Winter Decor...

For your toilet???.... I was once told that snowmen were "winter decorations not christmas decorations" so one COULD enjoy this toilet set all winter long!!!

Prayer Request

My friend Emily's mom is in the hospital. I was asked to send out a request for prayers.
She has been battling cancer for quite some time now. I don't know all the details, but I know your thoughts and prayers count and will be appreciated.
Please pray for Emily and her family during this time.

RIGHT NOW

I want to quit my job, move to Martha's Vineyard, start a monogramming business and be all things crafty.

Here's my reality...I'm going to work (in my non maternity too tight jeans and heels), I have maybe one crafty bone in me (and it's very small at that), and I'm going to avoid the motorcycles that have taken over our city. I would link the Martha's Vineyard post from earlier this summer, but the too tight pants around my waist are not going to allow me to sit for that so instead I'll go walk around in my heels to punish myself for even attempting this outift on this very nice jeans Friday. I hope the commander is up for swollen feet, pizza, and a movie for Friday night fun.


Happy Friday.

scrapbooking....

TAKES TOO LONG! My self diagnosed obsessive nature causes me to finish something once I start it so this pretty much shot my day. Three pages in 4.5 hours hardly seems worth it, but I finished them for last Thanksgiving and Christmas (I'm behind).

POOPED!

It was a big weekend for us. A children's sale, birthday party, and Razorback game were on the schedule all before 11am on Sat.
Lets start with the b'day party...HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO SAM!


He had an Elmo party with a cake from the best place in town.

Here's what his sister thought about it not being her birthday.




Riley enjoyed playing on Sam's pedal car


Then I headed to the game to meet dad and the commander. Dodo and Riley stayed home and played. It was a LONG game to watch. It was at this point that I began to wonder if the little ladies down in Alabama were removing their Razorback attire and supporting their local team.

The Razorback band(unlike the players) executed during half time with their rendition of thriller. The crowd got excited when they started doing that silly thriller dance. They put their instruments on the ground and everything. It was pretty funny.





After Alabama intercepted the ball within field goal range and we couldn't score from the one yard line, I had to quit watching so I looked at a program for baby names. We finally left early.

Even though Arkansas couldn't score points this weekend, I sure did! I brought home this truck and it has provided countless hours of entertainment for both guys in my house.

Dear Bikers,

Do you see the bike path to your right? Please use it...and pass it along to your friends it's there!
Thank you,
Aggravated driver on game day.

On another note, I'm happy to report that the irritating picture has been replaced with this 2008 halloween picture.


Here's another sneak preview of Halloween.

a not so fancy blog

Some of my blogging friends have fancy blogs where they put fancy stuff that you can buy. It's like having a personal shopper and it's really great fun. I have decided to spin off that and put a few of my favorite practical things on my not so fancy blog. I could change my blog name to The White Trash Shopper, but that's probably not very good advertising for my not so fancy, but practical and favorite things.
I get excited to get the 20% off coupons from Bed, bath, and Beyond (which you can still use after the expiration date) so I can the latest or greatest OXO utensil.
Every kitchen should be filled with a really good potato peeler from OXO.

So there it is...my second posting of a not so fancy, practical item. Guaranteed to make your day better.
XOXOXO,
Tool Woman

A Must Have....

Run, don't walk to get this lotion. Aveda has always been my favorite for feet, but this is just as good and about 1/3 of the cost. I don't know if it's the shea butter in the pregnancy formula or what, but I'm going to continue using it.

1st trip to the library

I was going to blog about my house smelling like an old folks home because of the roast in the crock pot, but then I realized that was my condition flaring and a trip to the library would make for a much better blog anyway. (My pregnancy induced stubbornness caused me to at least make mention of it). So, instead I lit a candle and eagerly downloaded my pictures to post.

