Yard Sale Finds

So, I finally got around to taking a few pictures of my yard sale finds as of late -- including the famed $15 wicker settee for the front porch.


Naturally, I forgot to take a full shot of the settee before I painted it (that would have required too much advance planning), but this close-up should give you an idea of the color it was before -- kind of a light taupe:

After I cleaned it up and removed as much of the old paint as possible, I primed it and repainted it a chocolate brown. I also went ahead and added a new cushion:

And this little side table? Another yard sale find -- $7 -- which I painted to match:

Spray paint, my love for you knows no bounds.

I also mentioned that I've found some decorative accessories for my great room bookshelves. Here's a closer look:

Woven box -- 50 cents:

Cool wood tray -- $1:

Set of decorative plates -- $5:

Adorable little vase -- I love the bird detailing -- $5:

And, I bought four jars full of wine corks for 25 cents each. It probably seems like a bizarre purchase, but I saw someone do a flower arrangement with corks instead of pebbles in the vase. I might use these for that, or I might just stick them in an apothocary jar. Either way, it's a heck of a lot cheaper than buying all that wine and saving the corks myself. :) (That's my youngest playing Vanna White in the back, btw.)

Finally, one of the most unexpected finds. Now, I really had no intention of purchasing shoes at a yard sale. But y'all. These were brand new BCBG Girls ballet flats. For $3. And, I must say, I pink puffy heart them:

I know. I probably crossed the line with the shoes.

But they were so cute.

And, did I mention, they were only $3?

What I Learned This Week: The Anatomy of a Blizzard

"Cleaning up after children is like shoveling in a blizzard."

-- Anonymous

Ever feel that way? That's where I've been lately. Toys are strewn everywhere. Laundry is piled up to the ceiling. There seems to be no end to the dishes. No matter how much I manage to clean up, there's always another mess waiting for me.

Last Saturday, hubs took the kids out to play, and I spent two hours cleaning the kitchen from top to bottom. It was sparkling-beautiful by the time I was finished.

And then, the family returned for lunch.

In 10 minutes, I watched as a whirlwind tore through my beautiful kitchen. Coats were shed, food taken out, dishes piled up. When it was all said and done, I felt like crying.

Sometimes it's hard to shake the feeling that I'm losing the battle and the war.

So, I've been giving a lot of thought to blizzards this week. And, I've come to a few realizations that have made coping with these small "life blizzards" a little easier.

1. Blizzards last only for a season. Unless you live in Antarctica, blizzards happen in winter. Then, they disappear for the rest of the year. In much the same way, the blizzards of chaos overtaking my home these days are also temporary. With three kids age 6 and under, I happen to be receiving a lot of snowfall right now. But, it helps to remember it won't last forever.

2. When the weather is extreme, accept the fact that life won't be perfect. Blizzards bring sub-zero temps, wicked wind, messy roads and slow travel time. That's the nature of a blizzard. When I'm facing a "life blizzard," there are going to be uncomfortable moments. There are going to be moments of inconvenience. I'm not going to be able to accomplish all I want/need to do. It's the nature of the beast. I need to stop fighting it and temporarily lower my standards. Then, go back and review #1.

3. Before you roll up your sleeves, wait for a break in the storm. This might be obvious but, overwhelmed with the chaos, I find myself breaking this rule. I wouldn't try to clear the driveway at the exact moment snow is falling the hardest. That would be counter-productive. In the same way, when chaos is the order of the day at my house, that is not the time to be tackling a big organizational project (unless I want a one-way trip to insanity.) It's best to have my husband take the kids for the day, hire a babysitter, or schedule a play date at someone else's house. Then, use that quiet time to get things cleared away.

4. Sometimes, you just have to set aside your shovel and jump in. We don't get a lot of snow in Georgia. So, on the odd occasion when a storm does come our way, the last thing we think about is clearing the driveway. Instead, we head out to play. Remember #1? Blizzards don't last forever. There are times when, really, it just pays to embrace the chaos. My kids won't always be this young. They won't always want to play with me. When I scan my family room and see 500 toys strewn across the floor, I can bemoan the mess, or I can take the opportunity to temporarily "give up," jump in and play with my kids. I can't let my need to "fix the chaos" overwhelm me to the point where I can't occasionally cut loose and have fun.

