money.money.money.

This is a constant struggle in our house.  Need versus want.  And being content with living with less.

Sometimes this goes very well.  We've on track to be debt-free (except our mortgage and student loans) by next summer.  No car payments.  No credit cards.  No hospital bills for cute babies.  We just paid cash for the super-cool minivan and paid off the Mazda thirteen months early. 

We've gotten rid of cable, lowered our grocery bill, and stopped eating out as much.  I've tried to stop shopping, but that's painful (although cash only seems to be doing the trick). 

I can say, with God's help, that we've been tithing religiously (can you use that word to describe tithing??) since we've been married (five years in October!!).  And support some missionaries whom we love dearly in New Orleans.  We donate often to charities and are getting pretty good at knowing what's important and what's not. 

But sometimes we get off track.  Like when we went to IKEA recently.  I'm glad it's a two-hour trip.  That's a safe distance for my wallet.  Any closer and I'd go more often and that, that could be dangerous.  I got a lot of neat stuff, but we probably could have done without some of it.  But I couldn't help it.  And Chris isn't good at saying no to me.  Which I might sometimes take advantage of.  Sometimes.

Or when it comes to things for my girls.  I love to buy them clothes.  Or neat stuff for their rooms.  Or shoes (I love me some little kid shoes).  And, again, Chris isn't good at saying no to stuff for our babies.

So some days, I feel we're being responsible and preparing for the future (not just living for today money-wise which is what we used to do), and then other days, I feel broke and poor. 

But then I realize all that we have.  And we have so much.  So much more than we need. 

And I want to be an example to our girls.  When I was little, no matter what money I made (allowance, birthday money, babysitting money), my dad made us tithe ten percent and save twenty percent.  I thought this was beyond unfair when I was younger.

How was I supposed to buy a new pocket rocker tape when you just took three of my $10 away?  Thanks for ruining my life, Dad.

But now I get it.  And I want my daughters to do the same thing.  And they're going to hate it just as much as I did.  But they'll thank me one day, you watch.

that might be a little too much

I headed back to school this week.  I sort of forgot how consuming my job was.  I had four months off and, apparently, lost all memory of the stress.

And while I am super-duper awesome at time management (well, most of the time, anyway), I'm starting to feel  like I will never get everything done that I need to.  Ever.

7:30 to 3:00 everyday my room is full of 30+ kids who require 110% of my attention.  Literally, someone might get killed if I'm not paying attention.  After school is when I need to attend the twelfth meeting of the week, find some time to plan some awesome lessons, grade hundreds of papers, and make some copies.  Oh, and manage a team of eight other teachers because that's part of my job.  Oh, and do paperwork and discipline plans for 163 students because that's part of my leadership role also.

Then come home and make dinner for my cute, little family.  And play with those cute kids.  But they need baths and bed time comes fast (7:00 for Harper and 8:00 for Elliott) and Mommy never seems to get enough time to play with them.  I already miss them a LOT and it's only been four days.  Sigh.

Then work on my coupons for the week, make a grocery list, blogblogblog, laundry, pack a lunch for the next day, get clothes ready, read a book (HA...okay, not really, but I do try), talk to my husband, devotional, pay some bills, water some dying plants, take a shower, and then, literally, pass out in bed.

Oh, and I just became a Thirty-One Gifts consultant and am starting to host parties.  This job has nothing to do wanting to make extra money.  I just {love} those bags so much.  And I want other peeps to see how awesome they are also. 

I'm not complaining (even though it sounds like it), because I'm happy to have a job when a lot of people don't.  And we have the luxury of Chris being able to stay home with the girls and he is able to do a lot of the house stuff during the day.  And I don't have to worry about my kids during the day because they're probably at the Children's Museum or the zoo having fun and not caring at all that I'm not around. 

But it still sucks  just a little.  And I'm sure that will go away when we get into the routine of me being back at work and Chris being home.  But for today, I'm missing my babies, my no-work schedule, and wearing my pajamas until noon. 

