Merry Christmas y'all!

We kept up the usual traditions, but added a new one of putting stockings upstairs on the landing so we could open them in mommy and daddy's bed before the mass chaos of presents downstairs.

My favorite part of the day

As my kids get older (which is a relative term), my favorite part of the day is becoming the time when they get home from school. Partly because I've been refreshed by having a day of mommy time (or rather mommy and Abby time), but mostly because they love playing outside and I love watching them play outside.
I took this picture from inside because it was 46 outside. I love to watch them play, but I don't want to freeze!! They are kids, they can deal with the cold better than I can!

Buddy the elf returns...

Our elf on the shelf, Buddy, has returned for the season and it seems he's come back a little lazier. His very first night here, and he didn't even bother moving from his spot in the kitchen! Oops. I guess he "really liked that place" because he "could see and hear everything well" from there.

Dang Buddy. All I need is something else to forget right now. I can't even remember conversations from two days ago.

This little piggy

Some good friends of ours have a daughter who turned 13 over the weekend. All this 13 year old wanted from me was for me to make my homemade strawberry cake for her birthday dinner. I was more than happy to oblige! I decorated it with a pink fondant pig face bc she recently got involved in the 4H stuff at her school (of which I have no clue what that entails other than she has a pig that she has to take care of and show it off at things that are like pageants).
I made the fondant myself with a homemade marshmallow fondant recipe. It turned out prety cute!

Pinspiration

Happy thanksgiving y'all! In honor of the first thanksgiving and courtesy of Pinterest, I decided that we would make our own tipi. Below are the Pinterest pic and our attempt. As you can plainly see, I totally nailed it...

Moments

It's moments like these that warm my heart... My boys coloring with little sister looking on while I cook dinner.

Still life

This morning after the morning rush of getting one kid off to school and the others fed and clothed, etc, this bowl of lil cuties (mandarin oranges) caught my eye. It made me smile for just a minute and made me thankful for the little people that eat these little oranges up for snacks in the afternoon.

I am so thankful for these moments when God reminds me of how rich my life is.

Life is good. Lil cuties are good. Amen.

Jeggings and crocs

Thoughts:

Jeggings and crocs are so much cuter on babies and children than adults. Personal experience.

Creep-y Halloween

Halloween isn't scary for my kids. I have never liked scary Halloween stuff**, but the title of my post isn't about creepy in a scary sort of way. Rather, Abby is about redy to creep her way around the house. Girlfriend is thisclose to crawling!


**footnote: so, we may get worst parents of the year award for this, but last night, we were at a friend's house and they had a 10 year old friend over who was dressed as a gorilla/monkey. Complete with full monkey mask-like planet of the apes monkey. Our kids were out back when this monkey came over, and my husband thought it would be funny if this kid ran outside and scared Jackson and Sloan. Jackson- not afraid of anything- just took a swing at the monkey as he ran by roaring. Sloan, was a different story...he ran screaming his lungs out trying to hide behind someone, something, anything. It was funny, but for what it's worth, we immediately regretted it. Especially at bedtime when he wanted to sleep with his light saber so he could hit the monkey with it if he needed to. We almost ruined Sloan's first Halloween trick or treating. Yeah, bad parents.

Anyway, here are pics of Halloween costumes, pre-spooky monkey and Abby about ready to take off. She still manages to log roll her way around a room, though, so the lat pic is one where she ended up under her bed.

Jeans

Jackson refuses to wear any type of clothing other than athletic wear on any day except Sunday. On Sunday he will wear jeans for the three hours that are involved in getting ready for church, being at church, and coming home or eating lunch out after church. I used to fight the battle and try to get him to wear jeans or even khaki shorts to school. But I stopped. With 3 kids, I've got 3 wars going on and I choose my battles with each kiddo. But Wednesday he actually wore jeans, though! Because everyone had to for scarecrow pictures!! I'll take what I can get! Oh, and the pics turned out super cute. Here's a cellphone preview:

Tooth crazy

Jackson has had his first loose tooth for the past two months. Looser and looser it would get, but he wouldn't pull it. He would let anyone and everyone wiggle it. And just FYI, it completely grossed and freaked me out at all the adults that would put their finger in his mouth to wiggle his tooth!! I had to lecture him and a few adult friends about germs and the general nastiness of this. I put an end to that. Blech. I still shudder when I think about the random dirty hands touching that tooth...

