It's Pizza Night!

  Over the last week, I have been on a mission to clean out my fridge, freezer and pantry. Jim's family will be here for Thanksgiving and I have to make room for all the goodies that we'll be making.
   Last weekend I cleaned out our fridge, ridding it of leftovers and everything that I had successfully grown. I checked expiration dates and scurried to put some things in the freezer. My pantry was full of tied off bags of ends of loaves bread pieces and about 3 boxes of lasagna noodles. Who needs 3 boxes of lasagna noodles?
   I like to keep odds and ends when it comes to food. If I am in the mood for oatmeal cookies, cornbread, or pecan crusted chicken, it feels good to be able to go to my pantry and pull out those ingredients.
   My supplier on the other hand, i.e. Jim, doesn't agree. He likes to see the bare shelves. Clean, clutter free pantry and find things on a moment's notice. NOT ME! {I think if he was really honest with himself, he'd be really glad I had two different types of flour and 2 extra bags of chocolate morsels when he got a sweet tooth and was itching for a dessert!}
   I find a sense of security and peace from knowing I have plenty of food. I'm pretty sure this has counseling session stamped all over it. But I'm serious. I'm trying to overcome it and I think this week I have come a long way! Our security only comes from one place and it shouldn't be food!
   When I went grocery shopping this week, I got the necessities and perishables...milk, bananas, lettuce, cereal, yogurt and butter. I figured I could make do for a week with all I had stock piled!
   So over the last week I've treated my family to tuna and goldfish, goulash, spaghetti O's and apples, oatmeal with whatever frozen fruit I could find in the freezer, a fresh bag of dried cranberries, muffins and some funky seasoned potato wedges that no one liked. Today for lunch there was mini-corndogs, mixed veggies with cheese and yogurt.
   Yesterday, I managed to scrounge up some chicken stuffed with spinach, feta and pine nuts (yes, I just had those things lying around), Decaf sweet tea, Sister Schubert's whole wheat rolls, whole cranberry sauce and stir-fry vegetables that I steamed. Sounded so good we invited the neighbor over who brought some Kraft Homestyle Macaroni!
   So now, the day before grocery shopping day, and my fridge is brighter than ever, the shelves are bare. The light shines all they way down to the apples in the bottom drawer! My pantry is looking better... I'm down to just 2 cans of corn, a box of Uncle Ben's wild rice, a few cans of vegetables and tomato sauce and still wondering how I can use all of those lasagna noodles before Thanksgiving.
   I am so glad it is Sunday and pizza night!

I. Can't. Function.

    We made it safely to the beach yesterday. For the most part, our 14+ hour road trip was uneventful...except for projectile throw-up, twice. We got all the way to the East Coast and my sunglasses broke. No biggee...I'm up for a new pair! Then the worst thing imaginable happened.  My IPhone decided it's tired and it rolled over and died.
    I'm so lost. I'm so sick to my stomach. I haven't been able to stalk FB. Play Words or google everything under the sun! I can't even call my dad!!!!!! Do you remember when you knew everyone's telephone numbers? I do. I don't remember the numbers, but I remember the time before the age of the cell phone. And now, now I can't imagine life without my little white pocket computer. I can't even call my dad...I have no idea what his phone number is!!! I feel like I can't function without it.  I know, it's a shame. Pitiful actually.
    Worst part...the part when the little ITunes notification came up saying it was hardware malfunction and it needed to be restored. Then upon clicking the Restore icon, it prompts me that ALL my data would be lost if I restored my IPhone!!!!!!!!!!! It makes me sick to my stomach to think about losing all the pictures I have on that phone and hadn't backed up yet. Really!!!! As all kinds of worldly that it sounds, I am praying that my phone would be resurrected. If not, that at least all my pictures would be recovered. This surely isn't helping all that icky sand seem any more appealing.

A day in the life...

