Meet Snowy!

Why hello there friends! 


Do I know that I haven't posted anything since June?  Why yes, yes I do. 

Was this blog supposed to be my magic key into not having to send Christmas cards?  Why, yes, yes it was.

Was I able to keep up with this damn thing as much as I would have liked?  Well, obviously not since my last post was in June.

Whatevs - I'm back now to update you on a very, very, important development to our household.  We have a new live in - and his name is Snowy the Elf, and he is our very own Elf on the Shelf, brand spankin' new tradition.

God granted me a miracle today, and helped my kids sleep until 9 a.m.  This was a true blessing because I went out into the cold and braved a mile long line to shop with a bunch of crazies at Target on Thanksgiving night.  I then came home and shopped on Amazon and Kohls.com until about 2 a.m.  I had managed to remember our Elf on the Shelf before I finally made it to bed last night (or early this AM, depending on how you look at it.)

I knew, once B woke up that he would come into our room first, so I set the whole package (book and elf) on our nightstand.  Of course, he did, just as expected come into our room and immediately spotted our new friend.  I told him that I had no idea where it came from and that Santa must have snuck it in while we were all asleep.  He was beyond excited and went to tell his sister about the surprise that Santa had left us. 

We read the book together, named him Snowy, and went over the rules:

1.  You can't touch him, or he'll lose his magic.
2.  He can see everything, and will report all behavior (good and bad) to Santa
3.  He flies back to the North Pole at night, and it's the kids job to discover where he ends up the next day.
4.  You can't touch him.  Yes, that was rule number 1, but I figured with my kids they might need 1 or 1 million reminders. 

So, there you have it - I'm inviting you all along to share in our Elf on the Shelf journey.  Will it keep the kids acting like angels?  Probably not, but I'm gonna give it my best shot.

Let the Holiday happiness begin!

You're It!

Hello friends!  I was recently (well, like a week ago recently) tagged in "blog tag" by one of my personal blog favorites, High Heels and Dirty Dishes!   The game is simple - once your "tagged", then you use your blog to answer the 11 questions thought up by the person that tagged you.  So, here we go!

1. I admitted that I'm a bit of an aficionado on the Manson Family; What is your eccentric curiosity?

 

  I am completely obsessed with women that go crazy and commit crimes.  There's a show called "Snapped" and I absolutely love it.  It profiles women who commit crimes after they've been wronged or sometimes just after they've gone a little nutso.  I think my husband is a little creeped out about my every Sunday Snapped Marathons though.

2. Most people would be shocked to hear that I can _____/ I cannot ______. Choose one, or answer both. Whatever floats your boat! 

 

 I cannot ride a bike!  That stupid saying - It's like riding a bike, you never forget, is a complete load of BS.  I was able to ride a bike when I was like 10.  Can't do it anymore.  My husband made me prove it to him and I ended up riding/falling right into a ditch.  True Story!

3. List a song that makes you laugh and one that makes you cry.

 

Laugh - Red Solo Cup - Toby Keith...mainly because everytime I hear it, I think of how my kids break into the chorus every Sunday during silent prayer time at church.

Cry - God Blessed the Broken Road - Rascal Flatts....my sister in law sang that at my wedding.  I cried then, and I cry every time I hear it.

4. If you had a hired hand to do just one thing for you all of the time, what would their duty be? 

 

This  is an easy one - I would used my hired hand to keep everyone out of the bathroom everytime I go in there.  Every.single.time.

5. There's still a part of me that dreams about becoming a __________ someday, even though it's complete bullshit and never going to happen.

 

An actress.  Although it's never going to happen, it doesn't stop me from preparing my Oscar speech every year!

6. You've been given an all-inclusive trip to one place, anywhere in the world, and could bring 1 guest. Where would you go and who would you take with you?

 

I would take my husband on a romantic Sandals all inclusive vacation.  Just us.  Doesn't matter where, as long as it's warm, has white sandy beaches, and clear blue water. Oh and margaritas.

7. If you were a character in a James Bond movie, what would your character's name be?

 

Agent Double O Sparkle

8. List 3 of your guilty pleasures in life.

 

1.  Watching The Bachelorette and Pretty Little Liars and pretty much anything on MTV.

2.  Leaving work early to go shopping...all by myself.

3.  Twilight.  Go Team Edward

9. What's the best and worst thing about the community you live in?

 

Best - I love the community activities:  community Easter egg hunts, movies in the park, Homecoming parades, Friday Night Lights,  festivals, ect. 

