Call me crazy...

I'll get around to recounting our riveting weekend events later (yeah, right...I always say I'm going to post later, but I never end up doing it!), but for now I just have to share with y'all what a dork I am.

I've had this "project" on my radar screen for several days now, and I totally saved it until I could give it my undivided attention. So I could completely indulge in it. Not while the girls were up to "help" me, not while I'm simultaneously working on something else...no, this was a luxury that I wanted to savor!

Yes. We had several random packages of multi-colored construction paper that I've been wanting to sort.

And last night, when the girls were in bed, J was at the grocery store, and the Oscars were on in the background, I finally did it!

In our dining room we have a small Bombay Co. cabinet that used to hold CDs but has gradually morphed itself into a "craft closet" for M. (My CD collection is dwindling, while Half-Price Books is benefitting!) I keep all her craft supplies in there: white paper, colored paper, stamps, glue, scissors, crayons, markers, etc. We've had these packages of construction paper in there for quite some time now, and it's been bugging me that they weren't in orderly stacks. I was getting tired of sifting through the packages to find the colors M wants at any given time.

The only thing better would be if I had one of those metal racks that teachers use to sort their papers! Sadly, there's not room in the cabinet for it. But this will do!

Another helpful hint I discovered in the process? H*bby L*bby construction paper is much heavier, better quality paper, and they have purple and pink in their color choices! The packages we've gotten at the typical big-box discount stores haven't had those colors in them, much to M's dismay.

I share this to have a laugh at my own expense, and also to see who out there can relate. I know there are others of you who would get as excited about this as I did!

I love a good (seemingly insignificant) organizing project!

Putting the "IN" in intentional

We had such a lovely day today. We were intentional about just staying IN!

Rosie discovered M's new bling-bling flip-flops and decided to give them a whirl. Except she didn't try them on--she put them up to her ears like a phone! Then she crawled around with one in each hand. So she was actually "flip-flopping", just not with her feet!

M requested "pony tails" in her hair today. Which in the past has caused me to break a sweat, because as it turns out I'm not as good at doing someone else's hair as I thought I would be. It's unfortunate--I had really different notions about my skills in this area when I learned I'd be a girl mom! But I'm happy to say that I'm getting better with practice, if you cut me some slack and consider my customer is a wiggly 3-year-old and her part happens to be impossible. And she's tender-headed, which I totally prayed about when I learned she was a girl in utero (superficial, I know!). I'm not at all tender-headed, so I was hoping my girls wouldn't be either in order to make hairstyling easier.

Not one to be left out, Rosie ended up with a bow too. Granted, for about 2 minutes. She's sadly begun to rip her bows out much earlier than her sister did! M didn't rebel until about 18 mos. Rosie's only 14 months! She'd rather chew on them.

Sister fun on the bathroom floor. Rosie was crawling around and M held her shirt so she was "crawling in place". They were cracking up! I couldn't help but catch their giggles.

That afternoon, Mama Landa came to pick up the girls so J and I could have a date night. I brought one of Rosie's car seat bases into the house so I could install it into her car, and at one point today Rosie was playing with it on the entryway floor. I happened to glance at it, and this is what I saw:

Smart girl! Rosie was taking care of her baby by getting her in her car seat. (This baby was given to M for her third birthday by my sorority sister Carollee. Carollee, M's since named the baby "Eleanor". It's SO CUTE to hear her say it! Warms my heart that she chose that name...I LOVE the name Eleanor!)

**********

Though our day was simple today, it was simply wonderful! Since I knew the girls would be away for a bit, I wanted to soak them up as much as I could. We spent a lot of time in our PJs, spent a lot of time playing on the floor, read a lot, cuddled a lot, rocked in our rocking chair a lot, laughed a lot. We had an easy lunch of crackers, cheese and grapes, but it was extravagantly fun.

**********

Rosie ate (quartered) grapes like a pro finally! And she ate several of them. I was so proud! It took M a lot longer to develop a taste for grapes and their strange texture.

**********

The best part of this day? Rosie didn't cry when I left. That's a record, folks. She's a bit of a mama's girl and usually doesn't stand for anyone else to hold her but me. I was dreading leaving her today! But she was a champ, and I am one relieved mama. Hopefully my baby's growing out of this phase!