Anyway, this whole week, the tooth has been just barely hanging on. He's been eating like a dog gnawing a bone- with one side of his back teeth (it the front bottom tooth that was loose). Sunday we were at a friend's house and she tried and tried to pull it and even tried bribing him with froyo. We all spent about an hour in the bathroom convincing him to let one of us pull it to no avail. So last night, after hours of agony in trying to let him pull it or let him let me pull it, I finally got a grip on the sucker and yanked it out. (After letting him take some ibuprofen and convincing him it would not hurt) Well, not really yanked, more like plucked. It was so loose it didn't even deserve to be there. And what do you know, he agreed it didn't hurt.

Now, the tooth fairy is $3 poorer ( seriously, his buddy at school got $3 for a tooth and thus, has set the standard...which makes me think he needs friends with cheaper parents. I was thinking more like $1 was good- he does, after all have about 30 teeth o lose over his childhood, right??).

The Georgia aquarium

Last month, while we were in Atlanta for my brother's wedding, we visited the Georgia Aquarium, which is the world's largest aquarium. It was very impressive and worth it. They had a dolphin show that was like a dolphin show Disney World style- it was worth the price of admission alone. Don't have any pics of it because they weren't allowed, but if you ever go, it's a must see!

Recliner update

So remember the recliner that the husband brought home a few weeks ago?? How I was supposed to Craigslist it?? Well, it has now been moved from my garage to our third car garage (aka my husband's garage). And he thinks he might keep it there. Picture it: kiddos are playing in the driveway, and I ask them where their daddy is. They reply: he's resting in the garage. Yep, sure enough, he's fully reclined in the third garage. There was even talk of installing a window unit AC.... Shudder...

Too early for Christmas?

So it's just now fall, but I'm already thinking about Christmas. Not that I am wishing for time to go quickly by-I absolutely love fall- it's probably my favorite season (all two weeks of it here in Texas), but I like to plan ahead. Even when it's just Christmas decor. I came upon an idea for the tree in Canadian House and home magazine. They suggested putting your tree in a basket instead of a tree skirt. What a good idea! I don't currently have a basket that is big enough but I do have a big galvanized tub that I may use!

Never too early to start planning!!

5k: check

Last Saturday I ran my first 5k! Woohoo! It poured rain the entire time, sometimes sideways. By the time I was finished, my clothes were so wet it felt like I'd jumped in a pool with everything on. But it was fun! The first mile was the hardest- it always is for me, then I start to feel like my body has accepted that it's running and starts to coast. In fact, when I finished, my husband started saying it would be cool if I ran in stuff like the Boston marathon. Whoa. What? That's my hubby: always dreaming bigger than I ever would dare, but my life would be less exciting and simply Less if it weren't for him. Maybe one day- far far down the road. Far.
The best moment of my 5k: at the end seeing my little family under their umbrellas cheering me on! (And Sloan in his bathrobe too).

It's Fall, y'all!

It's officially fall and I think our triple digit temps are over for the year (fingers crossed). So, I've got some fall wreaths and other decor out. Oh, apparently remote control monster trucks are included in fall decor:

Wedded bliss

As I write this post, we are driving towards the Georgia/Alabama state line headed back to Texas. Last night was my brothers wedding. It was beautiful and all the bridesmaids dresses looked perfect together! The wedding was in lake Lanier just north of Atlanta. The entire wedding party and guests took a boat over to a small island for the ceremony and dinner. Then we all boarded back on the boat for dancing and cake and drinks! My boys tore up the dance floor. Here are just a few of the pics I managed to get for now. More will definitely be coming.