 

Worst - We don't have a Hobby Lobby.  I would really love a Hobby Lobby!

10. The older I get, the more I ___________.

 

worry.  I worry about things that I never worried about before.  I worry about my kids and their future.   I worry about my husband.  I worry about other kids that I don't think are getting the love and attention they deserve.  I worry about natural disasters and the zombie apocalypse.    I used to be pretty laid back, but I'm definitely a worry wart these days!

11. What's the punchline to your favorite joke? Just the punchline.

 

Because people are just dying to get in!!! 

 

O.K. - So here's the deal....I subscribe to all my favorite blogs by email and I'm pretty lazy so if you are reading this right now, and you have a blog...consider yourself tagged!  Copy the questions below into your own blog, answer them and come up with questions of your own and then tag people...or just be lazy like me!  Happy Blogging!

 

1.  If you could meet one living celebrity, who would it be?

 

2.  If I were to give you a million dollars right now, what is the first thing you would do with it?

 

3.  What's your favorite breakfast food?

 

4.  What's the first item on your DVR?

 

5.  What was the last alcoholic beverage you drank?

 

6.  How many hours of sleep do you normally get at night?

 

7.  Think about one person that you can't stand.  List what you think their 3 worst qualites are.

 

8.  What's your favorite recipe?

 

9.  Spiderman or Batman?

 

10.  Name the most exciting place you have ever visited.

 

11.  If you could choose any other name for yourself, what would it be?

The Week that Was...

It's been quite a week since my perfect, super calm, non dramatic, did I mention perfect Mother's Day.

No really - my Mother's Day was absolutely wonderful.  The hubby got me a card (and actually signed it this year) and my favorite gift:  Money.  I told the kids that their gift to me was to take a long nap.  They bought it and they did just that. 

Now, at work I have this little toy that sits next to my computer - it came from a Happy Meal and it has two buttons:  When you push one it says "Yaaaaaayyyy!"  and if you push the other button it says "Booooo!" I need to find another one that can go in my purse, because if any week warranted a few Yay's and a few Boo's, it would have been this one.

Monday:

Monday was appointment day for us.  We had B's four year well visit (with no shots) in the morning and then preschool screening in the afternoon.  Grandma and Grandpa had Em for the day so it was just the two of us.  My boy was over 42 Inches tall and weighed 39 pounds.  In the afternoon I took him to his new preschool for screening.  He did great, except for the following things:

1.  He refused to copy shapes.  Just flat out refused.
2.  He cannot hop for 5 seconds on either foot.  He could stand on one - just not hop.  Oh well - they let him in anyways :)

Monday = Yay!!!!!!  

Tuesday:

Tuesday was B's actual birthday.  I took the day off of work because that's one thing I promised myself I would always do.  As a working mom, I am completely aware that I've missed some pretty important things.  And it sucks, however from the day he was born I made a promise to him and any future children that they would A.  Have some kick ass birthday parties and B.  Have my full attention on the actual day of their birth. 

We partied hard on Saturday at the park with a "Messy Birthday Party".  I filled his room up with balloons Monday night after he went to sleep.  They eventually made there way to the living room which was perfectly fine.  I downloaded all of the new games he got on his new video game thing he got for his birthday.  I made him his favorite breakfast.  We went to see The Avengers and we came home and made pizzas and ate cake.  It was a great, great day. 

Tuesday = Yay!!!!!

Wednesday:

Wednesday was my first day back to work from a 4 days off.  It wasn't so bad - I only had 12 voicemails and 505 emails to catch up on.  It wasn't really that bad, but the day was prety uneventful.

Wednesday:  Yay!!!!!! For being uneventful and Boo!!!!!! for having to go back to work!

Thursday:

Thursday came in two parts.  First of all, we bought a new truck which we got to pick up later in the evening.  It was supposed to take an hour.  It took more like 3.  Oh well, it's nice, my husband is happy and we all love it.

So - Part one Thursday = Yay!!!!

