Random Picture Challenge 7.0

11th Folder, 11th Picture

Easter Sunday, 2006.  We were getting ready to go to Grammy’s and I just had to get some shots of Hannah in her dress.

Want to play along?  Visit 4 Little Men.

Aloha Friday #1

In honor of my upcoming vacation I thought I would start participating in Aloha Friday!

In Hawaii, Aloha Friday is the day to take it easy and look forward to the weekend. So, in the spirit of an easy blog post, I will ask a simple question for you to answer! If you want to answer, please leave your response in my comments.

If you blog and want to play along, please visit An Island Life!

Here is my question:

Are you a morning person or a night owl?

I am a morning person. I get up early. I like to have a couple hours to myself before my children get up. It’s not always easy or fun, but I do it anyways. Therefore I am in bed by 9:00 most nights to read as long as I can keep my eyes open. And sometimes I’m sitting there holding my book and my eyes are shut! Oops!!

Have a great weekend!

February Snow

It rained buckets all morning long, but shortly after lunch it turned into the white stuff! 

My daughter is not one to miss an opportunity to eat snow. 

Wordless Wednesday: How Big Is Eli?

SO BIG!

Another Winner!

Thanks to Nut-In-A-Nutshell, and of course the randomness of random.org, I was chosen to win another contest!

I won the Pledge Fabric Sweeper for Pet Hair. And I am positive I am going to get a lot of use out of it!

Not Me! Monday

Welcome to Not Me! Monday, where you can get the full and complete rundown of what I DID NOT do last week.  If you want to join in on the fun, head over to MckMama’s page and play along! 

I, being of sound mind, grace, and elegance certainly did not walk smack into an open cabinet door that just happened to be at the height of my head.  I did not open said cabinet door  just moments before and I did not immediately forget that it was open.

I do not keep going through the motions of removing all possible baby-reachable items from my bathroom in the morning, only to always forget about the toilet paper.  My baby is not fascinated by unraveling toilet paper!

I, being most alert and awake at all times, did not actually keep falling asleep on my living room floor while playing with my kids one weekday afternoon.  I do not get tired in the middle of the day!

I do not have a pen drawer full of pens that don’t work.  I do not keep going through the pens that don’t work until I find a good one, only to put all pens back in the drawer, thus setting myself up for another pen search next time I need one. 

I did not dress my son in pants that were maybe a little teeny bit too small. 

 

I do not look over my shoulder at every noise when I am on the computer and my husband is not home.  Nope, not…hey, what was that?!

I did not conveniently forget to mention in the post about my husband’s weekend away that I too would be spending a good chunk of time on Saturday away from my children.  Nope, not me.  I was home slaving away with full-time child watching and not driving down to Seattle to see a show with a girlfriend. 

But if I did actually drive down to Seattle to see a show, I’m sure I did not have any fun at all. 

Nope, not me. 

It’s Just a Guy Thing

My husband is off for his annual weekend retreat with the guys.

You know, the one where:

• They are all assigned a specific food item to bring, but everyone brings beer. Lots of beer.
• Shaving and showering are optional, at least until it’s time to come home to the wife and kids.
• Cell phones conveniently don’t work because they conveniently picked a place very much out of cell phone range.
• Video games will be played.
• Poker is too.
• They will reminisce about the good old college days.
• Staying up late is a must.
• You sleep where you find a spot.
• Toilet seats get to stay up.
• Manners are optional.

It’s just a guy thing.

And for us, it’s just once a year.

At least, once a year as long as we omit fantasy football draft night, occasional excuses to drink beer golf games, along with a poker night or two thrown in for good measure.

I don’t find myself doing “girl” weekends EVER very often. But I definitely have my share of “me” time: pedicures, dinners out with girlfriends, shopping, and the occasional spa outing.

All of these are possible because I have a wonderful husband who is more than willing to take care of the kids while I get in my “me” time.

So honey, go have fun. You deserve it.

And I won’t expect your call.

Just be ready for the hand-off when you get home on Sunday.

Wordless Wednesday: Yesterday

Not Me! Monday

Welcome to Not Me! Monday! This blog carnival was created by MckMama. You can head over to her blog to read what she and everyone else is not doing this week.

