Evan's 14th birthday party with friends...

On Saturday, Ev invited six friends over for a little birthday get-together for his 14th birthday.

We had grilled hotdogs, pasta salad, chips, cake and ice cream. The kids tried to break open the pinata...or at least the "boys" tried.

The "little guy" tried...

But to no avail...

It took a "GIRL" to break it open!

Yay Danielle!

Well don't just stand there! Go get some candy!

Yes, the "bird" is dead, LOL!

Ev picked out his cake at the bakery. I thought it was really pretty and looked like the ocean.

Happy birthday to you!

Dessert time!

Opening presents! Gotta love the hat Avery got Ev...LOL!

Time for a dip in the pool!

It was a hot day...what a nice way to cool off.

Hi Natee!

Silly Ev splashing about.

Love the hat Ev...you look great! Hope you had a great day!

Happy birthday!

...and matching fingers!

WARNING:
Hands and fingers are longer/leaner than objects appear in picture...excuse the short, stubby looking fingers!
LOL!


So, yesterday I shared my "at home" pedicure. Now today, here is my "at home" manicure! I did another french mani in the cotton candy/bubble gum pink...except instead of rhinestones, like my toesies...

I did a little tiny flower in the upper corner of each nail...and it has a tiny rhinstone in the center of the flower. I don't know if you can see it. It's nothing too overwhelming...it's tasteful. There's nothing worse than tacky nail-art! LOL! I've been having so much fun w/ my nails lately...maybe I should go to cosmetology school after-all like Jam suggested! I do really enjoy doing nails!

Two down, two to go...

So, first our frig bit the dust.
We'd had the previous one for nearly 13 years...I guess it was inevitable at some point. We decided to search for a deal on a stainless steal one and gradually start replacing all the appliances in stainless steal as they "went". We ended up getting "brushed steal" on the frig...something the salesman showed us that we had never seen. It actually repels fingerprints...which is VERY nice with kids in the house.

Then...

Yesterday, the microwave went kapoot.

We'd had the previous one for 10 years...so once again, I guess it's time was coming. Jam found a good deal on one and we replaced it the very day it went out. You should've seen us "trying" to function without a microwave for less than 24 hours. We were pathetic, LOL! Never realized how "dependant" we were on ours! When we put the first one in when we moved in, Dave came up and installed it for us. But I'm proud to say, Jamie tackled this job all by himself and he did it! Hurray! Jam and I are NOT DIY-ers...but he has come A LONG way in the nearly 17 years we've been married! He tackles more and more household jobs every year! Yay hunny!

My "at home" pedicure!

So, I think it turned out pretty darn cute!
I did a cotton candy/bubble gum pink french pedicure.
And notice what I did on my big toes...

Can you see the little row of rhinestones?
Teehee!

It turned out so cute!

I am loving the sparkle of the rhinestones!

The hubs complained the whole time saying it took hours to do...

But I wanted to make sure it lasted!

You wouldn't believe how many layers/coats I have on there!

I love me some pretty toesies!

Cliques, groups, and labels...