So, that's what I've learned this week. Interested in what other folks learned? Head over to Musings of a Housewife for the What I Learned This Week Carnival.

Tales of the Folicly Challenged

When God was giving out fantastic hair genes, I somehow ended up at the end of the line.

My hair is fine and stick straight. Any "bend" or body I might have in my hair is the direct result of sleeping on it wrong.

It's taken me 30 years to come to terms with my hair. I've finally managed to find a cut that works pretty well, and I've accepted that I'm never going to have a mane like Julianne Moore's (as depressing as that fact may be).

But, this post isn't about my hair woes. It's about my children's.

You see, my husband's hair is the exact same texture as mine. That means, genetically speaking, our kids never stood a chance. Great hair just wasn't going to be in their future.

For Josh, this isn't really a big deal. A little gel, a small tousle, and he's good to go.

But, my poor daughters.

They're stuck with straight, fine hair and a mother who doesn't know what to do with it. To top it off, Jilly's hair has so many cowlicks, it's impossible to find a straight part.

Thus, my hairstyle repertoire consists of the following:

* Ponytail
* Pigtails
* Headband
* Braids

That's not too shabby, but here's the problem -- we live in the South. And Southern mothers take little girl hair very seriously. Glance around any holiday gathering or school function and you'll spot a sea of adorable curls, loops and bows.

How do I cope with the hair pressure?

Well, I pretty much resigned myself to defeat.

My hairstyle apathy reached its lowest point last year, when Hubs and Jilly were attending the annual Sweetheart Ball.

None of the styles in my repertoire exactly scream "special occasion." I didn't know what to do. So, I did nothing. Nada. I ran a comb through her hair and sent her out the door with nary a bow, headband or curl.

I'm still not sure what I was thinking.

So, this year I committed to do better. I did a little online research on hairstyles for little girls. Do you know there are blogs dedicated solely to showcasing new hairstyles for your little princess?

Styles like this, this, and -- oh my stars -- this.

I must have spent 2 hours reading those blogs in awestruck amazement. Who knew there were so many style options? Who knew there were so many little girls who would sit still that long?

So, I set my sights high. I began a full hour and half before Saturday's party. We washed, combed, added product, heated up the curling iron, and by 45 minutes into it, I was in a full-fledged panic. My "woven heart design" didn't turn out (despite a practice run the day before). My Plan B -- a head full of curls -- wasn't even an option. Jilly's hair stubbornly refused all but the slightest bend.

So, I had to do some quick thinking. Thankfully, I had made 2 sets of flower clippies (to "dress up" my tried and true pigtails) the day before. Here's what we did:



It's a little "flower girl-ish," but it's light years better than last year.

And, for the record, I'm not giving up. I even took my standard braids to new levels for church yesterday:



With a good deal of practice, I just might be able to come to terms with that girl's mane.

And, with a little luck, it won't take anywhere close to 30 years.

Chasing Away the Gray

It's January. The holidays are over and for the next several weeks, I'll be trying to survive the remainder of winter.

Now, before you go rolling your eyes -- because I know what you're saying ("She lives down South, for crying out loud!"), it's true that we don't have the bitterly cold temperatures to deal with. But, this is also the part of the year where we get our highest percentage of cloudy days.

And it's the clouds.

They get me every time.

I can withstand the coldest of temperatures (I did once live in Michigan) if the sun is shining. But the gray days. Ick. My mom and sister will vouch for me on this one -- a gray day can turn me into the biggest grump on the face of the earth.

I may have a touch of that whole Seasonal Affective Disorder thing.

I even may have considered purchasing a light box at one point (for the sake of my loved ones).

I can't help it. The gray. It gets to me.

So, while I was at the beach the other weekend, my sister and I managed to squeeze a trip in to my most favorite place on earth -- the Tanger Outlets -- for a little retail therapy. I was already kind of crabby, because not only was it raining when we woke up (the weatherman had predicted sun!), but it was pretty cold, too.

Yet, I managed to drag myself to the outlets anyway. (It's a tough life I lead.)