Another week follows another list of firm denials.

Here is mine:

I did not cheat on my head chef duties last week by serving meals that took a minimal amount and time and effort. Classics such as grilled cheese and soup, burritos, and one of my all-time favorite’s: “leftovers”.

My son did not, finally, start sleeping through the entire night. I did not have at least 3 nights last week where I did not get out of bed once the entire night. I am not rejoicing over this milestone!

I did not realize that my son and I are ready to stop nursing. This does not make me sad in the slightest.

I did not eat any chocolate on Valentines Day.

I did not eat any cheesecake either.

We did not get any flowers, contrary to the evidence below.

I also did not get a gift certificate for a massage that I plan to use as soon as possible.

I did not have a fabulous Valentine’s Day.

I did not finish typing this up while watching the movie "Spaceballs". I do not find this movie amusing, even after seeing it a zillion times.

Nope, Not Me.

Love and Romance

Love and romance is still alive and well - winning my Valentine's Day poll.

But, fortunately, chocolate was a close second.

Be sure to vote in the new poll - where would you go?

Random Picture Challenge 6.0

This weeks selection:

January 2007
or
13th picture folder
3rd picture

 

Picture of our girls.  I believe we were trying to get a shot for our Holiday Cards.  In this case, Happy New Year cards because my step-daughter was living on the east coast and we could not get a picture in time for Christmas. 

Want to play along?  Visit 4 Little Men.

Hannah’s Guide to Valentine’s Day Cookies

It starts with cookies. 

Yes, of course we made perfectly square cookie dough.  Doesn’t everyone?

No, that is NOT a cookie dough wrapper package you see on the counter. 

 

Follow with frosting.

Lots and lots of frosting.

 

Make sure you eat a lot  little bit.

Next, you need sprinkles.

Again, good rule of thumb: Use LOTS of them!

 

Very important step – do not skip!  Make sure your mother is occupied with your baby brother.  Then proceed to eat more frosting and sprinkles. Tell her she doesn’t need to watch you decorate cookies!

Repeat this process until you have decorated about 11 cookies and somehow made 2 tubes of frosting practically disappear!

What’s left?  A happy girl  with pink teeth who is going to soon have a sugar crash and completely skip her dinner. 

Happy Valentine’s Day.

Glamajama Mom of the Month!

Yep, that’s me. Stop calling me Teri. Or Mighty M. Or even “mom”. I’ll now be known as “Glamajama Mom of the Month!”, thank you very much.

I figure I have about 16 more days to enjoy my new title.

Seriously though, I was super excited to find out I had been picked as their Mom Of The Month. Every month they pick a winner from the pool of “fans” on their Facebook page.

What did I win?

A $100 gift certificate good for use on their website along with a Glamajama t-shirt!

Glamajama has all kinds of cute clothes for babies, toddlers, and moms.

Feel free to visit their page, and if you like their looks, join their Facebook fan page and maybe I can hand the title over to YOU next month!

Now, I must shop.

Wordless Wednesday: Fun at Chuck-E-Cheese

Not Me! Monday

Welcome to Not Me! Monday! This blog carnival was created by MckMama. You can head over to her blog to read what she and everyone else is not doing this week.

I keep a running list of things I’m not doing during the week.

It helps when I write this post.

But sometimes I write stuff down really fast.

It seems perfect at the time.

By the time the weekend rolls around and I work on this post, a large portion of the items on my list no longer make sense. Why did I write that down again?

Forgetful? Not Me.

I did not watch an old (1983) episode of The Facts Of Life on On Demand when I could have been sleeping. You know the one where it’s Mrs. G’s birthday and Jo and Blair take her to a strip club and Blair’s boyfriend just happens to be working there? Well, I did not watch that one.

I did not spend $10.99 on a bottle of wine just because I liked the label and I knew it would make for a good blog post.

My son did not pick up a piece of carpet lint that was lingering on the floor. And it definitely DID NOT disappear in his mouth. I did not run over and do a cheek sweep hoping to remove said article.