We've all been there ourself as teens...
But then we get to go there again when we have our own children.
Good or bad...
There really is no "good" to cliques, groups, and labels.
The "good" refers to the group of kids who are popular, pretty, handsome, athletic, and have a social life non-stop.
They don't see it...their parents don't see it.
I can't say that my kids have been affected by groups and/or cliques in a negative way...yet.
But as a parent, I'm starting to see the cliques, groups, and labels as my oldest son gets older.
The funny thing is...
We've lived in this neighborhood for over 10 years now.
All these kids started kindergarten together. They all played together.
They continued elementary school together...and all was fine.
They all were "a part" of each other's circle.
And although my son has loads of friends at school and church and could care less about "social labels"...
I myself am starting to see the groups form.
These kids were all born the same year.
What...now...separates them?
But I am already seeing it just from who and where they hang, their facebook pages, etc.
The pretty popular girls hang with the pretty popular girls...who in turn hang with the handsome athletic guys.
The awkward gangly guys hang with the awkward gangly guys...who in turn hang with the girls who may be shy, less social, etc.
And I have to say...
I HATE IT.
As I said before, Evan could really care less about "groups". He has close, trust-worthy friends and is secure in himself.
I have to say...one thing I REALLY admire about Evan is...he doesn't care how people dress. He doesn't care what kind of house people live in. He doesn't care what they look like or how they act or what type of "class" they fall in.
I really admire that about him.
He has such a broad spectrum of friends and I am so proud of that!
It really makes me proud that "things", "class", "income", etc. don't bother him at all.
He is such a "go with the flow" kid...he's so laid back...he's kind to everyone.
I admire him so much.
He never speaks bad of anyone.
I seriously have never heard him say anything negative about anyone at his school, in our neighborhood, at church, etc.
I really admire and look up to him.
He sets such a great example...even for myself.
So as I sit here stewing about the stupid classifications of all the groups of kids in their school...
He sits there just being kind to everyone, never uttering a negative word.
I am so proud of you Evan.
I look up to you in that respect.
You are such a good kid and have such a great head on your shoulders.
You TRULY know what matters.

Camping adventure...

So, I mentioned the other day that we bought a tent...

No...not for "camping"...at least not "real" camping.

We got it for the boys to have backyard campouts with each other and their friends.

So...tonight the boys are "testing" it out for the first time, LOL!

They've got their sleeping bags and pillows, water bottles, flashlights, a battery operated fan (LOL!), a deck of cards (LOL!), and Evan has his air soft rifle (for protection, LOL!). Crazy, silly boys.

Should've seen them hauling all their stuff out there.

Too funny.

I told them that they're predicting thunderstorms tonight...so we shall see, LOL!

Told them if they get scared or if the thunder and lightening start up to come in.

More on this later, LOL!

Just this and that...

Seriously...not that much is new around here.
I've been contemplating updating the blog each day and I sit and think, "What is there really to say?" LOL!
Things have been rather ho-hum...which is a good thing I guess.


Signed on two new clients (from the same family) this week, so that is always a good thing! PTL for that!


Took the boys down to the pool tonight and stayed for about an hour. I have yet to put on my suit this summer. I really need to get in there...but I seriously just can't get in the mood to swim until it's like 90 degrees.


We're getting ready for Evan's "friend" birthday party on Saturday. Picking up the cake and icecream tomorrow. We got a pinata and I stuffed that with candy tonight. He invited nine kids, but it's looking like we may only have six or seven depending on who shows up. Funny thing with kids this age, they're quick to say, "Sure I can come!" Then they tell you a couple days later, "I can't come, my mom said we have to ______". I think kids this age speak before they ask, LOL! But that's ok. They'll have a blast either way. It's a mix of guys and gals. We're planning on grilling hotdogs, chips, pasta salad, pop, cake, icecream. They're going down to the pool for a while...then breaking open the pinata. I'm sure it will be a good time.


We bought a tent. No...Jamie and I are NOT campers. We bought it for the boys, as they are planning some "backyard campouts" this summer with friends.

That's about it for now. Can't think of much else now. Will post pics of Ev's birthday and our plans for trips this summer that are coming up.
Until next time...
TTFN!

Incredible savings this week!

So...
I had some INCREDIBLE savings this week at Meijer and Walgreens.
I did almost every match-up from Mommy Snacks money-saving blog this week.
If you've never used the sale ad/coupon match-up on any of the money-saving blogs...I highly recommend it. Most of the blogs located on my sidebar list them...but Mommy Snacks is my all time favorite. The following is the link for this week. I got loads of the deals she posted this week.
http://mommysnacks.net/2010/06/meijer-deals-sale-ad-june-20/
My final tally this week was:
Spent: $44.00
Saved: $74.00
That is AMAZING!

Walgreens had some awesome deals as well!