While browsing through the stores, I noticed a certain color that must be "hot" for spring. It was this super-bright electric yellow.

It made me think of this:



And this:

This:

And most importantly, this:

I'm telling you, just looking at it lifted my spirits on that miserable day.

Now, while I don't think I'd be bold enough to buy a jacket, dress or pair of slacks in that particular color, an accessory is a different story.

I snapped up one of those faux pashmina scarves in the brightest yellow I could find.

I've been wearing it on the grayest of days, and can I just say, it takes me to my happy place.

It really is the little things, isn't it?

And at ten bucks, it's a heck of a lot cheaper than a light box.

Do you dislike winter? What helps you get through the bleak winter months?

Just so you know how we're holding up around here...

So, today was quite the day. Poor Josh felt horrible for most of it, with his lifeless little 4-year-old body sprawled out on the couch in the great room, watching TV. I spent a good part of the day running back and forth from room to room in response to Josh's frantic pleas for help. It would go something like this:

"I'm gonna throw up! I'm gonna throw up!! I'M GONNA THROW UP!!!"

Josh would end this announcement with a scream that could shatter glass.

At this point, I would immediately drop whatever I was doing and sprint for the great room, calling, "Get your bowl! Get your bowl!"

This little scenario played out about 20 times. He only ended up tossing his cookies four times, but that didn't make the other 16 calls for help any less nerve-wracking.

When my husband came home at 6:15 and asked if I was going to karate tonight, my answer was: "Uh, yeah."

I needed a little break.

Josh is bunking next to our bed tonight. I figure this will prevent my having to run at full-tilt down the hall to his room when I hear him screaming, "I'm gonna throw up!" over the monitor. There's nothing quite like being startled out of a sound sleep and immediately forced to sprint. So, I'm trying to make life easier. We'll see what happens.

Ah, stomach virus season.

There truly is no end to the joys you bring.

Hey there! Remember me?

I'm a little "off" this week. Over the weekend I headed to Myrtle Beach with my sister for a scrapbooking retreat. It was the first time I picked up my scrapbooking supplies in months. It felt so good to catch up on our albums. But somehow, even though I was gone for only two days, I feel like I've been gone a week. It's been hard to get back in the swing of things -- and this poor little blog has been sorely neglected.

To top it all off, Josh came down with a stomach bug early this morning, and I'm starting to feel a little woozy myself. But, before things really go downhill, I wanted to share a couple neat things with y'all.

It's been cold in Georgia, but not nearly as cold as up north. If you're looking for the perfect winter comfort food recipe, try this Creamy Chipotle Chicken Tortellini with White Beans and Cilantro that Jenny posted. I could eat the entire pot in one sitting. Unbelieveably good.

Jo-Lynne gave me the heads up on this next one. Audrey's tip on how to fit pants without trying them on is amazing and really works! It will forever change my shopping excursions with kids in tow. Where was this information two kids ago? :)

Finally, I recently discovered a pure, organic "magic soap." It's now a staple in our family. Curious? Go check it out.

With that, I'm off to be nurse for the day. Stay warm and healthy, y'all!

Checking in...

Just a quick little post to let you know that we are all alive and well at the Life with Three household. We returned from a week-long trip visiting family in sunny Florida on Saturday.

I discovered over vacation that, this post notwithstanding, my morning cup of coffee is like liquid gold. My brother-in-law and his wife don't drink coffee, and by Wednesday, hubs and I were stumbling around in a decaffeinated haze. We finally hit the local Dunkin' Donuts in search of caffeine. At the first sip of that coffee, I can assure you the heavens did open and the angels did sing. It was a beautiful thing. Oh, morning caffeine. How I have missed you.

The kids are in school today -- all except Grace, who is happily playing at my feet. I'm so behind in my blog reading -- I've missed you all! Hopefully, I'll be tackling my reader in the next few days to see what y'all have been up to.

In the meantime, I've got to get the house sorted -- it looks like a bomb went off. There are bags to unpack, laundry to do and a Christmas tree that is STILL up (so much for my plans to take it down the day after Christmas!).