     I thought I'd sit and unload on the laptop as I passed through the house. For the second night in a row, Carrie Ann slept through the night! She slept from 8 last night until 5:30 this morning. She's 11 weeks old now, I think. I thought I was supposed to feel more rested, like a new woman. I don't. I know they say you can't "make up" sleep, but it sure would help these nice lines beneath my eyes!
     As I sat and fed CA on the couch this morning, the older boy emerged from the playroom with black marks all over his forehead, "Mommy, can we go on a safari?" Two seconds later, the youngest boy came following him in his shadow...holding a tube of $6 mascara, black brown marks all over his shirt, hands and face. LOVELY! Where in the world did he get that? Well, I know where he got it, but HOW and WHEN, and what else is striped now? What do you do? She's got a great latch, great flow. The little guy heads for my bedroom. As soon I could unlatch the little darling I get to my bedroom just in time to find my nice white down comforter decorated with the little guy's grasping hand. Once again, LOVELY.
     Later, I locked myself in the bathroom to fill out our census form. They've sent us two because we obviously didn't have filling out the first one on the top of our priority list. It's pretty personal. Name, age, address, phone number...of everyone. There are enough blanks for 12 occupants of a household. I wonder what the Duggars do in that case? I have an extra form if they need it!
     On to bills. During snack time I called the hospital billing office to inquire about the note on the bottom of the bill I received from them for Carrie Ann's and my delivery and boarding, etc.  It stated that if you paid within 2 weeks you could receive 10% off. Woohoo...Because I am so prompt and not a procrastinator at all...I called, hoping that they wouldn't notice that yesterday was day 14! I heard the lady, Stephanie, calculating and crunching, pushing buttons on a calculator. I heard, minus 15.....She gave me my total...then said, "and you saved $262.44...WHAT??!.!!! I wasn't even going to ask about the 10% off, I'll take 15!!! Woohoo!!!!!  This made the mascara mishap seem much smaller!
     Then to run errands for the daddy. I quickly loaded the boys and we listened to Barney sing along all the way to the post office and right on over to the bakery for some Sweet Treats!!! My friend Kasey is on bed rest while she is pregnant with her little girl. She has 3 boys and has 19 weeks left in her pregnancy. She starts having contractions every time she gets up and moves around. This particular bakery is Kasey's favorite, I know it would make me smile if I wasn't even allowed to GO SHOPPING!!!  After ALL the work we've done this morning and all the money we've saved, I could definitely afford these calories of my own, so I got us some sweets too!
     Now, I'm headed to Barnes & Noble to find a parenting book on how to get your 3 year old to stop asking SO MANY QUESTIONS.

No tears this time!

     It was a success!!!! The race I mean! Jim ran really well and once again, God sedated my ducklings! Well, baby girl did explode out of her diaper into her car seat just as we were headed to the starting line. I had to change her little toosh in the back of the car in the freezing cold...poor thing! Melissa and her friend Hannah were rockstars! They showed up and helped me out!

     That says a lot about their character, for 2 college girls to get out in the freezing cold on a Saturday morning to help a boring, married mama with her ducklings!

     Really, I bribed them with hotcakes from McDonald's! After the start of the race we piled into the warm car and headed over to McD's where Taylor devoured 6 pancakes and 2 yogurt parfaits. After potty runs we were back in the car just in time to catch Jim at the 12 mile!! The boys got out and gave him a high five!!!

     We had plans to hang around Oxford to do a little shopping and eat lunch, but after the first store I was done. That was all the Oxford-snobbiness I could handle.

Friendly Reminder

Just a friendly blogosphere reminder to change your air filters!!!

Our Family

These last two weeks have been fun, yet exhausting. But, I have had a very helpful little "Big Helper"---Taylor! He has been the best helper. I've taken this time to teach him that he is his brother's keeper. For instance, when his little brother sticks the Mr. Potato Head ear in his mouth {exact reason I don't allow them to play with these un-supervised} Taylor is quick to snatch it from him!

Or when Carrie Ann is fussing, he'll sit down in front of her and pile tons of toys on her to see which one it is that she wants.

 He's picked out every Barbie doll there is for her. When she got her Valentine cards from his cousins, he asked me what would happen if Carrie Ann didn't like princesses?

They like to pull their chair up right in front of her swing and "look" at her! Yah....I was washing dishes and looked over and saw the swing seat about to do a complete 360...They don't get to do this anymore! 

This is how we spent our Valentine's Day...relaxing!

