in a toupee that was sliding down his head a bit, many, many ladies in ridiculously uncomfortable looking high heels, an old farmer wearing overalls, and much more. On the flight over, my mom thought she would do me a favor by getting me a window seat. Window seats are great, unless you are sitting next to an over 400 lb. giant man with a seat belt extender. I was sandwiched between the window and this man. We shared sweat. He sat partially on my lap. On a side note, he was exceedingly polite and so nice. I felt very safe next to the largest man on the flight. As you know, I get all giddy about being in airports by myself.....like I will forget what to do with myself or something. I am not going to lie....I felt a little nervous about having to change flights in Dallas, but it turned out just fine. I am always secretly amazed when I realize that I really can survive as an adult in civilization.

Scottsdale was cool and rainy, which was very odd! It was monsoon time, but the weather was still cooler than usual. I didn't mind. Indiana has been like a sauna for months now, so the break was welcome. Mom spoiled me like crazy. Manicure, pedicure, massage, AND some clothes for school. Even though I am thirty-one years old, she still likes buying school clothes for "her baby." Who am I to argue? At the nail salon on my first day there, everyone else was silently getting their nails done. Not me. No sireee. The Vietnamese lady doing my nails told me her ENTIRE life story, even the uncomfortable details about her marriage that I wished I didn't hear. Then, as if that wasn't enough, a Grandma type lady was talking my ear off to the point that my mom and Alex (mom's boyfriend's daughter) were waiting at the door to leave. I couldn't get away. The Grandma type was telling me....and these were her exact words.....that she had to "get a brasierre for her granddaughter because she was spilling out of her current brasierre." WHY ME, PEOPLE? I have a little invisible sign on my forehead that says, "Please tell me your life story. Really, I am your long lost best friend." The Vietnamese ladies thought that the three of us women were sisters. I cleared that right up. Nope....she is MY MOM. Can you believe it? Hahaha! I think they just said that to get a better tip. (Love you, mom!)

We drove around a lot on this trip. Driving with my mom for four days really put life into perspective......like how blessed I was each time we arrived somewhere safely. The woman is lost ALL the time and changes lanes like a crazy person. Did I mention that SHE PUMPS GAS WITH THE CAR ON? I thought she was trying to kill me. Also on the trip I had to teach her how to open seperate tabs on the Internet, and how to connect an iPod in the car. We walked in the mall two days in a row until we literally could not move. I have no idea why. It is just what we do. Insane.

I had a great time on my visit. Mom will be here this Wednesday for the big wedding this weekend, but I figure we won't really have a lot of time to visit with each other. Avery will totally hog her. Daughters are rude like that.

I promise that I will blog some more soon. I do love writing on my blog. I have just been distracted!!! School is just around the corner.....EEEEK!

Malibu Barbie a.k.a. Lindsay Gaga

2010-07-25T08:35:00.000-07:00
My brother, Michael, is getting married in a few weeks. Last night we had the Bachelorette party for Kayleigh, his soon-to-be bride. When I got the invitation in the mail from the Matron of Honor, it said: Kayleigh is Tying the Knot and We are Wiggin' Out! Everyone at the Bachelorette Party was required to wear a wig. Of course, in my true fashion, I waited until the last minute (night before) to find a wig and ended up in a store that I have NEVER set foot in and may NEVER set foot in again. Formerly called "Priscilla's", they apparently switched a few letters on the sign and changed the name to "Cirilla's." How's that for budget cuts?! I went straight to the counter and asked for a wig, with my husband in tow, which honestly made the whole experience even more embarassing. Out of all the wigs, I knew that I just had to have the long platinum mermaid-like wig. I got a great deal on the wig, which was an unexpected bonus! I'm not gonna lie....I LOVE THIS WIG. It was the long, luscious blonde hair that I have never had! At the party, I found myself just playing with my hair and wishing that it were real. Hahaha! Everyone at the party felt that this color really suited me. Hmmmm....could there be platinum in my future?
Amber, my other future sis-in-law, had the cutest Mardi Gras color inspired wig. She looked exactly like a super hero or anime character!
Another friend named Amber that I grew up with crashed the party. She is the sis-in-law to my future sis-in-law's matron of honor......does that make sense? Amber and I loved the fact that over half the music we heard last night was popular when WE were in high school, which meant that the other girls with us were.......maybe ten years old! Sooooooo funny! The Amber that originally wore this wig (see above) let the other Amber borrow her wig later. I guess it was the "Amber" wig.
The lovely matron of honor, Ally, is pregnant! She looked adorable in her hot pink wig. She was a trooper last night.....swollen feet and all! Ally is married to Amber #2's brother, who is best friends with my brother. And, yes......that is the bride, herself, in electric blue!