Sigh.

the opposite of that day

You know how recently I had that awesome day where everything went great and I was crowned #1 mom? 

Now imagine the opposite of that day and that might begin to explain how this day went.

It started so well!  I got to shower before Chris left for work, we got out of the house early (early!), and we made it through Target with no meltdowns or screaming (from Mommy or the kids).  Things were looking good.

And then we got to the Children's Museum.  We were meeting my sister, my nieces, and my cousin's wife and two boys.  My cousin, Ben, is in the Coast Guard and stationed in California, but is at sea right now so she's here for a visit. 

Again, I got there early (two in a row? Perhaps a new record.), and we killed 45 minutes in the gift shop and at the dinosaur and train exhibits.  Elliott is scared of both those exhibits (??) so that didn't last long. 

Finally, everyone arrives and we head up to the playscape.  It's an area for kids 5 and under with water, sand, slides, coloring, storytime...everything that thrills a toddler.  Right before everyone got there, I made sure to take Elliott to the bathroom.  She's been potty trained since December and the only time we have problems is when she's at the museum...she can't make herself stop playing and go to the bathroom.  This is soooo frustrating and I even gave her a little pep talk on the way there to make sure there were no accidents.

So the kids are playing and I was at the stroller getting a tissue for the giant man-booger that blew out of Elliott's nose when she laughed at something, when my sister brings Ellie over to me.  And she's walking funny.  Like "I have something in my pants" funny.

Melissa informs me that Elliott has to go to the bathroom.  But it was obvious by the funny walk and the odd mound in her pants that she had already went.  My first thought is, "it's probably just something we can dump in the toilet."  

But, no.  It's summer, and in the summer Ellie lives on fruit.  And the past couple days had been nothing but blueberries.  So it wasn't, shall we say, "scoopable."  

So I threw her underpants away, smeared poop all over her leg, the side of the toilet, and managed to get it on both of her shoes while cleaning her up.  Put her poop covered shorts back on her and we head home.  Elliott is very upset by this (we were going to play all morning, have a picnic, tons of fun stuff) and she didn't understand why we had to leave.

Um, BECAUSE YOU POOPED YOUR PANTS.

We got home, and I cleaned Elliott up and put her on the couch to watch a cartoon before her nap.  I also left Harper on the couch while I ran downstairs to put stain remover on the poop clothes and start the laundry.

Did you catch that?  I left my three month old baby on the couch while I went to another level of my house.  Pick up on that?  Okay, good, let's contine this train wreck.

When I came back upstairs to check on the girls, Harper's body is hanging off the couch with her head, shoulders, and a little of her chest still clinging on for dear life.  I'm really not sure how she didn't fall.  Thank you God and suspension of gravity for that one. 

And there's more, if you believe it.  But if I keep going, someone might come and take my children from me.  And I like them and want them to stay with me, so I'm going to end my day here.  But know that it didn't really end here.  There is more, so much more.  And none of it was good. 

I'm just glad I have the super-mom days every once in a while so I don't feel so bad about the poop-smeared, baby-almost-fell-of-the-couch ones.

handling your craft habit

I love to craft, create, decorate, and share. 

But, dang, that can get expensive.

So when I came across this on a crafting blog I read, I was excited to find new websites to explore and new ways to shop.

And when there is never enough hours in the day, it's nice for your neighbors to have a garage sale like mine did last weekend.

The amount of craft stuff these people had at their garage sale would make Martha Stewart proud.  Table after table of fabrics, rows and rows of craft and gift ribbon, and at least one hundred circular needlepoint fabric holders (that I've had on my shopping list for a while).  I have no idea where all this stuff came from, but they were overflowing with crafty items.  I literally stood at my front window all day Thursday watching them set up and texting or calling Chris to tell him about the things I wanted.  I'm sure he was just as excited as I was.  Or maybe even more, you never know.   

But I got about ten different fabrics for exciting projects I have brewing.  And I even got some Barney fabric to make little blankets for Ellie's dolls.  That girl loves some Barney. 