I am posting over at Chic Critique tomorrow -- and I'm giving you the heads up now -- it's going to feature a fantabulous giveaway. Really. You don't want to miss it.

Happy New Year, everyone!

The Final Verdict

Thank y'all so much for your help with my fashion crisis the other day. Here's what I ended up wearing to the par-tay last night -- it was the overall favorite, by a landslide:




It was super-comfy and very festive. I'm also going to count this outfit for Jane's Christmas Challenge: Wear an Outfit Inspired by a Song. My song "inspiration" was Back in Black, because I always seem to wear black every year for the Christmas party. :) But, hey. It works for me.

Happy Feet

Check out my latest purchase from Tar-Jay.

Oh, I know it's the season of giving. But, I just happened to find myself with a $25 Target gift card. And, while I could have used it to buy Christmas presents for others, I'm obviously not that selfless. I know. I'm shameful.

And I was a little skeptical. I mean at $14.99 I was hardly expecting much.

But.

These are now the most comfortable shoes in my closet. They feel like slippers. Like two little slices of heaven for my tired tootsies. They make my feet oh-so-happy -- and chic, to boot!

Stylish relief for my barking dogs. All at a bargain price.

Just one more reason why I love Target.

Blog Party!

Last weekend, I ventured into the Big City for my very first blogger get-together. Whittaker Woman helped spearhead an effort to organize a "get-to-know-you" dinner for 40-some bloggers. And, while I thought most would be from the Atlanta area, turns out people came from all over -- South Carolina, Florida, even as far as California.

It felt a little weird going to an event where I was going to meet people "in person" who I had first "met" on the Internet. Very surreal. And a little scary. But within minutes of walking through the door, I fell into conversation with the most wonderful people.

To start, I finally got to meet fellow Georgia blogging pal Soliloquy. Love. Her. She's as down to earth in real life as she is on her blog.

I chatted about Twitter with Natalie, shared a few laughs with Erika and Vanessa, and found a kindred spirit in Cookie. Michelle and I commiserated over the trials and tribulations of raising picky eaters. I also met Jacinda -- who makes the most adorable flower hair clips (I happened to win one!) -- and Liege, who made the trip from Califorinia with her 7-week-old baby girl (absolutely precious, she was).

I've added so many new blogs to my reader and can't wait to read about the lives of these amazing women.

Hopefully, we'll all get a chance to meet up again.

A Tale of Two Ta-Tas

This past weekend I finally did something I've been promising myself I would do for a long time.

I had a professional br@ fitting.

See, I've nursed three babies, for over a year each. The "girls" have been working pretty much non-stop since 2002. And now, well -- they're a little worse for the wear.

I figured a professional br@ fitting might be just the thing to help me gain a few more cup sizes sans surgery make the most of what I've got. I scheduled an appointment at Intimacy -- home of the renowned Br@ Whisperer.

I had the highest of hopes.

Turns out, I was wearing the wrong size -- and my lovely Whisperer Stacy spent quite a bit of time enlightening me on the finer points of a well-fitting undergarment.

Yet, while my fitting was "complimentary," I can assure you that the supportive undergarments were not.

Br@ Whispering does not come without a price, my friends.

The price tag -- oh, I'm ashamed to share this with you -- was $65 and up. Per br@. One br@ I bought was over $100.

Let me type that again.

I bought one br@ for $104.

And no, it was not the one encrusted with diamonds that they show on the cover of that famous catalog of underpinnings.

(But it does convert into three different styles, so I kind of felt like I was getting a deal.)

All told, I spent WAY TOO MUCH in that store. Even my mother -- who is all about spending money on "important wardrobe staples" -- had to pick her jaw up off the floor when I told her what I spent.

I'm not proud.

And, it should come as no surprise that Intimacy doesn't offer refunds.

Store credits? Yes.

Refunds? No.

Obviously, I'm not the only woman who stumbled out of the store, teensy shopping bag in hand, and stood in horror as the lingerie-induced haze lifted from her brain and she came to grips with the reality of what she had just done.

For the rest of the day, not only did I find myself staring at people's chests wondering how much they paid for their underpinnings, but I also began viewing every potential purchase in terms of a br@.