I'm sorry, but do we know each other??

The other day my husband went to help my elderly neighbor move a chair in her living room. She bought a new one apparently and needed to move an old one. He made quick work and was back in 5 minutes... Pulling a recliner set precariously on top of our kids' wagon. I thought it was for the trash, but he walked right by the trash and went straight into our garage and set it down. Whaaat?? I asked him what he was doing with a blue recliner?? He said he was going to put it on the screen porch! Whaaat?? The screen porch?!? Seriously!! I know!! Can you believe it??! Me neither!!
I quickly told him NO and MAYBE he could put it up in the game room. Maybe. He responded that he wasn't hauling it up the stairs. Blah blah hideous blah. Long story short, I am about to list it on Craigslist.

I am just flabbergasted by this whole sequence of events. It's like he doesn't even know me. And I made sure when we were dating that there was full disclosure regarding my feelings towards recliners in my house.

Oh, and a side note: I asked what kind of chair the neighbor replaced it with and he said, verbatim, "some uncomfortable flowery chair."

Seriously, I almost asked him if we had ever met before.

The chair (shudder) in all it's glory:

Bathroom chandelier

One of the items on my list for redecorating my house was installing a new light over my tub. Since the month after we finished construction on our house, I have wanted to replace the lame can light over the tub. I kicked myself for not doing this while we were actually building the house, but it's hard to get every single thing right or perfect even when we built it ourselves and picked everything out. It gets a little overwhelming. Plus, most towns have a code that doesnt allow for light fixtures to be a below a certain height from the bath tub so as to prevent electrocution. Probably a good thing. I think my new light fixture is code worthy bc it's close to the ceiling and our ceilings are tall.

I found this chandelier on amazon and loved it. Bought it and my husband opened the box to install it and of course it came in 100 pieces. Literally
So he had one of his employees come over and put it together who did it much faster than we ever could.

Forgive the lighting in the second pic. Once again, I am blogging from my phone bc I'm too lazy to take pics with my nice camera and then upload them
On my computer.

Italian chicken recipe

I made the Italian chicken dish last night and it was delish! I recommend it for it's tastiness and simplicity in preparation.

Recipe:

-4-8 boneless chicken breast (depending on how many you are feeding. It really is this flexible)
- one can artichoke hearts chopped
- 5 large diced Roma tomatoes
- 3 cloves minced garlic
- fresh basil
- mozzarella (I used fresh mozzarella and used about one cup, although the bagged kind would be just as good)
- 1 tsp sugar
- 2 T flour
-extra virgin olive oil
- salt and pepper

Mix artichokes, tomatoes, garlic, sugar and flour in a bowl. Season generously with salt and pepper. Pour into a greased 9x13 baking dish

Season chicken breasts with salt and pepper and arrange over artichoke mixture

Bake at 350 30-40 minutes. Remove from oven and sprinkle/ cover with mozzarella cheese and bake 5-10 minutes until brown and bubbly. I actually turned on the low broiler to get it brown since I used fresh mozzarella.

Remove from oven and sprinkle sliced fresh basil over dish.

I served this over whole wheat spaghetti and thought it was SO good. Can't wait to eat the leftovers tonight!

Italian chicken

Pinterest. Gotta love pinterest for the recipes alone. I think I've added at least 6 new regular meals/ desserts to my repertoire thanks to pinterest.

Tonight, I'm making this Italian Chicken dish. It's a one dish meal with Roma tomatoes, artichoke hearts, chicken and mozzarella sprinkled with fresh basil. My mouth is watering just thinking about it. I will update you on how it turns out and post the recipe of its worthy!

