little girlie hat giveaway

The owner of a NEW Etsy shop called Abi Leigh is offering a beautiful crocheted hat to GIVE AWAY! The giveaway is being hosted by Shealynn over at The Benner Daily. Go on over and enter to win!!

Here's what Abi says about her stuff....Good luck...

"This giveaway is for a beautiful hat in a dark violet with a cream flower. This item is handmade with care and love and ready to enter a special little girl's life. Take a look at the beautiful ruffled edge and two toned flower. This particular hat will fit an infant all the way up to 4T. It measures 6 3/4 inches from top to bottom. Width is 8 3/4 inches. Although it is quite stretchy and can fit almost any little girl. Circumference is 5 3/4 inches. This hat is one of a kind, but I am also able to take custom orders or you can check out some of my already made items that are ready to ship!!"

wow

It's been almost two months since I posted?

The good news is that I'm finally in my third and final trimester of this pregnancy.

The bad news is that once I got here, I almost immediately started having trouble sleeping (too big to get comfy), having indigestion, and generally being miserable.

Good thing my man is taking me to hawaii for a few days... I will certainly relish the time away and opportunity to be miserable in a beautiful hotel room. ha ha. Now where is that maternity bathing suit?? (oh scary!)

good news and bad news

The good news is I slept through the night last night! Woohoo, I sound like a mom of a newborn infant and not just a pregnant lady. :) The even better news is that my daughter woke up at 5:15 AM, came in bed with me, and went back to sleep until 7:30. I'm sure that in heaven we'll all SLEEP IN every day so you know how I feel about that excitement. :)

The bad news is just for Debbie ~ that chocolate doughnut was not all that great yesterday. :( And now I'm "over" my craving so no more searching. Hopefully you'll find some chocolate goodness in all your baking over the next few days!

More adventures

Last night I was at The White House (complete with Christmas decorations and an organic juice dispenser) as well as Seaworld (mostly with the dolphins). If you have no idea what I'm talking about, read my last post.

I was also awake from 2-5:30 AM, and my daughter woke up at 6:30 AM. What a waste of good, precious sleeping time!

Finally, I'm off in search of that amazing chocolate doughnut today. Debbie, if it pans out I'm happy to ship you one. lol.

Dreams

hello blog followers. I think there are two of you. Maybe three. Just had to comment on how WEIRD my dreams have been lately. I'm not sleeping well so maybe that's why I remember them all. Last night I was injected into a popular sitcom in my dream. Nothing too exciting happened but there I was with all the TV characters. Weird.

The night before I woke up and told my husband "I had the BEST chocolate doughnut EVER!" He wanted to know where his was. Whoops, I guess I just dreamed it.

The list goes on and on but those are the two recent "highlights."

Finally, back to you, my two followers. I think at least 50% of you know I'm pregnant, for the other 50%, SURPRISE, I'm pregnant. :) I think that's why my dreams have been so wacky lately.

Merry Christmas!

p.s. ~ I'm labeling this post "parenthood" because I think parenthood begins in pregnancy for us mommas... maybe not you dads, but moms for sure!

Stress Buster

Sweet potatoes help ease stress. No wonder they're served at major family holidays!

new yum for the list

Going to add to my list of yum-o favorites... No Pudge! Fudge Brownie Mix

You're supposed to mix it with vanilla yogurt... but I just mixed it with Raspberry. Wow! Yummmmmmmmmalicious. I am especially a fan of the individual serving prep. Hot brownies whenever you want, only when you want.

Watch that mouth, Momma!

Tonight on the way home from an evening out with pretty disobedient kids (just the icing on the cake of disobedient-kid-day), the following conversation took place.

Mom: I'm tired of you kids not obeying right away. It makes me sad.
4 y/o: Mommy, if you are tired of me not obeying you should go take a nap.
Mom: I would love to take a nap, but I don't think it will help you do a better job at obeying. Do you think it would help?
4 y/o: No...

whoops. Lord, please help me love my family no matter how I feel or how they act. Thank you for being a perfect example of unconditional love, and help me have even a teeny tiny portion of that unconditional love for my husband and my kids.

two posts in one day?

I know, you're going to fall over.

Tonight I was mixing up some oatmeal, and said "The middle part is still cold so I'll mix it with the hot part and it should all be the perfect temperature."

My 4 y/o says, "Mommy, did you know that God can take the good stuff and the bad stuff and mix it up to be all great stuff?"

Me: "Yes, I know, isn't that amazing? Where did you learn that?"

4 y/o: "I learned all about it on Veggietales!"

At least that form of electronic babysitting isn't failing me! :)

Very Cute.

Downtown Holiday Jacket and Pant GIVEAWAY!!!!

I'm in love with this jacket. I wish it came in my size, but hopefully I'll win the giveaway ~ just like you can until 12/2! ~ and my little girl can wear it instead! :)

It's finally cold!!!

My shorts are sitting, abandoned, in the corner of the hallway (oops, should put those away!). I just put on a sweater and I'm on a hunt for my slippers!! yes!! Winter might actually show up in these parts. :D

I talked to an out-of-state friend today... she said it was 84 degrees. We had that last week, and let me tell you girlfriend, you can HAVE your November 80 degree weather!!

Current Favorites

Odwalla orange juice
whole wheat bagels with goat cheese (the three-flavor pack from Trader Joe's)
air popped popcorn with lots of butter and salt (well at least it starts out healthy...)

I can't stand it

It is so hot in here I'm melting.

and it's 10:30 at night! What is wrong with you, weather?!?! Are you as grumpy as me and you're taking it out on the rest of us??