This was my first time to the library in recent years without having to study for a big test the next day. It's much more fun to go and browse without being under all that pressure (bet you thought this was going to be about Riley's 1st trip to the library). OK, it is about his first trip too. I have had intentions of going to our new state of the art facility for awhile now, but we just got around to it today. I can't believe we didn't discover it sooner. This library has a large children's section, a coffee shop and outdoor seating.
We missed story time by 30 min, but that's ok because it gave us a chance to get orientated with the place. The children's area has a toddler computer lab, an area to work puzzles, and different activity centers.
I think I was Riley's age the last time I checked out books for leisure. I remember it well too.
The sweet librarian put our blue card with a large metal chip into a big, intimidating machine that stamped it loudly. Then she took out the library card and her rubber stamp to mark the return date. I learned today that libraries are more up to date then they were 20 years ago.
You can return the books to the conveyor belt in the library or at various locations around town (one close to our house) For checking out, I simply scanned my new card and then individually placed my items on what appeared to be a scale and watched the titles appear on the screen. I asked how that worked and the librarian explained that they no longer used bar codes when checking out books and explained some fancy chip system that went above my comprehension. I'm assuming the Dewey decimal system is a thing of the past as well.
I know my seasoned, library card holding friends are probably laughing at me, but to them I say shame on you for keeping our local fancy library a secret.

We picked out a number puzzle to play with and this just blew my mind! Riley put it together by himself like he had been doing it forever! Watch him go!!





Then he stopped to study his finished product..



Look what else one could take home from our local library. We left it there for someone else to enjoy, but I believe if the commander was there..we would probably be reading this tonight.


We were only allowed three "rentals" because my address was different on my drivers license, but I was told to bring in something to prove my address and we would be granted "full rights." (which is 20 "rentals").
A truck book, a book about hair cuts (a must read) and a sesame street DVD on becoming a big brother were our final choices.

The truth of my condition...

Get ready...this is the stuff that I didn't think needed to make the blog, but here it is in all of its glory for all to read. I'm putting it out there because I was asked why I didn't blog about pregnancy stuff since that would be good blogging material.
The truth is I don't make a good pregnant person. The commander would be the first to tell you that too. I also have the self awareness that it could be sooooo much worse so I try to keep my less than stellar attitude towards pregnancy contained for the sake of my non yet to be child rearing friends. I wouldn't want to discourage them and I really don't have any good reasons for disliking this condition so much.

If someone asked me do you have high blood pressure?
I would have to respond..NO, it is very good in fact.

Do you have swelling or pitting edema?
No, not yet anyway.

Do you have to be on bed rest?
No, i am very active.

Do you throw up or stay nauseated?
Not so much

So what is it exactly that you don't like?
Things annoy me that would never even enter my mind in my non pregnant state and it's just plain uncomfortable, inconvenient, and can result in crying at commercials and such. Think 9mos of PMS! See..it's petty!
It's also hard to give up things you enjoy (diet coke with caffeine for one), but I have for the most part (except when I"m feeling a little rebellious because of my condition and then I have one in the morning). I'm told to steer clear from aspartame so I have switched to diet rite. It's not the same. An occasional beer..NOPE! Skiing? NOPE!
Travel to Vegas in Nov at 36weeks...to be determined, but I booked the flight while in a stubborn state. Why have I had the same picture in a frame on my table for years and all of a sudden it becomes extremely annoying to me every time I look at it. Instead of changing it, it just sits there and annoys me for no good reason?
No kool aid is left in the refrigerator and I just fixed it this morning...something to be expected normally, but it becomes super annoying in my condition. Again, all petty things! I could eat all the fruit right out of an orchard and keeping that amount of fruit on hand results in fruit flies. You want to get super frustrated...get invaded with fruit flies! UGH.

I'm not one to miss pregnancy when it's over, but I can't say it's all bad. It is much easier to carry them on the inside than the outside and this time around we've had the opportunity to have multiple ultrasounds so it has been really neat to watch the baby develop. He was eating his fist in this latest ultrasound. It will all be worth it when he gets here. That's a daily reminder to myself.

Here we invaded his little world to find him covering his eyes, but you can make out his nose and mouth. (wouldn't it be nice to replace the he's, him's and his with a name!?)