Kayleigh should wear blue more often. She thought maybe she should wear it at work. Did I mention she is a nurse at I.U. Hospital? I'm not sure if nurse's are encouraged to show quite this much self expression on the job!

We started out our night having a great dinner at Buca de Beppo in the Pope room. You better believe we had A LOT of laughs about being in the Pope room and being dressed so.....colorfully. And YES we got a lot of inappropriate pictures with the Pope statue, which I will NOT be posting on Facebook or this here blog! After dinner, we went to Cadillac Ranch, which is a large bar/club. We were V.I.P, which meant we had our own roped off area with our own couches to sit on. On our way to Cadillac Ranch, I got a random text from someone who has photographed my family before. She asked me if I was downtown wearing a wig!!! She totally spotted me while sitting in a restaurant. How on Earth did she recognize me in my Malibu Barbie disguise??? That was pretty funny. Not as funny as the homeless man with no teeth that gave me a compliment though. I'll take what I can get! The night was all in all pretty uneventful, or as uneventful as it could be while wearing crazy wigs. Our group of ladies are all pretty low key in real life, so it was a low key "wiggin" out party. I LOVED being Malibu Barbie though! I also loved dancing with my two future sis-in-law's. At one point, Kayleigh said she couldn't stop staring at me because she is so used to me wearing sweats with no makeup and a ponytail. She loved my glamourous look. This morning I am back to my normal self. No makeup, sweats, glasses........and wiggin' out as always. Moms of little girls don't need to wear a wig to feel like they are wiggin' out!

Super Saturday

2010-07-17T13:25:00.001-07:00
Today I took the girlies to a movie while Matthew is at my little brother's day long Bachelor Party. It was my first time taking a five year old and a two year old to the movies by myself, and we had a fabulous time! I juggled three drinks and two popcorns with the girls in tow (because God forbid these girls have to share out of the same container!). We saw Despicable Me, an animated film starring Steve Carrell, who is always brilliant. The movie was super cute and made me tear up in parts, of course, because I am a softie. We really enjoyed the music and I was thrilled to see that the music was all by Pharell Williams, who I think is pretty genius. So the movie got bonus points for that. We stayed through the credits so the girls could boogie in the aisle.

This morning I did a 5K for Bret Neylon's Race to Recovery. It really kicked my butt. I am so out of shape and it was 90 degrees! I really struggled. Kayleigh, my future sis-in-law in a few weeks, was at my side. She was like my Jillian, only without the yelling. Kayleigh put up with me swearing in the final mile (which she thought was funny) and me saying repeatedly, "I can't do this. I can't do this." She kept saying, "Yes you can. You can do this." At the time I wanted to kick her in the face, but now in retrospect I really appreciate her support and sweetness. She didn't mind that we were getting passed by old people, people pulling wagons, and moms pushing two kids in one stroller. That's love. She pointed out a cute dog in someone's window. I said, "I hate that stupid dog....just hanging out in the air conditioning." At the end, I made her clock in behind me so I could say that I beat her. She let me! Hooray!! My fingers were so swollen I thought they were going to explode. When we were done, I started getting the chills, which made me think my body was probably in some kind of shock. After going home and recovering from the Race for Recovery, I felt really, really good. I actually felt blessed that I even had the ability to walk at all, let alone finish a 5K when it was hotter than Hades. I felt inspired to add more walking into my life. Bret Neylon is an inspiration to those that know him. Kayleigh is his weekend nurse, so I get to hear a lot of incredible stories about Bret and his wife. I am really glad I participated even though I complained the entire time.