I saw a fun wall decoration I want to do with the needle point holders on a kitchen wall (and, of course, now that I'm looking for it, I can't find it anywhere.  And I didn't even add it to my Pinterest account.  I suck.).

I also got some foam rings to make wreaths for our front door and some ribbon.  I think I spent $8 total.  It was amazing.

But if you aren't lucky enough to stumble on a craft sale outside your door, check out the article, it's got enough stuff to keep you occupied for a couple hours.  Because I'm sure you have nothing better to do, right?

IKEA shopping list

Today we're heading out on one last little trip before I head back to school Thursday after four months off (boo).  And on our way to our destination, we're planning to make a little pit stop at the beloved IKEA. 

Nothing big this time, just small things that can fit in the van and not be in the way for the rest of our trip. 

 Here's what's on the list:

Smasha 3-piece flatware set

I randomly picked up a set of these last time we were there and since then have been wanting a couple more.  Of all the utensils we have for Elliott, these get used the most.  They're easy to eat with and the perfect size for her chubby, little hands.  Also, I like that it comes with a little knife.  While I'm making dinner, I'll give Elliott a little cutting board and whatever I'm working with (pasta, veggies, fruit, cheese, bread, etc.) and let her help chop it.  What normally happens is she either eats it or mangles it so bad nobody wants to eat it, but it keeps her busy, she gets to "help", and I get dinner done.  Everybody wins.

Lillabo Rail kit

Elliott got the 20-piece train set for Christmas and loves to play trains with Chris.  And Conductor Chris has requested more tracks to help make their train town the best.  So we're getting this extension kit so they can keep rollin'.

Ribba black frame

I've been working on a wall of black framed photos, artwork, and random found items in our living room for about five months.  And I'm at a stand-still now because I know I can get the frames I want at IKEA and I refuse to buy them anywhere else.  I need lots of different styles and sizes.  And then I need to print some pictures of Harper to put in them.  That poor girl is three and a half months old and we don't have one printed picture of her.  Bad Mommy. 

Renate Flora curtains

I recently painted our kitchen, changing it from a green to a soft, off-white.  It really brightened it up and made the space look and feel a lot bigger.  But I have a hutch that I painted a while back that is bright yellow.  It looked fine with the green, but I'm not so sure what to do with the rest of the kitchen now that I have off-white walls and a yellow hutch.  But these curtains (that I love.love.love) would be a great jumping off point for the rest of the colors, patterns, and wall art.  I just love them and they're exactly the feeling I want in my kitchen: light, airy, playful, and happy. 

    Granat Cushion

I love the idea of having pillows on our kitchen chairs.  To sit on, to lean on, to look pretty.  Mmm, it just makes me want to stay in my kitchen longer if it looks cozy.  And I'm in the process of painting my old kitchen table and replacing the chairs with random, found ones from yard sales or thrift stores.  I want the look of eclectic, but put together; mismatched, but cohesive.  And it's fun looking for chairs.  It'll make a dramatic statement without a dramatic price tag.  And these pillow will help them all look pulled together.

Fillsta Pendant Lamp

We need more lighting in our kitchen.  When we moved the hutch in, we took out a light fixture that was in the way and just put a cover over the hole.  But I love light, and since then it's just been too dark on that side of the kitchen.  This would look perfect hanging above (and slightly in front of) the hutch.  A little mix of old and modern.  Let's just hope it's not too big.

So that's about all we'll have room for in the van (and our budget).  It might take a minute to get everything put together, but I'll share pictures when it's done.

Devil in the Details

If I were going to write a book, this is the one I would want to write.  But without the obsessive-compulsive disorder.  And the Judaism.  But other than that, this would be the book.

 

Devil in the Details: Scenes from an Obsessive Girlhood by Jennifer Traig consuming, hilarious, touching, and embarrassing all at the same time.

Growing up in the 70's and early 80's, Traig gets to experience all kinds of horrible things (anorexia, OCD, and scruples to name a few), but writes about it with such humor that you don't pity anything she's been through.  You don't feel sorry for her.  And that is a feat in writing, if there ever was one.