My first 5k

In somewhat related news to the previous post about my hunt for a bridesmaids dress, I have signed up for my very first 5K. I gave myself one month to train. I'm in week two of training and have run 3 to 4 miles two to three times per week. I am determined to not look like I need to go to the emergency room when the real 5K is over. I'm pretty proud of myself for the distances I have run so far, but have avoided posting the runs on Facebook because I loathe when my friends perkily post things like "just finished up a 10 mile run today uphill against the wind in 95 percent humidity!". Blech. Besides, my posts would be more along the lines of "just finished up a 4 mile run inside on the treadmill in the air conditioning with the fan blowing directly on me." As my husband likes to point out, my body was not made to be a distance runner. Long, lithe legs I have not. But I played sports all throughout my school years and ran lots then. I may not be the fastest or that freak woman who runs a marathon after giving birth two weeks before, but I think I'm doing pretty good with a 5K five months after my third baby. Plus, helps me look better in my Forever 21 bridesmaids dress.

So far:
- I remember how much I like the way running makes me feel afterwards.
-I enjoy rocking out to ridiculously peppy music on my iPod when running
-It feels good to just sweat like crazy (weird, I know).
-I find it weird that 4 miles one day can be so easy and two days later it can feel like I am running through mud with lead feet.
-I am thinking I might want to do a 5K every month or every other month. It's been a great motivator for me. There's no way I'd be running like this now if I didn't have a 5K coming up.

Go me!

Staying put

It's official! We've been in our current house for 2 years and 4 months. That's the longest we've ever lived in one place or house we've owned! And what's even more unbelievable is that we have no plans to move! We still talk about moving but old habits die hard. Since we are not remodeling or building a new house, I have an itch to scratch so I am redecorating a bit. Getting some new furniture for the front living room (which I'll blog about in another post). For now, I'm enjoying staying put!

Forever 21?

My brother is getting married in two weeks. It's a huge deal because he's 7 years older than me, never been married and we thought he never would. But, turns out his future bride was so much younger than him that he had to wait this long. She's ten years younger. (unrelated side note: there are lots of spelling etc errors in my posts lately that drive me crazy bc I am typing on my iPad or iPhone. But, I'm blogging, so I can deal with it and I hope you can too!).

Anyway, back to the wedding of the decade. I'm a bridesmaid. She told us to get blushy/pink/beigy dresses. (insert head smack). I get where she's going because I've seen her pinterest posts, but it's been ridiculous to coordinate with the other ladies, whom I do not even know. Oh, and I have to wear said dress five months after giving birth to my third child. Spanx, anyone? Wonder if doubling up on the spanx would make me twice as skinny...

So, in search of this mythical dress color, I have bought no less than 6 dresses. I've returned all but two. The latest one I found at Forever 21. Which, is really subject of this post. I've never been inside forever 21. Mainly because I thought it was for teenagery girls and clearly, I, dragging two of my kids into the store, do not fall into that category. But, I saw this dress that seemed the perfect color in the window. So I dared to venture into Forever 21. I'm not gonna lie, I half expected the sales lady to stop me, say "sorry ma'am, but can I see your ID? We only let people 24 or below shop here. And that's even pushing it.". But, surprisingly, I was left unaccosted. I grabbed the dress and headed for the nearest dressing room. Turns out, the only dressing room was up a short flight of stairs...with no ramp..for my double stroller that obviously screams "I am not 21". But wait! There was a fancy wheelchair lift beside the stairs! I load my kids in and pressed the button. Nothing happened. I'll spare the details, but five mintues later (no joke) I ended up grabbing my un-21 like double stroller and hauling it up the 6 steps like the hulk with my two year old behind me. Success! Finally, I tried it on. Perfect fit, perfect color! And cheap too! But it was see-through chiffon. Dang. I needed a slip. So, at the register, I asked the sales girl if they sold slips. You would have thought that I asked her if she sold dentures there. Sigh. I paid, then took my very non-21 year old butt to Dillards and bought a slip in what was pretty likely the old lady under garment section.

I will post pics of the dress, if I decide on that one, after the wedding. With all that effort, it will likely be the one!