I used the sale ad/coupon match-up from Mommy Snacks as well for this one and got some amazing deals. I also had some leftover Register Rewards from last week that I used as well. One of the best deals I found was on Wal-Zyr (Zyrtec generic). It is normally priced right around $9.99 for a bottle. They had them DOUBLE PACKAGED (two packs) for $9.99!!! That's half price!

My final tally at Walgreens was:

Spent: $9.05
Saved: $58.80

Now that's some savings!

http://mommysnacks.net/2010/06/walgreens-deals-sale-ad-june-20/

Liberating?...or Scarey!

As I read the letters to the editor in my Marie Claire magazine about one of the previous issues they had...I had to stop and think.
The letters were concerning the issue with Jessica Simpson on the cover...WITHOUT make-up and UNTOUCHED.
All of the letters written to the editor were positive and talked of how liberating it is to go without make-up.
Liberating?
I WISH!
I would LOVE to be able to go without make-up.
However...
I have way too much respect for the general public...and wouldn't want to scare them half to death with my face!
Also...
If I don't have make-up on...I don't feel good about myself.
I have SUCH red, blotchy skin...and it's always got at least one blemish if not more.
Even if I had PERFECT skin...
Going without make-up might be nice.
BUT...
Just my honest opinion...
One always looks "better" WITH make-up.
However...
I WOULD love to be able to occasionally just wake up and fly out of bed sans make-up and throw my hair back in a headband.
But...
I was not blessed with beautiful skin.
So...
For now, I'm thankful to Cover Girl, Maybelline, Loreal, Almay, and all the other wonderful cosmetic makers.
Hats off to you!

Better late than never...

Normally we have our flowers all planted and the mulch "refreshed" by garage sale time (mid-May)...but not this year. Seems we had so much going on with the boys, school, trips, etc. that we got a late start. Just wanted to post a few pics of what we did. Here's just a glance of quite a few things going on in the front yard. The ornamental grass, rose bushes (which need pruning), some hostas, brown eyed susans (about to bloom), and some other things.

I always do petunias (ya can't kill a petunia!) in the front window box. They're still kinda sparse. The weather hasn't been all that "summery" yet...still cloudy and cool. Not too many hot, sunny days. They'll start filling in and "climbing" as soon as it warms up a bit.

I have two of these pots (one on either side of the garage door). Just did a mixture of different kinds of flowers and vines. I think it's pretty.

Here's the side of the yard...our day lillies and spirea. The day lillies are taking their time blooming too. Only two of the eight plants have bloomed yet. But they're getting there...slowly but surely!

And here's just the front of the house. All our landscaping...and the nice green grass...Jamie's "baby"...LOL!

Trying new things...

So, I've been stepping outside of my "ho-hum" comfort zone and trying new things in the kitchen. Nothing crazy or exotic...but I've always been more of a boring "convenience" cook. Pre-packaged, canned, easy prep dinners.
Well, lately I've been cooking more. Exploring new recipes...and purchasing things I never used to. Last time Meijer had their "10 for $10, Get the 11th item FREE" sale...I got some fresh produce on sale. I got a red, yellow, and orange pepper. I have always loved these, but they're usually so darn expensive. So I grabbed one of each. And tonight, we made chicken fajitas (one of my new specialties) and I sauteed the peppers with some onions and a little butter and garlic powder. They were SO yummy. I made a "rub" for the chicken breast out of virtually every spice in my cupboard, LOL. We added a little cheese, sour cream, and salsa to our tortillas and had some VERY yummy fajitas!

Something else I've learned that I love is fresh mangos. Anything mango flavored, anything made with mango, and especially FRESH mango. And as luck would have it, Meijer had mangos as part of their "10fer" deal too! So I got a couple of those. The first one I ate wasn't ripe...no good. But I waited several days on this one...and MY OH MY! Sweet, juicey, and DIVINE!