I am feeling real good right now. I was pretty sad about not being able to afford to stay home with the girls anymore, but now I feel energized and ready for a great school year. I am so blessed to have gotten my old position back and to get such a welcome response from staff, parents, and students! I have been planning my classroom theme and getting very excited about it. I keep remembering how much I really do love second and third graders! I just "get" them. I think I am going back so much stronger than I was before.

Also today instead of feeling all freaked out about my hubby being at a Bachelor Party, I feel just fine. The old younger me would have felt very stressed out by the whole thing. I have officially evolved as a wife! I feel very secure, unlike the Lindsay from nine years ago. I have learned in nine years of marriage that there are way more important things to worry about! I am glad that my husband is having a fun day with the guys. He doesn't get to do that often! He is sooooo good to the girls in this house that he deserves some fun. I hope he isn't burnt to a crisp from golfing in the sun all day though....especially the top of his head (you didn't hear that from me though).

I like days where I feel like all is right in the world.

How are you enjoying your weekend?

Common Bonds

2010-07-15T16:35:00.000-07:00
Today I reconnected with an old friend that I had lost touch with. I am so bad about getting wrapped up in my own crazy life that sometimes I neglect to stay in touch with people that I actually really care about! (And like I have confessed before....I am kind of a hermit, unless I force myself not to be) It was so nice to talk to her again and remember all that we truly have in common. I hope I get to see and talk to her a lot more in the future! I really, truly missed her. I realized this particular friend would have been such a great support system during my....."Dark Period." :)

Do you have any old friends that you have lost contact with? Give them a call! You won't regret it!

Thought for the Day

2010-07-13T18:41:00.001-07:00
Today a friend of mine said that I was a "hypersensitive" person. It doesn't matter who said it or in what context, and of course I didn't say a word to that person about it because I just wouldn't. I didn't want to appear to be too sensitive. It was said in jest, but my friend must really think that of me. This has been on my mind today. When someone says lightheartedly that you are a hypersensitive person, it is difficult to make sense of the statement. So I did what I would normally do.....pondered it all day, which of course is EXACTLY what a hypersensitive person would do. My friend is right. I wish it didn't make me sound so defective though. We live in an insensitive world. Is it so bad if some people are overly sensitive to make up for the lack of sensitivity in the world we live in? Here is the thing. I am freakishly in tune to people, whether I know them or not. My intuition is alive and kicking at all times. I can sense people's moods when they walk into a room. This is not a fun trait to live with because it often leads to inner turmoil. I told my husband this story while making dinner with all the details and he said for me to stop overanalyzing it. Because that is what I do. Overanalyze. Like now. Overanalyzing on my blog.

Okay, I'll shut up.

P.S. If you don't make a comment, I will wonder why you didn't. This will lead to more hypersensitivity and the vicious cycle continues.

Okay, I'll really shut up now.
Except I know I am still going to think about this.
Sigh.
It is amazing that I function at all.

Peace, Love, and Cupcakes

2010-07-09T08:52:00.001-07:00
While Avery was feeling under the weather on Wednesday and both girls were napping, I found myself browsing on some of my favorite websites. I came across this new painting by my favorite artist, Deirdre Friebely. You can view it here on the Earth Angels website. My friend Tisha can definitely relate to the sentiment behind this painting with me! So of course on Thursday when Avery felt better, we decided we could use some cupcakes in our life.

One of my favorite places in Indianapolis is The Flying Cupcake bakery. I am not a cupcake fanatic or anything like that. It is the ambience of this place that I truly love. When you walk in to the bakery, you feel like you are transported to a different time. Everything is deliciously retro looking and of course, very, very girly. I wish I had more pictures of this place, but it is a very intimate bakery. I feel odd snapping pictures when I am standing a few feet away from the people behind the counter!For cupcake lovers, this place is cupcake heaven. The menu is amazing. Whoever owns this bakery makes such an effort at making every detail so beautiful and special.