There are multiple laugh out loud moments (and her parents where it becomes obvious where she got her wicked sense of humor) and I could not wait to get into bed each night to keep reading.  

One memorable part is when she, as a slightly chubby preteen, describes being named Jennifer Traig right around the time a weight loss program came out with a very similar name.  She declares herself lucky to have started being anorexic just before that epidemic.  Lucky, indeed.

This book entertained me in a way no other obsessive-compulsive, highly Orthodox, anorexic Jewish author could.  I loved it.

I would {pub crawl} 500 miles

Last weekend, we held our annual Beech Grove pub crawl.  Our goal is to hit all five bars in town, but we have yet to actually do this.  Although this year we came closer than ever.

This year's pub crawl was different than past ones.  In hindsight, I think knowing I had two small children at home that would be waking up around 7:00 AM was not helpful.  Past years, Elliott has been able to spend the night at my parents' house and I didn't have to worry about taking care of anyone the next morning.  That wasn't the case this year.

Also, this pub crawl was probably the most random group of people we've ever had.  I invite tons of people (probably about 50) and then see who shows up.  And I'm glad so many people came, but not enough people knew each other to get the party started.  I needed my hype girl Christine by my side and she was in Chicago for the weekend. 

But I fun.  I got to see my husband karaoke.  I got to drink with a priest.  I got to butcher "Love Shack" again.  All-in-all, it was quite an enjoyable night.

Cheers!

thrifty belts

A blogger I absolutely adore wrote once that she never buys belts anywhere but thrift shops.  She said you can find such great belts there for dirt cheap that she refuses to pay full price for a belt at a store.

So she inspired me to go belt shopping the other day.  And here's what I got:

I wore the black and white floral one with a blue dress this week and it was smashing (if I do say so myself...). 

I spend maybe $9 on all four of them and I could have bought more if I stayed longer.  This shopping trip was at the Salvation Army, but not my most beloved one where I find all my treasures.  So I'm excited to get there soon, because they always have the best stuff.

Now get to thrifting!

pasta summer

One thing I get all the time for free (with coupons) is pasta.  I've got one whole shelf dedicated to pasta in my stockpile and it's a regular in my donation bag. 

But sometimes it's hard to come up with a new recipe using pasta.  During the colder months, we eat pasta at least once a week, but since it's summer (and sooo freakin' hot out), pasta just doesn't sound appetizing.  But after reading an article on NPR.com about how to use summer vegetables and herbs in your pasta, I'm ready to welcome pasta back into the weekly dinner rotation.

Check these out!

(And if you end up making one of them, let me know how it turns out!)

the last week

This is the last full week of my summer break.  {tear}

Next Thursday teachers report for meetings and then the kids come back August 1st.  Even though I've been off for over four months, I'm still not looking forward to going back.  I like being home with my babies.  But the bills have to be paid, and that's my job...

Ellie is at Miss Lori's, Harper is asleep, and I'm getting things done.  It seems like the last couple weeks before I go back to school are always the busiest; trying to cram in all the stuff I didn't get to, trying to visit the Children's Museum or the zoo one more time, hoping to get everything "set" so when school starts (and the craziness), there will be a calm at home.

This doesn't ever really happen, but it's always a goal.

So this morning I'm doing laundry, dishes, washing bed sheets, dusting, cutting coupons, painting another coat on the kitchen table, grocery shopping, having lunch with a friend, and about five other things that probably won't get done.  

I'm listening to

 

which reminds me of summer, Krissy's farm, and an overwhelming sadness.  That summer was rough and beautiful all at the same time.  A summer of high highs and really low lows.  But I wouldn't change a thing.  I understand why it had to be.

So I'm spending the day remembering an old summer and trying to squeeze every last second out of this one.  It just moves too fast.

 

sweet baby time and the soccer ball rattle

Most of the time, I would prefer Elliott and Harper to take their afternoon naps at the same time.  It's just nice to have a break.  Sometimes that happens and sometimes it doesn't.