For example, a supa-cute jacket in Nordstrom would cost me about one br@.

A sweater I loved in Ann Taylor -- just under one br@.

Some makeup I was considering in Sephora -- about half a br@.

Lunch? About a strap's worth.

But, perhaps most frustrating was the fact that I left my fitting a little depressed. My new purchases were eons better than what I had been wearing, but after such a significant investment, I was kind of hoping I'd have a little more to show for it.

Literally. As in an extra cup size or two.

Now, I know that's ridiculous, but part of me hoped that maybe there was some super-secret trick the Br@ Whisperer would share for making me look more endowed than I really am.

Well, I suppose there is a trick. It's called an implant and they just don't do those at Intimacy.

So, while I wrestled with what I spent, I also had to wrestle with the fact that a girl's gotta work with what she's got.

And for me, the fact of the matter is that in the ta-ta department, that's not much.

But, then I stop and realize that "what I have" is really a matter of perspective. I look at my three beautiful kids. I consider the fact that I'm healthy and have the energy I need to do what I do each day. I look at my husband who loves me no matter how much money I manage to spend on undergarments what happens.

While my physical cups might be a little on the sparse side, my metaphorical cups truly runneth over.

And in the end, I'll take that over a great rack any day of the week.

Are those sleigh bells I hear, or are we just a tad early?

Our Christmas tree is up. Lights on. Ornaments hung.


And, I've got to say, it feels a little weird.


I mean, it's November 10th.


My husband needed a project to keep the kids busy this weekend while I was in Atlanta. Jilly (5) was dead-set on putting up the Christmas tree (she's been asking to do it since October).


So, put up the tree they did.


I thought we were the only crazy family -- but turns out, we're not.


When do y'all put your trees up?


Are we the only early birds out there?

The Great Computer Meltdown and... Soup's On!

***Recipe update below ***

Well, my little computer snafu will, from here on out, be referred to as "The Great Computer Meltdown of 2008." Really. It's worthy of its own Weather Channel graphic. If I was able to, I would have created a snappy little graphic myself, but I'm afraid to make one wrong move for fear that I'll screw something up.

My dear, sweet husband spent literally all weekend cleansing and rebuilding my laptop. Everything had to be wiped off the hard drive because this particular virus (or series of viruses -- I told you the virus scan discovered about 400) was ruthless. Fortunately, I did manage to back up our photos to an external hard drive before we left for vacation. And, for once my procrastination actually paid off -- I needed to download 1,145 pictures off my digital camera (I have a HUGE memory card), so I think the important stuff -- family photos -- was preserved.

My laptop is now like Fort Knox. Nothing should be getting through and we even updated the virus scan software to the "deluxe" auto scan version. I can assure you that was $70 well spent.

All that to offer you a friendly little reminder -- have you backed up your computer lately? How's your virus protection? Do yourself a favor and make sure it's up to date. Or buy a Mac. Either option would work.

Secondly, I did promise soup, right? I am so glad the temps are dropping because I can finally pull out all of my soup recipes. I love to make soup in the winter. And, while this is not a recipe blog, I'm going to try and share a soup recipe each Monday for a few weeks. If you have a recipe to share, leave a link in the comments. I'd love to try some new recipes.

This soup is a take on Panera's Cream of Chicken and Wild Rice Soup. So good! We had this the other night for dinner and my 5-year-old ate every bite. She'll be taking the leftovers for lunch this week.


Cream of Chicken and Wild Rice Soup
Serves 8

**I originally got this recipe from my mom, who is notorious for changing the original recipe. True to form, she revamped this one as well. I have changed the measurements below to reflect her changes.**

1/2 cup butter
1 finely chopped onion
1 cup chopped celery
1 cup sliced carrots
1/2 pound fresh sliced mushrooms (I leave these out, because if my daughter spotted a mushroom, she'd refuse to eat the soup.)
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
6 cups chicken broth
2 cups cooked wild rice
1 pound boneless skinless chicken breasts, cooked and cubed (you can use a rotisserie chicken to save time)
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon curry powder
1 teaspoon mustard powder
1 teaspoon dried parsley
1 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 cup slivered almonds (optional)
3 tablespoons dry sherry
2 cups half-and-half

Melt butter in a large saucepan over medium heat. Stir in the onion, celery and carrots and saute for 5 minutes. Add the mushrooms and saute for 2 more minutes. Then add the flour and stir well to create a roux. Gradually pour in the chicken broth, stirring constantly, until all has been added. Bring just to a boil, reduce heat to low and let simmer.