After a day of having a fever, I would say a cupcake can cure all ills!

Even the chairs are lovely. Each chair looks unique with different fabric and paint colors. I wish my entire kitchen were this cute.

Everybody needs a cupcake once in awhile and a dose of cuteness never hurts too!

Dark and Twisty

2010-07-07T20:22:00.001-07:00
Tonight was the first meeting of a new book club that I have joined. In this club I only know one other woman, which actually made it very interesting in a good way! The book pick for July was Wicked by Gregory McGuire. I had to have the book read by the meeting tonight, so of course I started it about 48 hours ago. I like to cram. When I heard that Wicked was the book pick, I was initially disappointed. I typically do not read fantasy. It took me awhile to get into the book, but once I did I ended up really enjoying it. I had no idea what to expect from the group tonight even though I have been in a book club before. My problem is that I have a hard time putting my thoughts into words on the spot. I am a thinker, but not very verbal! In high school and college, I never participated in discussions, even though I was actively participating in my head the whole time. I hope that I can actually engage in discussion for this book club! Wicked delves deeply into religion, politics, and society as a whole. Tonight we discussed whether or not there is a such thing as free will, whether or not someone can be predestined to behave in a certain way, the root of evil, etc. In my head tonight I kept thinking of how these themes apply in my own life.

Lately I have been lost in thought again and kind of down in the dumps. I go through phases where I am lost in deep thought about various things. I fear that I am kind of a dark person on the inside. I hide that well though. Let's just say I "think" a lot, but rarely express these thoughts to anyone other than myself. I cannot quiet my brain! I begin doubting myself and doubting other people. Wicked was actually a perfect book for me right now because I have been thinking about the concept of free will and destiny in my own life lately. I find myself wishing that I were more of a "doer" and not a "thinker." Is there a such thing as destiny? Is there a such thing as free will? It was interesting tonight to hear several ladies say that they didn't believe in free will, but then contradict themselves by talking about people's choices. If people make choices, isn't that free will? The whole discussion made me feel more confused and will probably lead to some more days of solitary thought on my own life. I am always faced with the same questions about my life. No matter what path I choose to take, I am always right back in my own head where I started. One example that I don't mind sharing is the concept of choosing to go back to teaching. It was my choice to return, yet I am amazed by the vast number of people who have said that I am "meant to be" a teacher. I do believe that everything happens for a reason. These are the kind of thoughts that I will dwell on for days in my own head. That among other things!

So let's open this up to the masses.....

Do you believe in free will? Do you believe in destiny?

The book club is reading The Poisonwood Bible next. In the meantime, I will still be dwelling on decisions in my life that never seem to be completely resolved!

Even Grownups Can...

2010-07-02T11:08:00.000-07:00

wear princess tiaras....ride carousels...

Fallon of the blog, "Sweet Fancy," is one of my favorite bloggers and pillow makers on Etsy. She started posting on the 1st and 15th of every month certain childhood activities that she is enjoying again now. Recently she flew kites and made a tent in her living room! This week she took a walk with her boyfriend and they carved their initials in a tree!

I loved her sweet idea, so I thought I would post some recent pics of me enjoying some fav activities from childhood. Summer is a great time to get in touch with our inner child!

Join the fun! Have you done any activities lately that you used to enjoy in your childhood?

Two Peas in a Pod

2010-06-30T14:10:00.000-07:00
Lately something has been brewing in our house between Avery and Piper. They are becoming quite the duo. Even though they have their occasional squabbles (like this week when Avery yelled at Piper and told her she looked like a baby from Seattle in 2004?!?), for the most part they are behaving like BEST friends. Instead of Avery begging for Piper to go down for a nap, she is begging for me to skip Piper's nap because they are "busy together." I truly believe that life is so much richer if you have siblings. In good times and bad, they are always there for you. I know from my own experiences with siblings that they help you learn how to deal with people and solve problems! Here are some of the most recent sister escapades around here....