Stained concrete floors

It's been a while, but I didn't blog over the summer so I'm playing catchup on certain home improvements we've been doing. Yes, we've been home improving our 2 yr old house that we custom built. Why? Because its 2 years old and usually by this time we are either remodeling another house or have moved into another house. Ive got the itch... And we really like where we are and our house, but I need I scratch that itch.

So, one of the projects was our porch floors. I was choosing between slate tile or staining the concrete. Obviously, staining is much more economical because I don't have to buy tile. Plus, if I didn't like it, we could always tile over the stained floor. Turns out, I really like the stain. And it was super easy. We did both the screen porch an the front porch. Here's pics of the screen porch. It jus gives the room that finished look.

Well, that was easy

Aaaaaannnnndd Sloan is officialy potty trained. He pretty much trained himself. I AM that good of a mother. Haha :) seriously though, he pretty much took to his own devices and trained himself. I was not good at all about asking him if he had to potty every 30 minutes like I was with Jackson. Sloan would be in the middle of something, get that sensation and tell me he had to go. AWESOME!! I'm sure we will have a few mishaps from here on out, but geez, I can't believe he did it!

Potty training. Ugh.

Sloan has decided that he needs to be potty trained. I'm not ready. The one thing I hate about parenthood is potty training. I'd rather leave it up I peer pressure when they go to school... I know, I know, bad mommy.

I did the "potty training in a day" with my first. That is easy to do when you only have one child. You can stay home all day and put him on the potty every 30 minutes. This just doesn't happen when there's 3 kids running around.

It all started with toy story underwear he found at target. He loved them so I figured sure, why not? He's been great in the morning and then after nap he would tell me he had to go after the fact. That was the first week. I haven't been pushing it at all. I'm not interested. (who's the child here??). But, Sloan is nothing if not persistent. So, we keep at it. Of course, he always has to go just when I sit down I nurse Abby. I've gotten good at ripping off pants and a diaper with one hand while holding my nursing baby in the other. I'm sure glad no one else lives with us to see this spectacle.

Anyway, the last two days he's been great. I think it's just becoming aware that he has to go and telling me before he goes. He's a smart kiddo who is VERY verbal, so that's not a problem. The only regret I have is that we are leaving on a road trip to Georgia in three weeks. Road trip and potty training do not mix. Sigh. We are in too deep to stop now.

On the plus side, no more poopy diapers from him. Poopy diapers from bigger kids are just plain awful. As Sloan has discovered in the pic below. Now he knows what we've been dealing with!

Me and the girl

Me and the girl. I think there's a resemblance.

No looking back

The first day of kindergarten is over and done with. He was all smiles when he got in the car and told me all about what he did that day (which is pretty good for a kid that usually tells me one thing, if that, about his day). I asked if he wanted to go back the next day and he was adamant that he did. The boy has gone off to school and there's no looking back for him.

In fact, he asked if he could stay in the after school care that is for kids whose parents both work and can't pick them up until later. WHAT?! This kid does not get that it is a privilege to be able to have a stay at home mom. I told him he was lucky I get pick him up and he doesnt have to stay. I'm not sure he agreed, but I made him brownies for an after school snack to win him over to my side. I might have added that those kids dont get brownies and special after school snacks...

He might not be looking back, but he's going to feel me holding on to him, dragging behind him holding on for dear life. :)

First day of stupid kindergarten

Well, he's off. I survived. It was surprisingly anticlimactic. But things in life usually are when you spend so much time worrying about them, don't they? Besides, he was so excited it was nearly impossible to be sad. It was tough getting his lunch made this morning and I kept thinking, why do I have to send him away? Why is this hard? Stupid kindergarten for making me feel this way. Ok, kindergarten is not stupid, and I really believe he is at a great school. But it's still stupid. You know, how when you're in high school and you like boys, but think they're stupid at the same time (that also extends into the college years, come to think of it). But, the sad part of then morning was actually when Sloan thought he was going and had to leave. He even wore his own backpack to drop Jackson off.

So now Sloan, Abby, and I are left to our own devices.