The other day, it didn't.  So while Ellie was sleeping, Harper and I got to have some play time on the couch. 

I do love some me time, but it's also nice when I just get to spend some time with Harper.  Ellie is two and super-demanding, so sometimes I feel that Harper gets neglected.  I know she's really not, but when Ellie was a baby, I could spend an hour playing with her on the floor or talking to her while she hung out on the changing table.  Now everything seems rushed.  I didn't get to sit and stare at Harper for hours when she was a newborn the way I did with Elliott (that seems a little creepy now that I type it...). 

But the other day, I got to play (and stare) at Harper.  I liked it and I think she did too.  Just look at those cute legs!

She's starting to grasp things now and I love watching her reach for something she sees.  And then immediately shove it in her mouth.  It's hilarious to watch. 

Especially since Elliott never did that.  She never put things in her mouth, even when she started crawling.  She might have gotten into something she shouldn't have or made a big mess, but she never put things in her mouth.  Harper, on the other hand, shoves everything in her mouth.  Everything.  And goos it with her crazy drool.  She has to be getting teeth, but I can't feel anything yet.

Here's Elliott with the first toy she held onto, a soccer ball rattle I received as a gift at a baby shower from my Grandma Ritter.

(It's not the camera angle that makes her look like a balding man, she really was born bald on top, but had tons of hair on the sides.  A little baby with male-pattern baldness...)

And here's Harper with the same toy.  She loves it just as much as Ellie did.

Although, again, Elliott never did this with it.



the cat's pajamas

Or kids' pajamas, rather.

When you buy children's PJs this is what is always attached to them:

What?  Do people really need to know this?

I'm sure it's some kind of law and there was some horrible (yet completely preventable) accident that resulted in these yellow tags, but really?

Every time I take one of these tags off something I've bought, I come up with these crazy stories about some parent lighting candles in a kid's room before they go to bed.  Or letting them sleep too close to the fireplace.  Or a tooth fairy leaving a lighter instead of a dollar under the pillow and things just go downhill from there.

Seriously, these are the things that go through my head. 

But at least I know next time there is a fire, don't try to put it out with my kid's pajamas.  Whew, glad we cleared that up.

the simple things

This makes my heart sing.

As a mom, I love to see the big sister wanting to do things with the little sister.  And that little sister will sit patiently while that big sister does anything around her.  She already adores her.

As an English teacher, I love that my daughter wants to read books!  Sometimes when Ellie is being too quiet in another room, it means she's coloring on the shelves again or taking all the nail polish out of the linen closet.  But more and more often, it's because she's found a book and is sitting down to "read" it.  This brings me such joy.

14 Years and Counting

See this hideous dog figurine?

Horrible, huh?  Well, this thing has been haunting me (and a few others) for years.

Flashback to high school: My sister, Melissa, my best friend, Krissy, and I were at home watching my mom clean out a closet.  Okay, so we probably weren't "watching her clean out a closet" as in sitting there staring at her, but she was cleaning out a closet and we were all somewhere close by.  Bored, apparently. 

Krissy spots this dog sculpture and says some comment about how ugly it is.  My mom tells us it belonged to my great grandmother Elisabeth (where my middle name comes from) and she doesn't really like it, but it's her grandmother's and she can't get rid of it.

Next thing you know, we're hiding the ugly dog somewhere in the house.  A day or two later, my mom finds it and hides it in one of our bedrooms (it's been 14 years, I forget some of the details...).  This goes on and on for a while.  

Present Day:  It might be missing for months and then it randomly pops up somewhere you least expect it.  What started as a high school prank, has morphed into four grown women hiding this stupid thing and then just waiting for someone to find it.  It's quite fun.

One morning in June, I stopped by Krissy's house to visit ("visit"...does that make me sound old?).  That's when she struck...I just didn't know it until a couple days later when Chris pulled the dogs out of Elliott's toy box in the car and said, "What is this?" with a disgusted look on his face.  

Since then I've been biding my time, just waiting for the perfect opportunity...and now it's here. 