"Thing 1 and Thing 2" at the University of Kentucky bookstore
The girls sharing a meditative moment in Morocco in Epcot.
The girls experiencing the ocean together for the first time. (Check out Piper's chubby knees!!!) They look very similar to my chubby knees.....but hers are cute since she is two, not thirty-one.

Avery wrote this in the sand in Tybee Island, Georgia. It made me sad thinking that one day she will probably doodle stuff like this with a boy's name....not her sister's! For now, I am so grateful that Piper's name gets the special spot!

And of course there is always some messy times, like throwing giant gobs of wet sand at each other's heads.

These two little stinkers are such a team these days, but it is really cute to watch. I am certainly grateful for my own siblings. Life wouldn't be the same without my brothers, that is for sure! I am thankful that my husband and I have been blessed with these two little peas in a pod and I hope that they will grow up to be the best of friends.

Do you have a sibling? Tell me about it! I love comments!!!

Coming out of Retirement

2010-06-29T05:41:00.000-07:00
A year ago I resigned from my teaching position. If you are a frequent reader of my blog, you know what kind of a year I had then. It was a time in my life where I felt that I absolutely had to reconnect with my husband and children in a way that would require me to leave my job. Leaving a teaching job is risky business. You never know if you will every be able to get another teaching job because teaching jobs are hard to come by in the first place. However, it was a risk that I had to take to ensure that I got my family back on track. My husband truly gets all the credit in this story. Even though we couldn't really afford for me to quit, he supported me. A year later, we certainly have our family back on track, which is the most important thing to us.

I love, love, love being home all day with my girls. We have had the best of times. Guess what though? Throughout the whole year I have still had a neverending flow of teaching ideas. You just can't stop that stuff when you have taught your entire adult life. I have spent my entire adult life with second and third graders. They all hold a special place in my heart at that age....even the weird ones. Trust me, folks, there are some weird ones. There is also an abundance of difficult second and third graders. Who knew? Despite the quirkiness of that age group, they are so lovable. Kids this age generally love school, and I have never grown out of loving school.

Now that the family is back on track and reconnected, it is time to get our finances in control. My real estate income is unpredictable. It has gotten us through this year....barely. I like helping people buy and sell their home and don't plan on quitting anytime soon. We just aren't in a place yet where I can stay home and not make a regular paycheck every two weeks. I began thinking more and more about school and my classroom. I made a phone call and the rest is history. To make a long story short, I got my old position back. I learned a lesson in the process. The year I resigned was my worst year ever in the classroom for reasons that I don't care to EVER blog about. I felt absolutely awful about myself. Since my brain is just like this, I started to feel like I shouldn't even teach anymore. But I'm not going to lie, I felt so different this past week after the overwhelming response from various school staff members and parents that they were thrilled to have me back. I have had multiple people say they are so glad to see me come back because they believe it is "my calling." They believe I have a gift with the kiddos, and yes, even the parents.

Is it possible to have a calling in life, but to feel mixed feelings about parts of it? If it were just about the kids and the parents, I may be more inclined to say maybe it is my calling. However, there are parts of the job that really stress me out. Then again, aren't all adults stressed out by their jobs on some level? Deep thoughts for another day, I guess!

All I know is that as soon as I knew they were giving me my job back, I immediately sat down with a notebook and wrote pages of ideas on the spot about things to do in my classroom. That is a good sign. I was pretty emotional about not being financially able to stay home with my girls anymore, but now I am feeling some excitement.

It is like my past just met up with my future and said, "Hey, remember me? Get back here."

Life is just so weird.

Remember

2010-06-26T06:08:00.000-07:00

Today is the one year anniversary of my father-in-law passing away after a long battle with pancreatic cancer. Here is the post that I wrote one year ago about the legacy he left behind. Steve's entire family has been faced with so many challenges in the last year, but I think he would be so proud of the decisions and changes that we have all made along the way.