Part two (which actually came before Part One) was when Em (who is 2) broke her wrist in two places.  It's in a splint now - it's getting casted on Monday.  A long story short, she was standing on a chair looking at our fish tank.  (Sometimes it sucks being extra short).  She turned around and fell off and landed just right (or wrong) and broke her wrist.  My husband felt like crap because it was on his watch.  But it could have happened to anyone.  Last week she was standing on the same chair playing with her brothers legos, while I was cooking dinner and she fell off.  I was lucky in that she didn't break anything.  I (along with anyone else that knows our family) would have placed money that B would be the one that would have broken the first bone - go figure.  As I said, we're casting on Monday.  And that cast is going to be bedazzled out the wazoo.  No daughter of mine will have a plain cast.  On a side note - she calls the splint her "puppet".  It's pretty dang cute!

Part Two Thursday = Boooo!!!!!

Friday:

Friday we celebrated my dad's retirement with a big bash in my sisters and cousins backyard (they live next door to each other).  I don't have any pictures but it was fun - I love a good party - especially one that celebrates not having to go to work anymore. 

Friday = Yay!!!!!!!! 

Saturday:

We did nothing today and it was beautiful.  I took a nap and I had a 50% success rate with getting my kids to take a nap.  My husband went and picked up dinner for us so I wouldn't have to cook.  I pinned on pinterest, laundered the laundry, and played some Legos.  I watched Finding Nemo with my kids.  And I put them to bed - they are both fast asleep.  My treat for the week? See below.  I'm ending Saturday with a 100%:  Yay!!!!!!!

Garage Sale Survival 101

Hey friends!  Sorry it's been a while (yet again!)  I'm beginning to really take notice just how busy we truly are.  I don't think we had any sort of down time until today - and looking at our calendar for the next 3 months....it's only going to get worse busier.  Oh well - I will continue to write when I can and post when I don't fall asleep before 11!

Today, in our little community, was the big City Wide Garage Sale.  Every year, the first full weekend in May, hundred of families join forces, set all their crap in their drive way, and try to sell it.  Some sell their stuff for next to nothing (we like those people.)  Some try to sell their junk stuff for a small fortune.  We don't like those people.  Now,  we have lived in this small town for a little over 5 years.  I can say with 100% certainty that I have never been out on City Wide Garage Sale Saturday....I had a garage sale a couple of times, but never went out myself.  And for good reason, I'm not big on the massive amounts of traffic this time of year brings to our normally not busy streets.  I'm not big on sweating.  And I'm not big on hauling around two toddlers in and out of the car.  Normally, we wouldn't go, but recently Brayden (almost 4) has taken a serious interest in garage sales.  It may be because we've been watching endless marathons of Storage Wars.  It may be because he will end up being on hoarders some day.  It may be that he inherited some of his Great Grandpa Beasley's genes (he loved to go garage sales on a nearly daily basis.  It may even be that his Grandparents have rubbed off on him.  Whatever the reason - I told him we would get out this morning and go to a bunch of garage sales and that we did!

He was mad because he left his cup inside.  (P.S. - I went in and got it)

She was happy - because she had a dress on, pink sunglasses, and lip stick.  (Calm down - it was just chap stick)



I admit, I had second thoughts about going after I felt how flippin' hot it was outside.  I promised though and Brayden was SO excited.  I should not, could not, and would not disappoint.  So we went - and had SO much fun together.  And with that I present my survival guide for going to garage sales.

DO bring cups, filled cups and Don't forget yourself!  And extra water.  As I mentioned earlier, it was hotter than Heck outside.  And between the heat, walking around, and getting in and out of the car - the kids needed liquid.

DO bring cash/DON'T bring big bills.  People don't like to take checks and as a rule don't take credit cards.  There is nothing worse than paying with a $50 bill for 75 cents worth of goods.  We got our money from the grocery store and asked for small bills.  People like small bills.

DO expect for your kids to embarrass you.  Brayden saw a big, scruffy guy sitting on a couch at one house.  And he yells "Yikes!  There's a big, scary, monster!"  Of course it was loud enough for everyone to hear.   And Brayden also asked every house we went to if he could come inside and look.  (Don't ask me why - because I have NO idea.)

DO set a time limit.  Unless the weather is perfect and you know a bunch of people that can end up being potential bathroom stops, don't keep the kiddos out all day.  We left the house at 9 - and we were back (with some good deals and lunch) by Noon.  