  And this is what I ate!....well, not all of it...Jim got one piece!

Five Things

I  don't read, nor do I send forwards, but my super chic and stylish pregnant college friend Sally tagged me on her blog and I thought I'd waste some perfectly good napping time with you!
Five Things

Instructions:

Answer 5 questions with 5 answerss
Tag 5 other bloggers

Questions:

1. Where were you 10 years ago?

--In my spring semester of my freshman year of college at Hinds Community College in Raymond, MS.
--Lost as a goose when it came to my salvation.
--Insecure in who I was, appearance and eternity.
--In a dead end relationship with a guy that was going no where fast.
--I was all into ME...a cute little community college cheerleader who seriously needed a reality check.

2. What is on your TO DO list for today?
--Go grocery shopping {check}
--Shop for a diaper bag for Carrie Ann {check}
--Pack hospital bag.
--Hang Carrie Ann's ballet slippers up in her room.
--Cook supper.

3. What 5 snacks do you enjoy?
--Double Stuf Oreos.
--Cheese and Crackers
--Grapes
--A chunk of raw cookie dough
--A cheese stick....beginning to see where my weight comes from!

4. Where are 5 places you have lived?
--Tupelo, Mississippi...this is our second time to live here.
--Falls Church, Virginia...when Jim worked on Capitol Hill
--Okolona, MS....after college, with my mom, until I married Jim and moved to Tupelo, the first time.
--Columbus, MS...The W!
--Clinton, MS....the summer between my freshman and sophomore years of college.

5. Name 5 things you would do if you were a billionaire.
--Fund and financially support Centerpoint Church in Annapolis, MD, and FFC counseling center here in Tupelo and our missionary friends who are in California and all over the rest of the world through the IMB.
--Buy Jim's parents a new house, just down the road from us.--
--Buy my sister and her family a house, preferrably near me, but we'd get them a car too.
--Set up college funds {annuities probably, since that is what Jim does} for our children.
--Get a house on the beach so we didn't have to ever search through beach house rentals ever again!

Now I am tagging:
--Amanda of Refelctions by Amanda
--Amanda at Colby Michael Jones (who at this very moment, January 22nd, 2010 is in the hospital having her second son, Chase)
--Lesli at a les than ordinary life
--Cris at The Curry's
--April at A Day in the Life of All of Us

Gone Bananas!

     It is finished! The nursery if finally finished!!!! So while you wait for me to upload all my photos and unload my mind onto my keyboard, here is something for your entertainment!!!

Last night I went to Walmart. Everytime we go to Walmart we buy bananas, even if I am going just for mascara, I buy bananas. Every person in our family eats one everyday, that's 4 bananas a day. That's 28 bananas a week!!! So when the banana rack looks like this, you scratch your head and wonder what you are going to do...

I messaged my friend who is a mgr at the other Walmart in town, just to find out if maybe this banana shortage had something to do with the devestating earthquake in Haiti. This is what he had to say: "Our bananas are supplied by Dole. It is based in California. The bananas they supply can come from Guatemala, Honduras, or Costa Rica...Bananas are the largest selling items in a Walmart store"

Location, location, location

     As I sat in front of the full-length mirror in my bathroom this afternoon, piling on the concealer and mascara, in preparation for my sweet date with my hunky husband this evening, I noticed something... If I slouch, the girls rest on the top of my protruding belly. If I sit up straight, and hold my shoulders back, they are in somewhat of a decent location. If it's a good day, and I have on a good Vicky support holder, they are almost back to where they were on my wedding day! Oh Joy!

Who in the world would steal a FLOWER?????

See this flower? Think it's pretty? Me too! It was used as a display in a department store for Mother's Day a few years ago and as always, I asked for a freebie! And guess what ya'll? I got TWO of those mugs! It's definitely not for everyone, but Jim and I like them and have always found a place for them in our house.

Here is the one we have in our half bath. Brings your eye away from the pipes. Stop looking at the pipes!

The other one was on the ledge of my bathtub, but this past Fall the boys thought it would make a great floaty and took it for a swim during bathtime. I sat it out here on our backporch to dry out. Looked so nice, I decided to leave it. It adds just the right amount of color.