It's been a lot of fun trying all these new recipes. We tried one called "Pull Apart Pizza" last night...that one, sorry to say...wasn't a big hit with the fam. I didn't care much for it either. But hey...that's the fun in it all. Trying new things and finding new favorites! It's been such fun so far! We've added the new "Cinnamon Bread" recipe that I posted yesterday as one of our new favorites. I have a cookbook with loads of pages dog-eared for new recipes I want to try.

Keep watching for more new recipes! I'll keep ya posted on the good ones!

A kid at heart...

No matter how old I get...
(I'm only 38...I'm not THAT old yet people!)
I still love doing so many "kid things".

I never tire of "kid shows".
I love SpongeBob, Max & Ruby, Franklin, Little Bear, Rugrats, and more.
I do have to admit that I don't have a high tolerance for a lot of the "cheesey family movies" out there. But give me my Nick Jr. and Disney Playhouse and I'll be happy! LOL!

Coloring books.
I love coloring. Give me some crayons and a coloring book and I'll be busy for hours. Seriously. I'm not lying. I LOVE TO COLOR. I'm almost a little sad that my boys are beyond the enjoyment of coloring.

Sidewalk chalk.
Nate will still do this with me. I love drawing and doodling on the driveway and decorating it with bright colors. Flowers, hearts, rainbows, stars, swirls, stick people, and more. It brings me such joy!

Bubbles.
Give me a simple bubble wand and a dish of bubbles and I'm the happiest girl in the world. Add one of those new fangled bubble swords or a battery operated bubble gun and we'll REALLY have some fun!





Kids music.
I LOVE kids music. Laurie Berkner is one of my favorites. When I see her songs on Nick Jr. I just wanna get up and dance and sing with her. They're so catchy!

Kids crafts.
I still love cutting, glueing, coloring, painting, making collages, you name it. I guess it's a good thing I'm in the field I am because I can get all the kids' crafts I need!

Kids food.
Peanut butter & jelly, potato chips, corn dogs, cotton candy, caramel and candy apples, snow cones, rice krispie treats, chocolate chip cookies. I could live on junk food...if only my body would allow it.

One thing I will NEVER stoop to though...
Is...
DRESSING like a kid.
As much as I love trendy, stylish clothing...I believe as a parent we owe it to our kids to keep ourselves classy. Stylish...but classy.
Parents...don't embarrass your kiddos by trying to dress like them.
Otherwise you'll hear the famous line... (As Evan puts it...)
"Oh mom...that's SO not cool..."
LOL!

Cinnamon Bread

I found this recipe in my old work cookbook. It's simple and easy...but ohhhh soooo yummy! Ours was devoured in less than 24 hours!

1/4 c. vegetable oil
1 c. sugar
1 egg
1 c. buttermilk
1 tsp. baking soda
2 c. flour
1/2 tsp. salt

Topping:
1 tbsp. cinnamon
1/2 c. sugar

Mix all together, mixing topping in separate bowl. Put 1/2 bread mixture into bread pan. Sprinkle with half of topping. Place rest of bread mixture in pan, and sprinkle with rest of topping. Run a butter knife through and slightly swirl. Bake for approx. 1 hour at 350 or until toothpick comes out clean.

I will never be...Nor will I ever pretend to be...

I will never be...
Nor will I ever pretend to be...

I like to think of myself as the perfect mom, the perfect wife, the perfect friend, the perfect homemaker, the perfect "super-couponer", the perfect gardener, and so on.

But let's face it.
Who are we kidding?

I'm not...
I will never be...
Nor will I ever pretend to be...

The perfect mom.
I yell at my kids.
I forget to be patient.
I don't always use my "inside voice".
I make mistakes and have to appologize to them.

The perfect housekeeper.
There's dust everywhere.
The floors need to be swept and mopped.
The dishwasher needs loading.
The clothes need washing.
The baseboards need scrubbing.
The bathrooms need cleaning.
There is "clutter" everywhere.
I'm not good at cleaning, I never have been, and I never will be.