I recently hosted a Thirty-One Gifts party at my house and Krissy ordered some things.  She just returned from Florida this week and hasn't been by to pick up her stuff yet.  But when she does, hidden in a large bag (that I know she won't open until she's home), BOOM.  Green dogs.

And the game continues...

That's Bananas and Chocolate Chip Cookies

Recipes as promised...

{world famous} chocolate chip cookies

cream until light and fluffy :

2 eggs

one (cold) stick of butter

1/2 cup vegetable oil

1 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup sugar

1 tsp. vanilla

in a separate bowl combine & sift:
(to me "sift" means mix with a spoon...) 

2 1/2 cups flour

1 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. soda

add dry ingredients in thirds.  add about 2 cups (more or less depending on personal preference).  bake at 350 degrees for 12 minutes (or more if you like darker cookies).

eat. delicious. repeat.

banana bread
cream:
3/4 cup margarine (or butter Crisco)
1 1/2 cups sugar

add:
2 eggs
3 bananas (slightly mashed)
1 tsp. vanilla

combine in a separate bowl & sift:
2 cups flour
1 tsp. soda
3/4 tsp. salt

add dry ingredients to creamed mixture in batches, alternating dry ingredients with 1/2 cup buttermilk.  pour into two loaf pans and bake at 350 degrees for 40-45 minutes.

Same as above: eat. delicious. repeat.

*I don't ever have buttermilk just sitting around so according to this handy and well-used cookbook, you can substitute milk with a splash of white vinegar.  It works and they're still yummy.  I've actually never made the recipe with buttermilk, I always do the substitution.

*Also, we don't like nuts in our banana bread, but adding nuts, chocolate chips, or dried fruit to this bread is perfectly acceptable!

Letter from a Princess

I swore Elliott wouldn't do Disney stuff.  I personally find it obnoxious and too girly. 

But I guess Elliott didn't get the memo.

So I'm sending a Disney princess a letter about how much "we love her" and the princess is going to send Ellie a signed picture.

Gag me.

The things we do for our kids.

sobbing

A coupon blog I follow posted a guest post a couple days ago entitled "When Money is the Last Thing on Your Mind."  The title got my attention so I clicked on it. 

And it literally broke my heart. 

I'm glad the TV was loud while Chris was watching a Hellboy cartoon (yes, I typed that correctly...unfortunately), so he couldn't hear me sobbing.  It consumed me with sadness.  And it's making me cry just typing it. 

It's not just her story (don't get me wrong, that is gut-wrenching on its own), but the idea that a mom would have to bury a child seems so painful. 

It makes me think of my sister, my strong, resilient sister and burying Isabella.  It makes me think of how consumed I was when Elliott was born and my fear of her dying (of SIDS, of being dropped, of suffocation, of drowning, of accidentally banging her head on the wall as I walked...). 

I just want to keep my babies safe.  And what happened to this lady is a nightmare, but somehow she was able to write about it (the accident ) before she even buried her little son.

So here's the blog post which then links to her blog. 

Read it and then go check on your babies.   

ooh, to be in Utah

or Idaho, for that matter...

Apparently Wal-Mart is testing out a new line of clothes in select stores.  And I love them and I just know they'll catch on because they're cute and super-affordable.  But I have to travel to Utah or Idaho to buy them.  Sigh.  

And even though I'm not really a fan of Wal-Mart and I don't really shop there very often, I will definitely go there to buy these clothes.

So there, Wal-Mart, it's official, this line will do well everywhere so get on it. Thanks.



who wants free salad??

I'm a member of VocalPoint.  According to their website:

Vocalpoint is a community of moms who...

•Love talking to other people

•Get energized when they are asked for their opinions

•Like searching for new knowledge and sharing it with others

•Enjoy making a difference in people's lives

And today I'm sharing a free coupon with you!  Click on the picture below to request your free bag of salad.

You have to be a member (it's free) and it's fun.  I fill out surveys (normally 2-4 questions in length) and randomly they offer to send me free products to test out, rate, and then blog about.  It's pretty easy.