Next, add the rice, chicken, salt, curry powder, mustard powder, parsley, ground black pepper, almonds and sherry. Allow to heat through, then pour in the half-and-half. Let simmer for 1 to 2 hours. Be sure not to boil the soup, or your roux will break.

**Note: The longer this soup sits, the thicker it gets. When you reheat it, you'll need to add some water or chicken broth to thin it out slightly.

And, if you're looking for more great menu ideas, don't forget -- it's Monday! Laura's got a whole slew of menus up for your perusal at Menu Plan Monday!

Experiencing Technical Difficulties...

I'm on a temporary blog hiatus, because my computer pretty much crashed last night. Hubs checked it out and discovered it had 400 viruses on it.

Yeah. You read that right.

400.

I didn't even know that was possible.

Turns out I was supposed to be scanning the computer regularly. I thought that the antivirus software was supposed to do that automatically. And that's when my husband informed me that we didn't pay for the "deluxe" auto-scan version.

Oh.

So, I've been officially "unplugged" until we can recitify the problem -- hopefully sometime this weekend.

With any luck, I'll have that soup recipe to share with you on Monday.

Have a good weekend!

Random Bits of Randomness

A few items of note...

1. The crafting continues. I bought more fabric today because I simply cannot stop at one small bathroom window. No m'am. I've decided to do my entire kitchen and great room -- because the crafting bug will not leave me alone.

I've been running around here like HGTV's next Design Star. I even found myself in Michaels today buying the items needed to make a fall centerpiece. Oh, my creativity clearly knows no bounds these days. With any luck, all this "design exuberance" will pass in about a week or so. But, not before I do a "big reveal" for y'all sometime next week. Think of it as Extreme Makeover: Home Edition. Only, not nearly as exciting.

2. As I was driving back from dropping Jilly off at school the other morning, I noticed an animal crossing the street in front of our house. At first I thought it was a fox. But, I quickly realized this animal was too big to be a fox. Then I thought it might be a dog, but I was pretty sure I didn't see a collar and the tail was much too bushy. The animal sought cover in the woods across from our house, and I stalked him with the minivan until he ran right out in front of me. I could have sworn it was a coyote. Later that day, a neighbor confirmed my suspicions.

This kind of disturbs me. For a while, I walked around expecting the coyote to jump out of a shrub at any moment to attack me or the kids. I've calmed down a little, but not enough to let the kids play in the front yard unsupervised.

3. In other wildlife news, I think I have a new favorite show. Anyone seen Man vs. Wild? My husband was watching it when I came in from karate the other night. The show features Bear Grylls, a most appropriately named survivalist, who demonstates how to survive in some of the world's toughest terrain. It's kind of like Fear Factor on steroids. My husband and I watched the entire hour with our noses wrinkled and our mouths hung open in shock. If you're brave enough, here's an example of what I'm talking about (and, a word of warning, I wouldn't click on it if you have a weak stomach):



It's oddly fascinating in a "I can't ever imagine doing that" kind of way. We've ti-voed the next several episodes.

4. I was going to share a delicious new soup recipe with y'all. But, for those of you who chose to watch the clip I embedded above, I can see that doing so would be wildly inappropriate at this point. The recipe will be another post for another day.

And on that note, I'm off to bed. My husband and I have been doing P90X -- which has involved a lot of early morning workouts. It's a lot easier to get up at 5:15 a.m. when I get to bed before 11 p.m.

Go figure.

Confession. It's good for the soul.

My husband was away on business earlier this week. Thankfully, this doesn't happen too often, but when it does, I find myself staying up way too late because I have trouble falling asleep when he's not around. My theory is that if I fall into bed completely exhausted, I won't be lying awake in the dark over-anaylzing every sound I hear.

I'm paranoid that way.