I did not lay down on my kitchen floor and use myself as a measuring tool simply because I happened to be almost the exact same length (72”) as a floor mat I was eyeing and I wanted to see how it would fit.

And honey, I did not once doubt your ability to install our insta-hot without the aid of a plumber’s expertise. I was NOT nervous at all that the installation would be anything other than the success it was, even after you told me it was a “simple 6 step process”. You have my wary acceptance full trust in all the projects you tackle around here.

What have you not been doing?

You Make Me Want To Be A Better Mom

We were all getting in the car ready to head to the mall. I was putting my daughter’s seatbelt on when out of her mouth comes the following:

“Mom, you need to be a better mom”.

Hmm. How do I respond to that?

While my husband is laughing in the driveway, I formulate my response.

“Well, what do you think I need to do to be a better mom?”.

Her well-thought out reply:

• Drink juice
• Go night-night

Now, I’m pretty happy to report that I go “night-night” every night. Juice is not a daily beverage of choice, but I’m not opposed to it, especially if it’s going to make me a better mom. I did ask if “mommy wine juice” was okay, and she felt that would be fine with her.

The reality is that I am always working on being a better mom, and although it might take a little more effort on my part than just drinking juice and sleeping, it’s nice to know my daughter’s insightful enough to help keep me on the right track.

But just to be safe I’ll be sure to have an extra glass of wine juice tonight.

Random Picture Challenge 5.0

There are 2 ways to pick your random picture this week so more of you can play along.

March
2008
5th picture from the end

or

10th picture folder
5th picture from the end

Here's mine - March 29th. Spring Snow!


If you want to play along, visit 4 Little Men And Girly Twins!

But That’s What I Said, Mom!

Make believe is alive and well in our household.

Take yesterday, for example.

We went for a short walk to get the mail.  My daughter decided that she wanted to be a puppy, complete with puppy “paws”.

 

Now, this puppy decided she wanted to walk down the street on her hands and feet, almost like a moving downward-dog yoga pose.  Makes for some interesting glances from the neighbors and some sloooow progress to the mailbox. 

After we got back from getting the mail, paws removed, Hannah was still in full puppy mode. 

As I usually do when we pretend she is a puppy, I told her to “go lie down”. 

Guess my timing was off.  Puppy did not like that one bit and a minor meltdown ensued.

But it was so cute.

She was sobbing her little head off, but instead of the “wah wah” sound she tends to make when she cries I heard her sobbing “woof woof”. 

I gave her a puppy treat and all was right with the world.

--------------------

Today we were looking at some alphabet letter flash cards.  Hannah does not know very many letters yet, so for the most part she would guess a letter and I would tell her the correct one displayed on the card. 

Every single time I told her the correct one she would go “but that’s what I said, mom!”. 

Duly noted.

But I’m pretty sure I heard a “R”, not an “M”.

Wordless Wednesday: A Few of My Favorites

 

The Middle Sister

Inspiration for a blog post can strike at the strangest of times.

Today, for example, I was pushing my children in a cart at Target.  My son, strapped in the front, was being his usual quiet, observant self.  My daughter, in the back, happily sang “Santa Claus is Coming to Town” at the top of her lungs through the organizational aisles and had moved on to “Somewhere Over the Rainbow” by the time we had reached electronics.

We were having our usual Target fun.

It wasn’t until I was nearly to the checkout that I saw it.  It immediately caught my eye. 

The Middle Sister.

What is the Middle Sister?

Well, logic suggests that it would be a girl that is born in the middle.

Second of three.

Third of five.

Experts may suggest that birth order plays a role in behavior and perhaps, just perhaps, middle children may exhibit some of the following characteristics:

• More mysterious
• Peacekeepers
• Less decisive
• Less connected
• Independent
• Secretive

Check, check, check, check, check, check. 

One might say. 

If they’re a middle child.

Or, for the purpose of this post, a middle sister. 

But how about a new set of characteristics?

• Complex
• Sassy
• Luxurious
• Peppery
• Deep
• Bold

I give you:

The Middle Sister

Generally I leave the wine buying to my husband, but I just had to have this one.

Have some?  Why, yes I will.

Middle sister?  Why, yes I am.