Join now and get in on the free stuff!



a Walgreens run

I went to Walgreens yesterday to do a little shopping. 

Here's what I got:

Retail: $48.80

Paid: $16.04

Saved: $32.76

A little over $16 for 40 dishwasher tablets, 10 AAA batteries, two tubes of all-natural teething gel, and four boxes of allergy medicine.  Not too shabby.  Especially since they were all things we needed, not just things I was buying because it was a good deal. 

Poor Chris, his allergies have been bothering him for about two weeks and because I couldn't find a good deal on allergy medicine, he went without.  That's some couponing-dedication, huh?  Although, I did tell him just to go buy some because he sounded pretty miserable, but he refused.  What a good husband.

My favorite Walgreens cashier, Antoinelle, was there again.  She was telling the other cashier how amazing I am with coupons and then showing me other good deals in their ad that people were coming in to get.  So I might go back...thanks Antoinelle!

i LOVE a good list

I'm a list person.  If I could just make lists all day, I would probably be happy.  I love planning things, making lists about those things, and then doing those things.  Even if it's something not exciting, I'll be more likely to do it if I put it on a list.  It's a little trick I play on myself.  Sneaky.

So I've got big plans for today.  On Tuesday and Wednesday mornings, Chris takes Ellie to the wonderful Miss Lori's house.  I pick her up after lunch, around 12:30, and we get home just in time for a nap.  It's awesome.  I get to spend some one-on-one time with Harper, I usually clean the house while she's sleeping, and I might even get a little time into read a book.  I love Tuesday and Wednesday mornings.

And to keep me on track this morning, I'm not only making a list on my handy dandy notebook, but I'm sharing it with you.  Because just as I love a good list, I also love another person's list.  I like to see the everyday stuff people do (maybe that's why I like reading other people's blogs so much).  I enjoy people all cleaned up with spotless houses, but I enjoy a mess.  Maybe because it makes me feel better about myself, to know that I'm not the only one. 

So here's my exciting to-do list for the morning...

-clean out the fridge

-dust

-go through my stockpile and get a bag (or two) of food ready to go the the food pantry

-order pictures

-play with my little baby

-bathe the little baby

-laundry

What's not on my list?  Blogging.  Checking Facebook.  Reading the news.  Oops.

Better get going--have a good, productive day! 

I am not circus

January 2011: I decide to make Ellie's second birthday party circus themed.  There are tons of great ideas on the internet and it all came together so nicely. 

February 2011: We have a giant snow storm that cancels school for four days and Elliott's birthday party.  Boo.  We reschedule it for two weeks later.  Big top circus, here we come!

Except that most people that were going to come to the original party couldn't make it to the rescheduled one.  And the clown I had scheduled (and paid a deposit on) didn't show up.  Anger.  That was the big attraction at the circus-themed birthday party.  Fail.

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April 2011: We buy tickets and take these two little ladies to the circus that's in town.

It was horrible.  There were no tigers, elephants, or acrobats like was advertised on the tickets (and in their advertisements).  It was lamelamelame.  Good thing the girls were two and three years old and didn't know how disappointing it was. 

Chris and I kept looking at each other thinking "Really? This is it?"  We finally asked what was going on and the man selling these death weapons balloons informed us that the guy with the animals got into a fight with the circus owner and he and his animals left.  

Great.  So the guy with all the acts left, but you guys didn't think to cancel the rest of the shows because there was nothing else left?  Thanks.

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June 2011:  We cancel our U-verse and get Netflix. 

July 2011:  On Netflix I find this six-part series entitled Circus.  It's an amazing journey with The Big Apple Circus during their 2008 season.  The people, both performers and crew, are so intriguing that I probably would have watched all six one-hour shows back-to-back had I not had things to do like go to the bathroom, eat food, and take care of kids.  I loved it.

I cried multiple times (spoiler alert!) especially when George the mini horse dies.  It was heartbreaking. 