So, the other night, after I put the kids to bed, I sat down with my laptop and turned on the TV on for background noise.

But, I wasn't up for blogging that night. I was up for procrastinating. So, I started flipping through the channels and stumbled upon Rock of Love Charm School.

Klassy TV, I assure you.

As if watching Sharon Osbourne try to "class up" the women who were once vying for Bret Michaels' affections wasn't enough, I followed it up with the season premiere of The Pickup Artist 2. That's the show where "Mystery," the world's greatest pickup artist (don't ask me why, because really I don't get it -- they showed him "in action" and I wasn't impressed), shows socially backward men how to, well you know, get women.

You would think I surely would have hit my limit at that point, but no. I topped it all off with Paris Hilton is My New BFF.

Three hours later I peeled myself off the couch with a screaming headache and a nagging urge to shower.

There. I've confessed. I just had to get it out in the open.

Please tell me y'all have indulged in a little trashy TV every now and then.

I can't be the only one, right?

Best of the Beach

I finally got around to downloading all the photos we snapped at the beach.

I'm particularly fond of Josh's "King of the World" photo below and, I even included the one vacation picture that has me in it! (I've had to make a concerted effort to take at least one of these "mom is really with us" pictures per vacation so that my kids will have proof that I actually existed. Otherwise, just a cursory look through the scrapbooks and you'd think they didn't have a mother. A father, yes. But, me? I'm always the one taking the pictures, not in them. :)

Finally back from the beach. I've returned as a swooning adolescent...

So, I'm finally getting a moment to sit down and update y'all on our beach vacation.

We traveled to Myrtle Beach with our family, my parents, and my sister and her family.

Really, there's not too much to recap for you. I could sum it up in one word: Challenging.

Lots of sick kids (colds, ear infections, roseola).

Which made for lots of crying and whining.

And, of course, there was the nor'easter that blew in with 40 mph winds for a few days.

But, we did try and make the best of it. We managed a trip to the aquarium and enjoyed a few sunny days -- even if it was a little breezy.

The weather also provided a perfect excuse for me to dive into some new books.

Have you read them!?!?

Y'all. Y'all.

I'm a little obsessed. These books may just have eclipsed Jane Eyre as my favorite read. (And you have no idea how that pains a literary snob like myself to say that.) I've read a lot of good books this year, mind you, but none that I haven't been able to put down so I could go wash clothes and make dinner for my family.

Until I started reading these.

Total guilty pleasure, these are.

Now, initially I was a little gun-shy to pick the books up because they're young adult fiction and one of the main characters is a vampire.

I'm not really into that genre.

But, Rachel assured me that it wouldn't be what I was expecting. And when Shannon began raving about it right before I left for vacation, I finally got myself to Walmart and picked up the first two books, telling myself that if I didn't like them, I would return them.

Less than a week later I was at the Walmart in Myrtle Beach buying books three and four.

I wasn't done with book four when we returned home, so the derth in my blogging (while I'd love to tell you it was due to catching up on laundry and unpacking) was really due to my insatiable desire to finish this book. When I finally did, I breathed a huge sigh of relief. I could finally go back to being a wife and mother to my children.

But, then I heard there was an exerpt of a follow up book on the Stephenie Meyer website. I figured I'd pop over and check it out. What it could be, a chapter or two?

264 pages of a Word document.

So, that pretty much shot the next day, because I had to read that as well.

Now that I've read every possible thing to do with the Twilight Series available, I'm trying to get back to life as usual (while also waiting for the Twilight movie to come out November 21 -- see, I told you I sound like an obsessed 13-year-old).

All I have to say is go get the books. Go get them now. Read them.

Just make sure you're caught up on laundry and you've pre-made a few dinners.

Things Finally Reached the Breaking Point

Have you ever read the exhaustively titled Shel Silverstein poem, Sarah Cynthia Sylvia Stout Would Not Take the Garbage Out?

It's about, well, a little girl who wouldn't take the garbage out. Obviously.

Sarah's problem starts out innocently enough, with a little garbage strewn here or there. But, before she knows it, it starts piling up. Before she realizes it, it touches the ceiling. It touches the sky. And eventually, after all the neighbors move away and nobody comes over to play, poor Sarah exclaims, "Ok, I'll take the garbage out!"