The perfect wife.
As much as I love and adore my husband...
I know there are times I take him for granted.
Don't tell him enough how much I love him.
Gripe about things.
He's the best...and sometimes I wonder why & how I got so blessed to have him.

The best cook.
I burn things.
Undercook things.
Use box mixes.
Canned goods.
Preservatives.
Additives.
I'm all about quick, easy & cheap.
Yes, I want relatively healthy meals for my family.
But I will never go "organic".
I will never be a "health nut".
Burgers, pizzas, tacos, french fries, you name it...we love it.
And while the rest of the world is fighting "childhood obesity", I am still trying to PUT WEIGHT ON my little stringbean sons, LOL!

The "green" mom.
I will never be green.
I love plastic, paper, you name it.
I will do my part if it's convenient.
I take my pop cans back (HEY I WANT MY DEPOSIT BACK!).
I have finally bought half a dozen reusable grocery bags...only because I have no more room to store all my plastics, LOL! But I do reuse my plastic bags as garbage can liners, LOL!
Recycling?
I'm not there yet.
I'm not PAYING extra on my garbage bill for recycling.
Maybe if it were included in my monthly bill, I "might" consider it.
I love my planet...and I won't go out of my way to destroy it...but let's face it...I think it was only meant to last so long. (We'll all be outta here soon! Can we say rapture?)

Yes...I try.
I honestly WANT to be that perfect mom, wife, friend, housekeeper, gardener, cook, etc.
But...
I'm not perfect.
I'm human.
And let's face it...
Life's too short to sweat the small things!

Best friends...

I have always talked about my lack of "close" GIRLfriends.
I have "pals"..."buddies"..."acquaintences"...and such...
But honestly, there isn't one FEMALE that I consider my BEST friend.

Yesterday though...
Jamie and I went to pick up a pizza...
We were driving and being silly.
He is notorious for his made-up songs and rhymes...
And he was "rhyming" again...
And it just struck me so funny...
I nearly lost it...
Seriously.
I laughed so hard.

And as I thought more...
There are some people...
Who just totally would NOT "get" our relationship.

Not only are we both complete and total goof-balls...
I think NO ONE would put up with either of us.
I think we were perfectly matched with each other.

We are completely different in every aspect of the word.

But completely the same in the things that truely matter.

We can laugh at the stupidest things.
It's so incredibly awesome to be able to be yourself with someone...no holds barred.

It's so great to know you'll be loved no matter what you do...
How you look...
How you act.

Is our relationship perfect?
No.
Is anyone's?
No.
But I do have to say...
I seriously don't think I could be as happy as I've been for the past (nearly) 17 years with ANYONE but MY Jamie.

At home pedi!

So, the hubs has been wanting one of those heated massage foot spas.
Well, today we ended up picking one up.
I've never really given much thought to them.
But...
Let me tell you...
I had the best "at home pedi" tonight!
It has a rotating "scrub brush", "pumice stone", and "massager".
I used all three...along with the heated jet massage (along with a little baby oil).
I am telling you...
My feet are soooooo soft!
Gave myself a french pedi...with a little glittery heart/swirl!
My feet look and feel sooooo good!
I don't think I was much more impressed with the salon pedicures I've gotten!
This was REALLY nice!

What does the dentist know? Hubby was right! No oral surgeon for Evan!