And as I was watching this series and the work that these people put into their acts and the show as a whole, it just reminded me of how completely pathetic the circus we went to was.  It was an embarrassment.  I only wish I could take Elliott to this circus. 

But as discussed in the series, times are tough and entertainment is the first thing to go when money is tight.  There was talk about if the circus could survive the recession (that was starting and, obviously, only got worse) and it looks like they've had to scale back considerably.  Because I checked their schedule.  Because I want to go see them.

And they only go to two cities now: D.C. and NYC.  Sad. 

But watch the series.  It's enthralling.  And then you'll understand why I am not circus. Sigh.

  

a super-mom kind of day

Disclaimer: this doesn't happen very often this has never happened before.  Well, since Harper was born anyway.  Looking back, I had lots of good days with Elliott.  I just didn't know it at the time.  Seriously, two kids is butt-kicking hard.  And you don't realize how easy one kid is until there are two. 

And then it's too late...

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Melissa and I planned to get to Southeast Way Park around 9:00 to spend the morning.  We didn't actually get there until around 9:45 because both the little babies decided to sleep in (no complaints here...).  

While Melissa was getting ready to go, Reagan informed her that she didn't want to hike because she's afraid of bears.  Melissa assured her that bears don't live in our park.  Melissa texted me to tell me about Reagan's fear and I was telling Chris while Ellie was listening.  After I was done, Ellie informed us that "I'm not afraid of bears, I'm just afraid of cows."  Good to know. 

And now on to the park: Elliott and Reagan played on the playground while Harper and Addy had bottles.  Then we got ready for our hike.

A little pre-hike snack. 

 

  Babies in Mobys and wearing floral hats?  Looks like we're set.

The park has lots of really easy trails that we knew the girls would love to explore.  Dirt? Rocks? Sticks?  These are better than anything you could buy at Toys-R-Us. 

Because Sugar Creek runs through the park, we let the girls wear water shoes so they could play in the water when we got to it.  Of course, the minute Ellie steps into the cold water she has to pee.  And by "has to pee" I mean, she started to pee her pants. 

Cool. 

So she had her first experience peeing in nature.  I'm sure it won't be here last.  And awesome Aunt Melissa decided to take a picture of it...and then her mama posted it on the internet for the world to see.  She is sooo going to hate us later.

After potty breaks, we got down to the busi-nass of playing in the water. 

Things got kind of messy.

And then the bugs started attacking.

So we headed back to the playground and let the girls play for a while in their muddy, wet clothes.  I'm sure people thought they were two homeless kids who had pooped their pants, but the girls didn't seem to mind (too much).

Harper decided to fall asleep as soon as we got to the creek and slept until we loaded up in the car to head home so that was very considerate of her.  It was a perfect (hot) day at the park.

When we got home, Elliott had lunch, Harper had a bottle, and then they both went to bed.  They were both dirty, sweaty, and smelling of sunscreen, but I don't think I could have kept them awake for baths.

While they were sleeping, I got to baking.  Chocolate chip cookies (for a cookout with some friends later) and banana bread because I had exactly three over-ripe bananas just begging to be made into bread. 

Those chocolate chip cookies, by the way, are famous.  Seriously, once you have them, you will demand the recipe and never eat another chocolate chip cookie again.  I'll post the recipe for that (and the delicious banana bread) soon.

I was also able to take a shower while the girls slept...and for those of you that don't understand how big of a deal that is, let me just say one week I took a shower Sunday night and then wasn't able to get another shower until Wednesday evening before going to bed.  For real, it was gross.  So that I baked bread, cookies, showered, got dressed, and did my hair during nap time is a huge deal.  Oh, and I did two loads of laundry.  Beast. 

When the girls got up, I got Elliott bathed (no time for the little one, sorry stinky Harper)and headed to the Schneider's house.  We grilled out, ate delicious food, and sat around and talked all evening while Harper slept in the Moby and Jack and Elliott played.  Perfect way to end the day.

Hiking, playing, baking, showering (!), food, and friends.  

This.was.the.greatest.day.ever.