This too will pass ..and baby will get a name...and before I know it we'll be taking him to kindergarten. Time seems to fly with kids in the house!!! I can't believe Riley is already 3 and Christmas is around the corner. Didn't we just take down the decorations?

Lunch Box

Riley wanted to eat lunch in this box outside so I obliged.
His routine for eating a hot dog is interesting and he does it EVERY time! He wants his hot dog in a bun, but immediately takes the hot dog out and eats them separately.



The rain boots with shorts (probably not pictured) are in preparation for IKE to make his way here. I'm still trying to figure out the purpose of the tire pump...
He had it in there when I got home.


He will be schooled on the different sizes today at 3pm. :)

baby pajamas

I just discovered this brand "At Home" for children's pajamas.
I'm thinkin new baby and Riley are going to need these at Christmas.






I find these here. They even have some cute toile ones for girls!

Not just another day

I found this on Solar's site and thought I would pass it on.

I'll never forget calling my dad on 9/11/2001 and asking him if he had changed the windshield wipers on my car. He said NO! Have you turned on a TV today? I had not.
I watched with Awe just as everyone else did that day.

Remember the victims of 9/11.

INSTRUCTIONS... REALLY???

It might be a new container, but I'm pretty sure the concept has been around since the beginning of time. I guess they put that there for that one person who might spend his day looking for a nozzle.

Chick fil A.... (this should just be called fast food and customer service)

I LOVE to go through the drive through at Chick Fil A for tea on my way to work.
It's my treat for when I wake up WAY to early to help me make it through the day.
This morning I thought to myself that I probably would not make the best morning worker at this particular Chick Fil A.
They must watch some serious customer service videos because they ALWAYS say "my pleasure" after every thank you...regardless of the time of day.
Since I'm not big on conversation first thing in the morning, I might be the one at the window that has enough energy at 6am to sputter out an unenthused.. uhh huhh after every thank you.
So, kudos to those workers who greet their customers well at Chick Fil A.
It keeps me coming back. You don't get that at the other chains.

Funny, how I wrote that last line this morning. I went to Wendy's for a chicken sandwich at lunch and realized that I forgot to say no mayo when I ordered so I asked if I could get it with no mayo after the fact. The lady rolled her eyes at me then turned around and rudely stated that she needed one with no mayo.
I wanted so badly to tell her that it would be their pleasure to fulfill my request at CFA, but I bit my tongue and went on my way with my mayo-less chicken. Maybe she was having a bad day, but I would have been more appreciative of an unenthused uhh huhh than an eye rolling! I don't think I"ll be back to that particular Wendy's.

THIS BLOG NEEDS A GIVE AWAY!

You know those blogs that have sponsors and give away cool things? I have found something that I can't wait to give away.

This play station arrived this week and I'm ready for it to go already! I'm sure blogging etiquette will tell me not to rant on give aways, but I want the living room back!! Twice I have stepped away and returned shortly to find cords across the floor, my station turned, and a permanent fixture in the recliner. UGH!
So please, if you want a playstation at your house leave a comment.
Disclosure: it is loved by it's owner and he (or she) will come as a free gift to you!
BTW, I think we should boycott games that make us purchase a second controller. Is that not the biggest scam ever? I mean my ATARI and COLECOVISION came with TWO controllers.
Remember this classic?



Enough ranting..army wives is on (and I have to watch it in the bedroom!)

HAPPY BIRTHDAY LAUREN!

Lauren celebrated her birthday at a local restaurant and the kids had a great time!
She looked adorable and that cake was as every bit as yummy as it looks!!!

Here is Nana (Susie) with the kids. Lauren is the only girl at Nana's house, but she holds her own with these boys and we love her even more for it. That would be her dad lighting the candle for her. She gave a hearty blow and succeeded in blowing it out.


She received lots of help opening her presents. Lauren's mom, Beth, was trying to keep up, but she was outnumbered.



Riley and Lauren hugging.

Getting these kids to look and smile at the same time is well....impossible





Happy Birthday!