So about a year ago, the dentist tells us that Evan has two extra teeth in his mouth.
"What?" I say.
She proceeds to tell us that two of his adult teeth came in NEXT to the baby teeth, instead of coming in UNDER them.
You see, what they taught us in dental assisting school is that what makes the baby teeth fall out...is when the adult tooth starts coming in, it basically crumbles the roots of the baby tooth, thus making is "loose". But with the adult tooth coming in NEXT to his baby tooth...this never happened.
"Call the oral surgeon" she tells me.
"They ABSOLUTELY won't come out on their own?" I ask.
"Give them till Christmas" she says..."But I think you're going to have to have these surgically removed."
Well...we waited till Christmas.
When he went back for his next well check-up...the hygenist now tells us they made a mistake and there are THREE extra teeth in his mouth and that they MUST come out NOW.
"THREE?!?" Jamie says to me.
"How is it there are now THREE? He didn't just grow an extra baby tooth!"
"They made a mistake in their counting" I say.
We proceed to talk about it.
I am just remembering what I learned in dental assisting school and thinking if the adult teeth came in next to the baby teeth...the roots probably aren't going to crumble and become loose as our dentist told us.
So I tell Jamie this and suggest we make the appointment with the oral surgeon.
He is very reluctant.
We have had MANY mishaps and not so great experiences in the medical field over the years.
Jamie wants to wait a bit longer.
He keeps saying "How do THEY know they're not going to eventually fall out!?!"
I do have to say...I had MANY of my baby teeth well into my teen years as well.
So we wait.
We postpone calling the oral surgeon.
GUESS WHAT.
Two of the three teeth loosen.
And.................................
One fell out YESTERDAY!!!
"And you and the dentist wanted him to have those three teeth surgically removed" Jamie says to me.
"I was just going by what I learned in my class" I say!
Soooo...
I have to say...
I'm glad we didn't go ahead with the surgery.
He has one out.
Another quite loose.
And the last one is just barely starting to wiggle.
And get this...
Our dentist...
The one who told us we MUST get these teeth out!
The one who told us they will NOT fall out!
The one who told us Nate MUST wear a mouth guard for his night time teeth grinding problem.
The one that told us he had major wear on his baby teeth.
The one that caused him to vomit 3-5 times a week because of this night guard.
(Another dentist examined Nate and said there was very little wear and his baby teeth are softer anyway and he would outgrow the grinding and that he didn't need the mouth guard.)
This original dentis that gave us all this crazy advice...
Has mysteriously disappeared from our practice.
No letters from the practice saying what happened...where she's gone...why she's gone.
Nothing.
Hmmm...
Sometimes the professionals don't always know best! LOL!

Update...7/10/10
Evan lost the second of his "extra" teeth today! LOL!

You're having WHAT for breakfast?

With Nate, breakfast is a never-ending battle. He isn't fond of the meal...can't really say I am either (unless it's a big 'ol country breakfast at Cracker Barrel).

So every day...it's, "What are you gonna eat for breakfast Nate?" "You need to eat some breakfast Nate." "It needs to be RELATIVELY healthy Nate." So the hubs came up with the idea of making some Rice Krispy Treats. Give the kid a glass of milk with it and a multi-vitamin and he's good to go! LOL! No...it's not a "perfect" breakfast...but it's cereal and milk (plus a few marshmallows melted in). LOL! I was running low on marshmallows so I had to make a smaller batch AND my 9X13 pan was in the dishwasher...Sooooo...I decided to try using a muffin pan and creating little individual ones. They turned out pretty cute. And...Nate is eating breakfast!

Carriers Of The Month

Evan started delivering the Advance Newspaper a little over a year ago...along with the help of his "trusty little assistant" Nate! Nate bags the papers. Evan delivers them. Well...today we got a letter in the mail today saying they had been nomiated for Carrier Of The Month! Along with it was a gift card to Celebration Cinema! Woohoo!

Here is the congratulatory letter and gift card. Everything came in Evan's name. We had to sign the boys up through Evan...because you have to be at least 10 years old to do it. And since Nate doesn't turn 10 till August...we have to wait it out to get his name on everything.

But...they both reap the rewards of the job...Evan makes $10.00 and Nate makes $5.00. They are paid every other week. Not bad for a kid. Enough for extra spending money. Nate will take over the route next year when Evan applies for a work permit to get a "real" job. He's already got his eye on Old Mille Dairy or McDonald's, LOL! They have been very responsible with the job for the most part...along with a little poking and prodding, LOL! But Jamie and I feel that we always appreciate things more when we work for them and are trying to start instilling that in the boys. We're real proud of you guys! Good job! Congratulations!