Doesn't it look so pretty, adds just a nice hint of color! ERRRRRRR, wait, back up...where's waldo? Where's my flower???? It's supposed to be right there!!!!

OH MY WORD---where's my flower? And I didn't leave that blue lawn chair just sitting out there, it was behind the grill over on the far left...hmmm.....and that other tan lawn chair, laying on its side...who knocked that over.

I can't believe they sell this stuff!

    Jim is always talking about the mall in Schaumburg, IL...a suburb to the east of Chicago. I guess it's huge, I couldn't tell, I could hardly walk and there were like a million people in there, so that made it smaller for me! For Christmas he planned a day of shopping at this spectacular mall for his little sister Carrie and me! No matter how I was feeling, I wasn't going to turn down a day of shopping-no way! Even if it was supposed to be like 3 feet of snow that day, we were going!

This is what it looked like that morning!

     It was the day after Christmas, and this may very well have been the day that started this earthquake business with Carrie Ann....You see, on the morning of Christmas Eve, we had an ice storm, then rain all day Christmas Day, followed by freezing temps that night and then, you guessed it...snow! So when I stepped out of the car at the gas station on the morning after Christmas to go in for a cappuccino, the icy ground flew up and hit me!!!  People, it was absolutely hilarious!!! I'm still laughing about it! Carrie was in the back seat and because of those darn child safety locks had to just watch from inside until I could pull myself together and stop laughing long enough to wipe the cold snow off my bum and open her door! Jim was on the other side of the car getting gas and missed it all. He had no idea of the fun his pitiful wife was having over there! A non-gentleman at the adjoining pump asked if I was alright...maybe if he had noticed I was with child, he might have helped me up and I'd remove that non! It's incidents like this that make me realize why God gave me a good sense of humor!!!  Okay pull yourselves together and stop laughing, I want to tell you about the stuff I saw at this huge mall!
     The first thing that caught my eye was this...made me think of an ewok or something...

I tried on the small, so a large....well...

I know I am a mother of almost 3 kids and live in Mississippi, but I am NOT that far removed from fashion and I am seriously beginning to think that dressing like an ostrich is not FASHION!

Just in case you can't tell, those are zippers making those ruffles on the sleeves...

Here, you can see it better! Someone please tell me when zippers became an accessory?

Ladies, seriously, this reminds me of the 80s and if you have this or anything like it in your closet you should seriously consider a trip to Goodwill!

Bedazzled stonewashed sweatshirts are not cute, on anybody!

I'm not even going to go there on this one, just going to point out a few things...notice the ribbon at the back of the neck...it's a nice touch, huh! Don't forget the chain cuffs and exactly where those buttons across the chest lie! Yah!!! Watch OUT!!!!

Cheerful pic of the day!

Our car after shopping in the mall...Jim held my hand very tight after that slip-up at the gas station!

        

IKEA...need I say more?

     IKEA....IKEA....IKEA.....I love IKEA! It's a ginormous European furniture store that I discovered when we lived in the D.C. area and I can't stop talking about it. If you are a fan, then you know exactly what I am talking about. Visiting the website or browsing the catalog doesn't do it justice, you have to have the IKEA experience! I wanted to share with you one little thing that was completely new to me on this trip that  hadn't seen before...the buggy escalator!!!

Yep, that cart is going up the escalator all by itself!!!

Here's our full cart coming up all by itself!

I thought this was just the coolest thing ever!

BTW...I wanted this chair, blanket and adorable pillow, but Jim, the budget fairy said NO!

I would've been happy with just the chair!

I'm grateful for this Inconvenient Perk

     Well, we all know about my love affair with Hobby Lobby. The first dollar I ever make doing somethig productive will go to buying Hobby Lobby Stock!  So, when we moved back to Tupelo, Jim let me get a Hobby Lobby Credit card! WooHoo....For every dollar you spend you get points towards Hobby gift cards. I really like free money, don't you! We aren't into using credit cards or finance charges so if I use this card, I pay it off immediately. I especially use it when I have a huge purchase so I can rack up those points=$$....