Hello Grownup World

2010-06-23T20:47:00.000-07:00
This last year feels like a dream. It has been a year since I left my classroom to regain something that I felt I had lost...my babies. I have written before about how I spent long hours doing school related work (obsessively) and long hours traveling back and forth to the hospital/hospice when my father-in-law was so sick. I started to feel so lost. I felt like my sweet little girls didn't care about me and didn't need me. So I spent a year reconnecting with my girls, and it was truly a dream. We are unbelievably close now and that will never be taken away. There have been many times in the last year when I have sat with both of them, curled up in the recliner to read books for the third time in one day, where I have wished with all my heart to make those moments last forever and ever. I cherished all of it. But it turns out that when everybody says being a grownup is hard, they were right. Sometimes being a grownup requires you to do things for the good of your family even if it means making sacrifices...like curling up in recliners at 1:00 in the afternoon to read books. I think this Mama has no choice but to return to the workforce. I am a Realtor, and truly enjoy it, but Realtors do not get a paycheck every two weeks. Not even close. Unfortunately, we are not in a position at the ripe old age of 31 and 32 to have the luxury of me being a stay at home mom with sporadic income on the side. I have been faced with heart wrenching decisions all week and it is only Wednesday. I thought the picture above was the perfect contrast to the grownup that I have had to be this week. This year has been a precious gift.

My Nemesis, the Orange Bridesmaid Dress

2010-06-22T19:55:00.000-07:00
Remember this post from back in April? The post where I told you all about the infamous bridesmaid dress, purchased in April of 2009 for the wedding that is on August 14, 2010? The infamous dress that is now two sizes too small? You know the one.

Today I woke up and looked at the dress. I realized this is just a dress....a piece of fabric. I do want to lose weight, but not for a dress that I will be wearing for five hours. I am not about to starve myself to wear this dress, and honestly, it would require some starvation to make it happen in time.

Bless the sweet souls in my life who have believed in me all along and said, "You can do it. You can fit that dress by Aug. 14." My believers were still saying that as early as a few weeks ago. It isn't that I don't believe in myself. I KNOW I could starve myself and make it happen, but I just don't want to. If this were 1996 and I were 17 years old, yes I would probably lean toward starvation. But this is 2010 and I am 31 years old and I have had two children! Starvation is no longer an option. Back then it worked to live off of a candy bar at lunch, but that just won't fly anymore!

The problem with me starving myself to wear one dress is that I knew something deep down all along. I know that no matter what size that dress is, I will rock it. No, I don't think I am some hot mama, but I do know how to rock a dress and pair of heels.

So today I called David's Bridal to discuss the situation. I thought the dress would be unavailable, or that I would have to pay for it again, which I was totally willing to do. However, apparently (shocker) people need to exchange bridesmaid dresses all the time FOR THE VERY SAME REASONS. The manager's exact words were, "Honey....say no more. It is summer and there are barbecues to attend!" Then she ordered me a dress that fits perfectly as an even exchange.

So yesterday I was thinking I would post that I fought the orange dress and the dress won. However today I thought my new motto is "Screw starvation and give me a dress that fits!"

I am not stopping Weight Watchers and my weight loss journey. That has nothing to do with any of this really. Weight loss is and should be about health....not fitting into a dress.

So yes, I fought that orange dress. And I won because I am a person and a dress is just a dress!

Terry Travelogues

2010-06-21T06:23:00.000-07:00
Several people loved my posts back in February (I think) about my trip to Arizona. I love to write about traveling. Traveling brings out the best and worst in people. We drove to Orlando for our big Disney vacation. One 32 year old, one 31 year old, one five year old, one two year old, and lots and lots of luggage, snacks, and car activities! I had my doubts before the trip, but I have learned that my girls are actually stellar travelers. I mean doesn't everyone have hour long screaming fits while driving through Tennessee? Thanks Piper. No really....I couldn't ask for better little travelers. Besides the occassional communication gap with Piper, everything else on our drive was just fine. I am convinced that Avery could ride in a car from the East Coast to the West Coast and not care one bit. All she needed was good snacks and good tunes! We had some fun and crazy times in our car.....usually involving loud singing episodes by the four of us. Some of these singing episodes have been captured on video for your viewing pleasure...once I figure out how on Earth to download videos from the camera to Blogger. Here is a teaser though....my husband singing Lady Gaga. Just you wait for that entertainment!

