uncommonly good neighbor

our neighbor is the keebler guy.
not an actual elf, but fairly generous nonetheless.

our family has not had to buy snacks in quite sometime. unless, of course, we want something not made by keebler, such as, oreos. shhh.

some things we have not purchased in more than a year, due to our benevolent neighbor...

yogos
cheez-its
crackers
rice crispy treats
fruit snacks
famous amos cookies
fudge graham cookies
special k bars
nutri grain bars
animal crackers
ice cream cones
e.l. fudge
gripz
sandies
vanilla wafers

we have also received lots of promotional materials, including a life size shrek, and giant blow-up footballs.

i could go on and on - and i realize how lucky we are to have a neighbor like this. not only have we benefited, but i have taken food to the school, to gymnastics, to our family, friends, etc. i'm starting to look forward to my neighbor getting home from work almost as much as my own hubby. it is fun to see what the "elf" brings. the kids get very excited too.

can you tell i love free stuff?

back to the gym

it has been - gulp - 7 years since i have been in a gym.

my, how time flies. i didn't miss it at all.

so - here's how my first workout went...

30 minutes on bike, level 1 - 85 calories burned.
wandering around the machines doing various arm exercises - ? calories burned.
20 minutes on treadmill, um, walking briskly - 45 calories burned.

felt good, but thirsty and hungry.

1 caffeine free pepsi - 100 calories consumed.
tostitos chips - 140 calories consumed.
zesty cheese dip - 45 calories consumed.

this could be more difficult than i originally planned.
note to self - stop counting calories immediately.

moment of genius

i invent things. all the time. the only problem is - they usually already exist...

for example...
i totally thought of kitty litter box liners.
i invented a tool that removes legos from each other.
i also invented a lego sorter.

this doesn't stop me from being creative...

my latest moment of genius is getting mm to scan all of his childhood school work. now it is all on the computer, and not in the attic. genius!

i'm going to do this with the kids' school artwork.

i know, i'm the best, just please don't tell me if you've already thought of this...

school daze

i haven't been posting much (anything) about school.

that is because my kindergartner is having a rough time. therefore, i am having a rough time.

it reminds me of the email that went around a few years ago, where the kid is packing up his stuff to go home at lunchtime. the teacher tells him that he is going to be there all day. he looks at her and says, "well, who the hell signed me up for this?"

g seems to be fine once he gets there. the teacher tells me he participates, he is friendly, happy, etc. when he gets home, however, he starts. telling me he feels sick, he wants to stay home and play, he misses me... seriously? he misses me? does he remember i spend a good portion of my day reprimanding him - read - yelling?

then at the bus stop, those giant tears! hanging onto my leg. kissing my hand so i can hold it to my cheek. asking me 100 times if i'll stop by and visit him. it rips my heart out.

powerless or powerful?

other title contenders...
pajama mom on the prairie
why you'll never see me on survivor
laundry is my life

i'm sitting here with the familiar hum of the computer, the air conditioner, the dishwasher, the washing machine, and the ice maker, reflecting on our 50 plus hours without electricity.

having no electricity wasn't that bad. i didn't lose a lot of food, we don't keep much around anyway... and realizing there are those who still don't have power, or water for that matter, made us a little more thankful that we could still shower and wash dishes.

we ate out, we bought coffee, we had glow sticks. we read books, we did picture puzzles, we had fun with flashlight shadows. we bonded.

i can see clearly now, how much tv we watch, how much the computer is on, and how dusty my house looks by flashlight...

and how, without laundry, i have nothing to do...

we got ready for school earlier, we went to bed earlier, we talked. we did everything we needed to before it got dark, making the most of sunlight. then we relaxed by the full moon.

neighbors came out of their houses. some grilled every night. everyone asked if there was anything they could do to help. offers came to take food to in-laws' freezers. we bonded.

maybe frontier life isn't so bad after all.

p.s. i seriously plugged in my hair dryer, turned it on, and stood there wondering why it wasn't working!

morning mayhem

amidst the usual saturday morning mayhem - gymnastics, soccer pictures, soccer game, birthday party, bachelor party, silpada open house...

the car died. mm's car. it used to be our baby, parked in the garage, lovingly waxed on a lazy saturday. now it is the "other" car, the "old" car, the "scratched" car...

the dead car.

and don't even think it is lost on us, the irony that the car is dead in the gymnastics parking lot. you know - the place where we send what could have been a monthly car payment...

life is just so humorous, ain't it?