From the mouth of only a four year old

Mommy: You can wear those shorts, but I don't know if they fit. They might be too big.
4 y/o: Ok, Ok!
[pause while 4 y/o is getting dressed]
Mommy: Do those fit? Do you like them?
4 y/o: Yes, I like them. They fit great except they keep slipping down.
Mommy: Oh sweetie, that means they are too big!

Nice for a 7 am laugh.

I found them

Even though I have a screaming headache that hurts so bad it is making me nauseated, I thought I'd update you quickly on where everybody is.

They're on the freeway. Sheesh, was I surprised by the 8:30 AM traffic yesterday. Although true to form, I ran by my neighborhood bank and post office this afternoon ~ driving in the interest of saving time, naughty me ~ and there was parking galore available. Creepy.

Where is everybody?

Where is everybody? Is everyone really so scared of the economy that they are staying home? Literally?!?! Seriously?!?!

For the most part I cannot put my finger on "it," but more and more frequently these days I find myself saying things like:
"Wow, I can't believe I found a parking spot right in front of that store!" (remember I live in the city)
"I can't believe how little traffic there is." (think city driving! ugh!)
"Where is everybody??"
"Did Tim LaHaye get raptured and leave me behind?"

At first I thought it is because I'm a mom, and I keep slightly different hours than the rest of the city so it's just a coincidence. Yes, I'd be happy if my favorite stores opened by 8 AM every day. [Let's hear it for the mommies!] :) Maybe I just happen to shop or be out when most other people aren't.

But..... Last Monday there were skads and skads of parking on a main avenue, in the middle of the day, when it is usually packed! I was a little spooked. Then I remembered that it was Monday, and several larger independent stores in the area are closed on Monday, so I felt a little better.

But not for long.

Tonight I did an unusual thing. I wanted to pick up something at the grocery store for tomorrow morning. So at 7:15 pm (that's the unusual part!) I piled the kids in the car and went to the grocery store, expecting to see all the work-a-day gals and guys loading up on last minute dinner groceries. As I pulled in to the parking lot I was pleased to see several parking spaces relatively close to the front door. Trying not to be greedy I skipped over the first one and took the second, still a bit of a walk but close enough for this city girl. :) We did our shopping, waiting only a few moments in line (score!), and as we walked out the door my jaw dropped. I guess I wasn't really paying attention the first time around. The parking lot was 80% empty. This is unreal! This is unheard of.

Since I'm sure it's not the rapture (wink) this just has to be.... bad economic times?!?!?

It's creepy, really. We live near a large university, and this is the kind of emptiness I would expect to see at the beginning of summer break. Or spring break. Or the week of Christmas, for goodness' sake.

Am I actually going to get a little love back from my overrun city thanks to the economy???

Crock Pot Breakfast

I don't want to forget this..... I'm going to try the Crockpot Whole Grain Breakfast Cereal instead of the tasty Coach's Oats we've been eating every morning. Talk about a no-fuss breakfast! yes! I am fired up.

Went to Safeway tonight after bedtime so NO KIDS. I was able to wander up and down the aisles and look at what was on sale to match up with my coupons. Of course now that I have discovered the Nourishing Gourmet I wish I hadn't bought half of that stuff but... oh well. After all the sales and coupons I saved 44%. I've got to tell you I wasn't too excited about that number since I had about $16.25 in coupons ~ yes, JUST COUPONS!! That's pretty good for me. The two best deals:

Simple Harvest granola bars
reg $4.29
on sale 2/$5
$1/1 coupons (lots)
final price: $1.50 each

Rice Dream
reg $2.29
on sale $1.50
$1/4 (on the box!! score!!)
final price: $1.25 each

The one thing I did buy without a coupon or a sale was sausage. I'm treating my DH for his birthday. That's true love. (Aren't I nice?) :-P

I did notice at Safeway that entire sections of refrigerated cases were empty and covered with plastic: eggs, cheese, yogurt, lunch meat, hot dogs. The list is pretty long. When it was my turn at the checkout line (the only one open at 10 pm on Saturday night!) I came face to face with the uber-efficient chip-on-my-shoulder sarcastic checker (this is my neighborhood store, I have opinions on most of the employees). I like him for his efficiency but sometimes think he could, well, spark up his personality a little bit. Anyway he was shocked with my 15 coupons that ALL rang up properly (yes I check my coupons in advance!) so I thought I might be in his good graces.

Me: "So, can you give me the 3-second shpiel on what's up with all the refrigerated cases being empty?"
checker: "oh sure. I got really hungry and ate up everything in all the cases."
Me: [without missing a beat] "oh yes, I did notice you put a sign up that said "I O U 1 Cheese" so I see how that could have happened."

And that's all she wrote, folks.

My head hurts

Actually not sure if my head, heart, or stomach hurts worse.

Officer kills self and shoots own children

There are no words.

No Starbucks today

Evidently the Starbucks story isn't over. Today I was walking with a friend and my kids near the "old" Starbucks (that closed yesterday... sniff) and the two adults were joking about getting coffee "Oh wait, no more Starbucks, oh no!"

My boy pipes up "No Starbucks today!"

"Why not?" we ask

"No coupons!" he says.

I guess I have trained him well. That was good for a great belly laugh.

we now return to our regularly scheduled program...

We were out of town for a lot of the last month, so it's slowly back to the normal school year routine for us. Sigh.

Tomorrow my Starbucks closes at 5:30 pm. When I asked the (eccentric) barista today if there was a big party tomorrow, she said "Yup, we're having a wake and I'm bringing hummus!" In my mind I thought ~ hummus... hmm... not exactly "wake" material but OK!

It's just Starbucks... but there have been a lot of great conversations and emotions that happened in that place. I'll miss it. And I'm certainly not going to go to any of the other ghetto Starbucks within walking distance.

Goodbye, Starbucks, goodbye!