Really, there is no better metaphor for my struggle with home organization.

I'm a perfectionist and a procrastinator. It sounds paradoxical, but that combination is the Perfect Storm for shoddy home maintenance. I procrastinate a job because I don't have enough time to do it perfectly. When I finally do decide to do it, it's usually long overdue. I reach a breaking point where I can't take it a minute longer -- something has to be done!

I'm ashamed to say, "neat and orderly" has never been my forte. I'm pretty distractable. A lot of times I make more messes in my attempt to clean up just one. In my head, the concept of "put away what you take out" seems simple. In reality, I can't seem to do it consistently.

And, if I had problems keeping things neat and orderly before kids, you can only imagine the struggle I have in doing so with kids. You've got the baby paraphenalia (exersaucer, swing, bouncy seat, baby toys), the boy paraphenalia (10,000 Matchbox cars, Rescue Heroes, superhero costumes), and the older girl paraphenalia (My Little Ponies, Polly Pockets, more books than you can count).

To make things more challenging, there's additional clutter coming home every day in the form of school papers. I did a little computing and figured that new papers are being dumped on my desk at a rate of about 30 sheets a week.

So, in the midst of my growing chaos, I had my Sarah Cynthia Sylvia Stout moment. I finally said, "Okay! I'll clean the house out!"

I've got to stop the madness, you see. (Does anyone else ever feel this way?!?) We don't really need 10,000 Matchbox cars. A handful would be more than sufficient.

So, I've been busy clearing out. And with every bag that heads to the trash, with every box that goes to Goodwill, I am feeling the pressure ease up just a little bit. Little by little I'm taking on the pantry, the clothes closets, the craft closet, the makeup drawer, and the like.

Less stuff = less work = a simpler life (hopefully)

Ahhhhh. I'm feeling better already.

Shoes, Glorious Shoes

"The one thing children wear out faster than shoes is parents."

-- John J. Plomp

I've said it once and I'll say it again: I do not enjoy buying shoes.

This sentiment applies not only to buying my own shoes, but to buying those of my children as well.

My cyber-pal Darcie over at Such the Spot, also detests shoe buying. Thanks to her, I won the cutest pair of shoes for Jilly. (Thanks, Darcie!) But, they are way too cute to see the likes of a playground. So, for that reason, and also because I do have other children, we made a trip to the shoe store.

Is it just me or does anyone else feel like a trip to the children's shoe store is equivalent to running a 5K?

We spent well over an hour in the store.

And the decisions.

Josh wants light up shoes.

Jilly wants glitter.

This shoe hurts.

I don't like these.

Hey, can I try these?

Where is Jilly?

Jilly don't walk out of the store!

Josh, put that shoe down.

No, they don't have it in your size.

Would you be able to check his foot for a minute?

Josh, just walk to the mirror and back -- the mirror and back.

And, if I was exhausted at the end of it all, I can only guess what that poor saleswoman felt like. It was the beginning of the tax free weekend, Stride Rite was running its Buy One, Get One 50% off sale, and she made at least 15 separate trips to the back, each time emerging with a new tower of boxes. And that was just for us.

While I was busy making crucial shoe decisions, my mom was feeding Grace lunch in her stroller. (Of course I brought my mom -- I'm no glutton for punishment. Taking three kids shoe shopping would put me over the edge.)

You know what my mom found?

You know what she bought?

Oh, prepare yourselves!

Your ovaries might ache just a little after seeing this:


Can you even stand it?!?



Oh my goodness. Honestly. Those little white shoes are the cutest things I have ever seen. By the way, the size is for babies "6 weeks to 3 months old." Grace is 14 months. Perhaps that's the reason she's not walking yet -- who can balance on those teeny feet?

Or it could have something to do with genetics. In our pediatrician's words: "Well, I'm not too concerned. You and your husband are not exactly the Bull Mastiff variety. You're more the Terrier variety."

That's doctor speak for: "Y'all are some scrawny peeps."

Regardless, the little white shoes made the in-store chaos totally worth it.