*update* - new battery, so far... *update* - new alternator, still cheaper than a new car, right?

lost and found

me, three kids, and grandparents at chick-fil-a. somebody is going to leave something behind. trust me. be thankful it was just shoes, and not a kid.

i was in such a hurry to get out of there, i forgot k's shoes. her new ones. of course. a toddler outside sans shoes?

yes, it happens. gasp.

i called chick-fil-a to ask if the shoes were still there. pink? yes. they have them, cool.

mm went to pick them up - this is what we got.

how's that for customer service? can you say customer for life? that would be me. LOVE that place. not that i needed another reason.

charming afternoon

i got invited to one of those "gold" parties. you go through all of your jewelry and pick out stuff you don't wear anymore. take it to the party and trade it for cash! sweet.

i went through my meager jewelry collection - my main criteria was getting rid of anything from old boyfriends. after that i had a little more trouble. all the memories. the little ring my parents bought me for my 14th birthday, the earrings i coveted for so long that my mom finally gave them to me, etc.

i'll let you know how much i get. somehow i don't think my high school boyfriend broke the bank on any of the gold he bought me - no offense. we'll see.

anyhow, i was left with a bunch of charms. i parted with the "charm holder." remember those? i'm sure they will be back in style tomorrow since i got rid of mine.

i decided to put my gold charms on my silver charm bracelet from childhood. i used sterling jumper rings, and i have to say, i can't wait to wear it! if you hear someone clanking in target, that will be me...

here's a brief explanation of my memories, all on one bracelet. oh - and since i'm older - i can say "back in the day" now.

wv charm - mm bought this for me to wear to mountaineer football games, back in the day.
colonial tricorner hat - memorable trips to williamsburg, one of my favorite places.
tennis rackets - hard to believe, but i was once an athlete, tennis and track!
rabbit - my favorite pet, peabody, a boy that turned out to be a girl, abby normal.
mizpah - ahh, young love, mm wore the other one, even though it ruined his herringbone chain, wonder if i could trade that in for cash?
bicycle - the 10 speed bike no one would get me, except for santa, mwah-ha-ha-ha.
sorority paddle - some fond kkg memories, but not too many, see "mizpah."
shark tooth - my dad collects these, this one is from an earring.
roller skate - lots of hours at the rink, shooting the duck, and playing ms. pacman, for real.
senior charm - the unfortunate class of ninety, nothing rhymes with ninety.
aries - and proud of it, so is mm.
mickey mouse - back in the day, i only bought things with mickey on it, still love him.
crucifix - although i am not catholic, mm bought this for me, love it.
ballerina - hard to believe, but i was once an athlete, tap, ballet, jazz, and gymnastics.
best friend charm - from my best friend amy, or was it wendy?
world's fair - 1982 world's fair, you've got to be there!
violin - if they had violin hero for the wii, i would ROCK!
"c" charm - for obvious reasons, and with a diamond, no less.

sweet memories, i'm thinking of starting one for my girls...
anybody else have a charm bracelet?

ugly shoes

ever wonder who buys the "ugly" shoes?

it's me!

i own it, i admit it, i love "ugly" shoes...

these sweet merrells are my latest purchase. mine are blue where the white is and white where the blue is - think opposite.

guaranteed, my hubby can walk into a shoe store, scan the merchandise, and immediately know which shoes i am going to pick up. really. it is one of his favorite pastimes.

sometimes i worry i'm picking out "ugly" shoes for my kids. m is old enough to make that face, the same one my friends usually make when i point to the shoes i like. very similar to the one my mother makes as well...

anybody else have a soft spot for "ugly" shoes?

sweet emotion

after thirteen (almost fourteen) years of marriage - yes - to the same guy, i thought our moments of learning new things about each other were over...

that's why i was completely dumbfounded when - over labor day - mm picked up the guitar and ROCKED! i don't mean a little bit, i mean TOTALLY! he hardly missed any notes! for real! it was bizarre, i was speechless.

needless to say, now that i know i am married to a real guitar hero, and not just a normal engineer, i've been feeling a little woozy... i am major groupie material. i have been waiting my whole life for this!

*note to mm* - aerosmith was pretty good, but ac/dc would be even better...

a successful marriage requires falling in love many times, always with the same person. ~mignon mclaughlin

grow old with me! the best is yet to be. ~robert browning

candy 101

with fall and halloween fast approaching, i figure you might need some candy guidance.

i am, as most of you already know, a candy connoisseur.

i eat a lot of it, chocolate or gummies, no matter.
for breakfast, for lunch, you get the idea.

anytime, anywhere, candy. i think it is genetic. in fact, i KNOW it is.

fall candy recipe, just trust me...
candy corn
salted peanuts

together, in a bowl, for your guests, for yourself.

you won't regret it.

wicked

WICKED = WORTH EVERY PENNY!

clever

the tooth fairy brought these in exchange for the cow teeth...

"cow tales" candy.
clever.

cow tooth fairy

my mother-in-law gave m some cow teeth to "fool" the tooth fairy.

she is putting them under her pillow tonight...

does anyone know what the tooth fairy leaves for cow teeth?

so far we are thinking she might bring -

an apple
an ear of corn
hay
candy corn

have you ever tried to fool the tooth fairy?

labor of love

as we returned from our wonderful labor day weekend in dc... (more on that in another post)

we stopped to eat and let the kids play. k pooped in her pull-up, m carried her to me, with poop everywhere! all over both of them. m went to the bathroom to wash her hands.

i carried k out to the car where mm was getting pajamas for everyone.

he said, "what are you doing here?"
i said, "she s**t everywhere!"

k said, "it's not s**t, mommy, it's poop."

oh, sorry...

p.s. i did borrow their sanitizing bottle to spray down the steps where she was standing and wipe them pretty well - i didn't see anything, but i wanted to make sure. they may even be cleaner than they were before we got there.

p.s.s. we were traveling with another family who kept an eye on everyone while this was going on - i don't know what we would have done otherwise.