     By now you have read my previous post about my shopping escapade sans kids yesterday. {If not, you can read it here} With Jim's permission, I put all my gifts on my card and when I got home, I logged into my account online to pay, with my debit card, what had been posted....we are obsessed with 0 balances too. I paid what was there.

     On to my next purchase...a new phone....Hallelujah!!!! If you have been in a conversation on my phone with me lately, our call was probably interrupted by a very loud buzz, followed by a dropped call. It's no wonder, with the life my Blackberry has lived....it deserves a rest, and very very soon. I would  have called for help down between those aisles in Belk yesterday, but I couldn't have called anyone...my phone was dead! I know, lovely! When my window mysteriously shattered into my lap a few weeks ago, you guessed it, my phone died when I called for help. So I have been scouring the AT&T website for the right phone. I would love love love another Blackberry, but Jim wants me to get an IPhone....he won! Since Tupelo announced it's upcoming upgrade to 3G, it has been more of a reality that everyone has noticed because the IPhones I want have been sold out. But yesterday...during naptime, I found one!!!! Yay!!! Long story short, I ordered it..YAY.....I can freely talk, again...soon!
     In an insomniatic moment early this morning I saw I received an email from AT&T..we can't finish your order until you call us. After 45 minutes...no I'm not exaggerating....of holding for a rep, they tell me my Hobby Lobby Card was declined!  Errrr....back up.... There's no way, check those numbers again, run it again....No way, I have never ever ever reached it's limit and I know I didn't yesterday. Yep, declined a second time. How embarrassing. I just used my debit card, thinking about all those Hobby Lobby points I was losing....
    A quick call to the issuing bank of my beloved Hobby Lobby card made me love it even more! Because I never use my card, and there were so many purchases {I didn't really think it was that many, but when the rep read them all back to me, I thought...mabye someone did steal my card!} made yesterday, they had put a hold on all purchases with my card...therefore, it was declined. I wanted to scream at first, how inconvenient, but then I realized, how convenient and how thoughtful!!! I've lost my debit cards a many a time and gone immediately to my online account to check transactions, so to have someone do this for me, almost brought a tear to my eye {remember, I'm pregnant, I cry over road kill}  They thought someone had stolen my card! After confirming that I did in fact make the purchases listed, my Hobby Lobby Card was...revived. All is well in the world! But really, how nice. I know it has nothing to do with Hobby Lobby, and everything to do with the issuing bank and Visa, but still, they were looking after me.

Plastic + Leather = Pleather

     I've eyed these, these, these pleather something or the other things on the front aisle of the junior section of Walmart for a few weeks now.

     They are by Miley Cyrus & Max Azria. I took the pleasure of checking these monstrosities out. The label calls them, Scrunchy Liquid Leggings. You got that right! You definitley have to be liquid to be poured into these ugly things, this is the LARGE!

     This is just wrong. This wouldn't look good on anyone, not even Miley Cyrus. Come on...Pleather? Pah-lease! Made of spandex and polyester. I couldn't help myself and had to read the user comments about these pants from the Walmart site here.  It's comical!  One person who gave it 5 stars said "This is a wonderful edition to a girl's closet and fits wonderfully."   I personally think that Miley Cyrus wrote this review herself.  And this reviewer gave it 4 our of 5 stars because they gave her a plumber bum had this to say, "These are great. Just what I was looking for and would've paid more than double for elsewhere." -This lady, and I do mean lady because she is in the age range of 24-35, says she wears them a few times per month. Ms...Tight but cool, even though I bought the largest size wears them once per week....LADY...you are between 35 & 44 years old..... I'd think they'd be a little tight too...they are in the juniors section of Walmart for crying out loud! What kind of job allows you to wear them once a week anyway?........

It's okay, my Dr. Pepper had a lid on it!