DO bring a stroller if your younger child is under the age of 2.  Brayden is perfect walking around by himself.  Emma likes to run - so it was easier for her to ride.   If my husband were writing this he would say Don't bring a stroller.  He doesn't know what he's talking about though :)

DO check out if any local churches or organizations are doing some sort of snack bar.  We did just that and it bought us an extra 3 sales.    We bought two cupcakes and a diet coke.  Were the cupcakes messy?  Yep, but it kept the kids occupied for the last few houses we went to.  (The Diet Coke was for me)

DO jump on a good deal.  After several of so-so sales, we landed on a gold mine.  They had Brayden's size and Emma's size for 50 cents a piece.  All name brand, all hardly worn,  way cute stuff for next to nothing.  I bought 3 stuffed bags of clothes and a talking Eeyore for my new little niece who should be born any day now!  Don't give up - we didn't find this sale until the next to the last house we went to.  We were finding nothing but junk before that one.


I can't state enough - my babies were so good today.  Emma has always been a good shopper, but Brayden - that child didn't beg, kept up with the walking, and was just a doll the entire time (except for the embarrassing parts - but I've come to expect those).  Today was a good great day. 

Do you garage sale?  Do you have them or just go to them?  What are your tips and tricks for holding  the best sale or finding the best deals?

I'm baaaaaack!

Why hello there!  It has been a crazy, long time since I've even logged onto my blog!  So long, in fact that the whole dang thing has changed.  So, I am obviously going to have to write a whole lot more to get used to this whole new thing.  I'll do what I can! 

I seem to have the most thoughtful, hilarious, and random conversations with my son (who will be four in a few weeks) when it's just the two of us.  This past Sunday, I was playing hostess for a baby shower for my sister in law. The car trip to get there was about an hour and a half and  I had decided to leave my baby girl with my parents because I didn’t think I would be able to handle both kids and do the hostess with the mostess thing.  Plus, by the time we got my car packed…there wasn’t very much room left at all.   Brayden is usually a pretty big help with just about everything, so I didn't think twice about him being my date/big helper. 

We had been on the road for about an hour when we stopped at a Rest Area to use the potty. (Brayden had sucked down a blue slushy before we had left the Quik Trip Parking lot.) He had been watching a movie for most of the way, but after we were done – he decided we needed to talk. I wish I would have had a video camera on him for the rest of the day. Here are some brief snippets of our conversation(s) through out the rest of the day.

In the car, on our way to the baby shower:

Brayden: Mom, what is this shower all about? Is this baby really going to take a shower?

Me: No, a baby shower is where you shower the mommy with lots of presents for her new baby.

Brayden: Oh. Well, I still don’t know why Aunt Jammy ate that baby. She must have been real hungry.

Me: She didn’t eat the baby.

Brayden: Well, how did the baby get in there?

Me: Ask your dad.

Brayden: O.K. How does the baby get out of there? I mean, I was in your tummy right?  Was Emma there in the same time?  Were you great big?

Me: You go into labor and that's how the baby gets out.  You were in my tummy, but not at the same time as Em.  And yes, I was great big.

Brayden: Don’t tell Aunt Jammy that I said she was great big.   And I don't know what labor is.

Me: O.K. I won’t and you'll know someday.

Brayden: I hope no one tries to take my blanky when we get there.

Me: Well, maybe we should just leave it in the car.

Brayden: No, I’ll just tell them that there is poop on it. That should keep them away.

Just a few minutes later, after I had taken the wrong exit, I pulled off to the side of the road to recalibrate the GPS on my phone. (Yes, we were lost.)

Brayden: Mom, are we lost?

Me: Yes we are. But don’t worry, we’ll find it.

Brayden: We never get lost when daddy is driving us.

Me: That’s because when daddy takes us someplace he has me in the passenger seat telling him where to go.   I have a diaper cake in my passenger seat.

Brayden: Maybe you should switch seats then mom.

Me: That won't work -I have to drive.

Brayden: Oh my gosh, we will probably never get there.

Once I had the GPS set to go and was on the right path, I had to slam on my breaks at a straight to red from green stoplight. As I was screeching my tires, trying to avoid smashing into the car in front of me, this is the next conversation that transpired:

Me: Oh Jesus!

Brayden: You’re right mom! We should pray about being lost.  That will get us there.

Me: Speechless.

Brayden: Our father who art in Heaven….