Here is a picture of Avery with what appears to be a giant wad of napkin. What would a five year old be stashing in a napkin like that? Jelly beans? Crayons? Sparkly stickers? No, my friends. That is a giant handful of fried okra that she smuggled from a buffet. Doesn't everyone smuggle okra when they visit the South?
Sorry but I had to include this picture of me passing the time with Cheerio tricks. This is one of those things that you do without thinking, then you truly regret. I put it here to teach you a lesson of what not to do in front of your kids.....unless you are in the car for the eighth hour and you need a good laugh. My husband brought comic relief from the time we left the house until the time we got back a week and a half later! He is a trooper like no other. He traveled across the country with six females and 0 males (me, Avery, Piper, his mom, his sister, and our niece). He followed a woman driver (his mom or sister) all the way to Florida. He greeted lots and lots of princesses.....I think we saw at least five different Ariels! He carried Piper every single day in the parks, even though she had a stroller. He wrestled two strollers on and off Disney buses each day. He put up with very hot temps and the worst humidity ever, and he is not fond of sweating! Yet, he still had a smile on his face! On our first day back home (Father's Day), all he wanted was to spend more time with us! Amazing!!

I can't wait to share more travel stories, photos, and maybe a video if I figure it out!!!
Life is always an adventure around here!

M.I.A

2010-06-21T06:12:00.001-07:00
So I know I have been missing in action on my blog....and I do apologize!!! I am probably losing readers left and right with my lack of regular posting lately. Hopefully, you all will forgive me when I tell you that I have been experiencing Disney World with Punkin and Bean!!! Since I do not have a fancy, new fangled phone with the Internet (I mean, seriously....I still use VHS), I had absolutely no access to the Internet. No access to Facebook. No access to email. No access to blogs. Guess what? I didn't care one bit!!! Now that it is Monday and I am mucking through endless junk emails, I do care a bit. The thing that I care about the very most though is checking in on my favorite bloggers and posting new stuff here! I can't wait to share with you some of our Disney magic and the usual silliness!

Trouble

2010-06-07T16:00:00.002-07:00
When Piper was a little baby, a friend of ours said that the boys would love her when she grows up with a name like Piper. This friend thought that the name Piper sounded feisty and sassy.

Add in the curly blonde tendrils, big brown eyes, and rosy cheeks......and we have trouble! This girl has everyone wrapped around her little finger.....do you blame us?

Yesterday we were at a McDonald's that had a play area. Piper walked up to me holding a dollar saying, "My money. My money." I was pretty shocked that she somehow had money. A guy came up and said, "My son wanted her to have it." Come to find out that a little boy who appeared to be slightly older than Piper offered Piper a dollar if she would go up the slide with him. She snatched the dollar out of his hands and proudly marched around with it.

The best part of the whole story is that she took the dollar, then refused to go up the slide with him. She wouldn't give that boy the time of day, but his dad made the boy let Piper keep the dollar.

Yes, Piper is a sassy name indeed.

Welcome Summer!

2010-06-07T15:40:00.001-07:00
This picture expresses so beautifully what summer means to me. After a wonderful weekend with some of our oldest friends and their kids, my friend, Elisha, captured this perfect moment through her camera lens. All of our kids had been running around for hours playing on the Slip n' Slide. When they got tired of the water, they piled up in the hammock. My oldest daugher, Avery, has her hands covering her mouth, laughing at whatever was going on. My Piper is kind of caught in the middle in the white shirt. I love how our friends' daugher, Lilly, is literally almost flipping over. Summer is finally here! While last summer seemed to be all about survival and recovery, this summer is going to be all about joy, laughter, and friends!