     POW! is all I heard and then a milli-sec later my pregnant belly was covered in glass. I thought someone had shot at me, I was driving through West Point after all, and I have nightmares about that place already. (And yes, I am very well aware that I am a drama queen)  My mind went blank, are the boys okay. I glanced back at them, their eyes hadn't seemed to leave the DVD screens, Thank You Lord! I pulled off the road and then into the Walmart parking lot. What do I do...hold it together so I don't scare the boys. Maybe they won't notice! Call Jim....He asks, are you okay, well I don't know hun, haven't thought about that. I don't see any blood, I start sobbing, I can't breathe, OH MY WORD...what just happened. I was trying to let him know I was okay, despite the trembling and sobbing and teeth chattering...I was bewildered. Then the shakes and Jim, tell me what to do? (Made me think of the Barney song that Baby Bop sings: What do I do when I don't know what to do? --Taylor sings it all the time now) I have all my priorities in order and am concerned, did any of that glass get in my Dr. Pepper I had just gotten at Sonic? Looks good. Good. Okay, back to what do I do? After calling everyone I know and my phone dying 3 times in the process, Kasey C calls her Mother-in-law, Judy C., there in West Point and she and another guy fix me all up! 15 Minutes after the fact, Taylor asks, mommy, what was that loud boom? Andrew's floorboard, behind my seat was also covered in glass. I am just so thankful that if it had to happen, then it was my window and not his!

     We made it back to Tupelo, duct tape and all, and once inside I made it to my bedroom, Andrew at my side, I just fell to my knees and cried, sobbing actually. So thankful my boys were okay. All I could say was Thank You Lord. I pulled myself together, didn't really have a choice, Andrew poured his ice water out all over my lap. Jim called to check on us, I was fine, was home, had a good cry and now, I need a nap!

New must-have T-Shirt at Reed's

     Oh, wait, Ole Miss lost the Egg Bowl to State, guess they will have a special on Humble Pie instead.
(See previous Reed's T-Shirt ad here)

Excessive Celebration?

     I'm not hating on Ole Miss at all, but, this Reed's ad I came across in the Djournal just shows you why I am becoming more of a State fan!

     I know it shouldn't, but it just makes me laugh. Don't know if it's because those Rebels are supposed to be the classier crowd or if it's because it says 'Remember ONE of the Great Victories in Ole Miss FB History.'  Maybe this special t-shirt could be appropriate if the Rebels won the National Title or even won the SEC, but it was just a regular season win for crying out loud. Sorry all you Rebel fans, I just couldn't help myself! They'll make a t-shirt for anything these days!

Chia Obama, not for this Mama!

     No offense to my friends who are Obama fans. And I am not disrespecting the President of our country in any way, but there is something that is just not right about the Chia Obama...Special Edition.

     It doesn't matter if you are an Obama fan or not, I find it appalling and degrading. Not to mention tacky. The commercial states "proudly display it on your desk. It makes the statement, 'I'm Proud to be an American.'" Come on, seriously? I could find a thousand more, less embarrassing chotchkies of our Commander in Chief that could tell people how proud I am to be an American. And if I saw this crazy thing on your desk, I'd probably LOL and have a hard time hiding it. I don't know why anyone in his administration would have ever signed off on this deal. It just ain't right.

Come on People...

Have you heard of Redbox? I think it is the next great phenomena since sliced bread! If you are already confused, Redbox is a dvd vending machine, they are located at different retail establishments throughout different cities. The were all over NoVA and when we moved here, I sent tons of emails to Redbox until we got about 4 in the Tupelo area!! WooHoo!!! They cost $1 per day and you can reserve them online at home and pick them up at the kiosk, or just rent them at the kiosk itself. Anyway, Jim and I LOVE renting Redbox videos, so as you can imagine, I stand in line a lot and have the opportunity to watch peoples' body languages. One very common, and gross, trait a lot of people I stand in line behind is to prop themselves up on the machine like they have a lame leg. One day last week while waiting for a friend in the Walgreen's parking lot at Barnes Crossing, my point was made. Check these pictures out:
Okay, this guy must have really had a tough day. At one point he had both arms on the top of the machine, propping himself up.
Whatever happend to "Lean on Me, and I'll be your friend." Even with his chica with him, this guy, whose shorts by the way were hanging so low, I wanted to go and pull them up for him, he felt the need to prop himself up against the machine as well.
In my 20 minutes sitting in the parking lot, I witnessed 3 people patronize this machine and all 3 of them did the same thing.
I think we have found just one more place that could possibly be as nasty as the bathroom door handle!