(He proceeded to say the Lord’s Prayer, then look up and say:

Brayden: Nope – we’re still not there, better keep praying.

This continued about 5 more times, until we finally made it.

During the baby shower, Brayden kept the party guests laughing. (I guess I should hire him for entertainment).   Surprisingly, he kept his clothes on and didn't beg to pee on a tree outside.

He made sure to let his Aunt know that all those cute clothes she was opening were not going to fit her:

“That is not going to fit you you are to big.”

She opened a pack of baby shampoo, lotion, and Desitin. And Brayden said:

“Oh that’s called butt cream for when you got a rash.”

And the lines kept coming. On the way home, he was pretty quiet (I think he was practically in a sugar coma after the 27 Cake Pops he had eaten.) As I was exiting onto the highway, he says to me:

Brayden: Mom?

Me: What buddy?

Brayden: You know you are the fastest car driver in the universe, right?

Me: Yep, I know.

Brayden: O.K. Just checking. I won’t tell Daddy though

Me: Sounds like a plan.

Brayden:  Yep, and I love you.

Me:  And I love you Mr. B - To infinity and beyond.

Tune in tomorrow where I'll share my favorite recipes from the baby shower and some pictures!  Peace out - and thanks for sticking with me ya'll!

(Almost) Wordless Wednesday

Ask me what I was doing exactly two years ago on this very day.  Go ahead - ask. 

My husband and I were spending our last night as parents of one child - we were headed to the hospital the next morning to have our little girl.  I remember watching "The Blind Side", eating Peanut Butter Cups well into the wee hours of the morning, and not sleeping a wink.  I remember sitting in my baby girls room - looking at the masterpiece of pink and pinker that my husband and I had created.  I went through her closet one last time and double checked our hospital bag about 25 times to make sure she had her very first flower clip for her hospital pictures. 

It may sound cliche but two years has gone by SO fast.  Her birthday is tomorrow and we're going to head to the American Girl Store - (our birthday tradition) and pick up a new red headed Bitty Baby and a party dress.  We're going to have Dora Cupcakes.  She's going to open her presents.  I'm going to try not to cry, try not to cry, and try not to cry.  She's definitely not a baby anymore - she's growing up.  And I'm going to continue to thank the Good Lord for both of the biggest blessings in my life.  Happy (1 day early) 2nd Birthday to my sweet, beautiful, baby girl!  We love you!

P.S.  I think it's beyond obvious that I suck at Wordless Wednesday! :)

Getting ready to head to the hospital!  I heart scheduled inductions!!! 

Our first family photo - The kids are both SO little!

R.I.P Spider

My husband and kids recently brought home a new "pet".  I was at work and they decided to take advantage of our school district being on spring break as well as the unusually warm March weather.  Although we have every toy imaginable in our back yard: water table, play house, swing set, slide, etc.  - both kids still love to walk to the school that's a couple of houses down and play on the "big kid" playground. 
Now I may be missing some details here, because I usually don't find out the full version of what happens while I'm away until days- - -sometimes months later.  But the gist of it goes something like this:  One of the kids found a craw-dad....well crawling on the ground.  There was no body of water to be found anywhere near the playground.  I'm pretty sure if they would have looked, they probably would have found a ditch near by to drop the crawdad back in.  They didn't look and instead my husband convinced the kids that they should take it home and let him live in our fish tank.  When I found out about this, I said:  "You should have left him there - he was obviously on a suicide mission".  My husband said: "Oh no - he was just looking for a good home."


When I got home from work, both kids were so excited to show me their new "friend".  "Look mommy - it's Spider!," Emma squealed.  Brayden said, "Daddy, let us bring him home!"


Spider didn't try to kill the other fish in the tank.  He got a little rough with Mickey Mouse (yep all of our fish have names) and he taunted Kool Aid a little bit, but for the most part he kept to himself in the sunken pirate ship next to some neon rocks.
Fast forward one week later.  Garry called me on my way home from work to let me know - Spider jumped off a ledge....he literally escaped from the fish tank, jumped off the cabinet and made an attempt to crawl to the light (our patio door).  He didn't make it and Garry found him (dead) right next to the door. 


So, here's to Spider.  The best darn crawdad our family could have asked for.  He will be missed, even though we only had him for a week.   We love ya Spidey!

Spider - 2012 to 2012 (He's in the opening to the sunken pirate ship).