**********

I had a MOPS meeting tonight, so J stayed late at work while I was there. It's his busy season--TAKS testing is coming up soon! So we met up for a late dinner at Cheesecake Factory. It was heavenly! We were seated in a corner we'd never been in, and our booth was in a little bay window. The lights were almost completely off, so our table was lit primarily by the mall lights and the stars. We caught up on all the daily details of our lives that get lost in the chaos of evening wind-down with two little ones. The best part was that all of our conversations were complete ones! No "snippets" that become reality when you're parents. :0) I was reminded afresh of how handsome my man is--admiring him across the table in the nighttime glow, in awe of him as he filled me in on all the grown-up stresses of his job. It was a sweet time.

**********

Now, why don't I plan to not make plans more often?!

Spontaneous fun!

Sometimes the most spontaneous invitations are the most fun!

Yesterday I was planning to run to our local mall for a quick trip with the girls just to get out of the house (and to scope out a tip I received on clearanced B*th & B*dy W*rks products to use as MOPS door prizes!). As luck would have it, my high school dance team buddy Nicole called me that morning to tell me she and her girls were going to the mall too, and she invited us to join them! (We've recently reconnected thanks to Facebook. But the greatness that is Facebook is a whole other post!)

She said she was packing a lunch for her girls, so I did the same. We met for lunch and rode the carousel. (She'd arrived earlier and visited the Disney Store with her girls, but I told her we were fine missing that part since we wouldn't be able to make it as early as she was arriving. M's never been in that store before, and I'm trying to keep it that way--I have visions of monumental fits coming from that experience!)

Here's her youngest and my youngest on one of the carousel "benches". I sat with them on the ride, and they had so much fun! Rosie was so cute--she kept leaning in on Audrey and trying to give her kisses! Both of them share the same middle name, too--"Rose".
Nicole took charge of the bigger ones. That's Graci on the left; her middle child. And there's my M on the right. (I love how Nicole's got a protective hand on MY baby and not hers! HA! If that's not a good friend, I don't know what is!)

I love this photo of my sweet firstborn.

I contemplated letting my girls go play at the play area afterward, but I quickly changed my mind when I remembered all the "bugs" going around.

Thanks for calling me, Nicole! Let's do it again soon.

Great community, great food, great day!

One of the things we love about J's school's end of town is how community-oriented the families are. There's always something fun going on at one of the schools, and we're excited when we get to come participate with him! It's like going to work with him, in a way. A couple of weeks ago, a community health/information fair was held at the high school that his school feeds in to, and we went as a family.

M's finally warmed up to bounce houses. When she was first exposed to them she wouldn't have anything to do with them, but gradually she's getting used to them and loving them. There were two free bounce houses at this event sponsored by some local businesses.
All the while, Rosie was utterly riveted. :0)

Several of the local schools had performances throughout the event, and J's precious students were first on the agenda! I'm so glad we were able to see them. M plopped herself right on the floor in front of them so she could have a front-row seat! We pushed Rosie's stroller up next to her, and M kept an arm around her or on her knee the whole time. It was a sweet sight!

The boys and girls sang some Gospel-themed songs. I was surprised but thrilled! How awesome to hear God's Truth sung out in a secular setting. In sweet childrens' voices. I'm not a big cryer, but those sweet children totally brought tears to my eyes that afternoon.

And my husband loves and cares for these children as if they were his own. I love to hear his stories every day when he gets home! He has such a hard but rewarding job. It's more than a job, really--it's a true ministry!



One of the community organizations brought a doggy mascot. M didn't waste time making friends with him and asking for her picture with him!

Have I ever mentioned that I'm obsessed with walking-away photos? Well, I am. I take them all the time. I don't know what it is about them...they have such a sentimental quality about them for me. (Unless it's my behind on film! HA!)

Anyway, here we are heading out after a fun-filled afternoon. My happy little family!


We were hungry since it was just past lunch time, so where do you think we headed? Why here of course! It's our family favorite.

Fun little piece of trivia? One of M's first fast-food "real food" meals came from this place. It was a "kiddie bean burrito". I think J had a similar experience when he started eating solid foods.

Another piece of fun trivia? For M's three-year existence, she's always eaten the kiddie burrito. She orders the kids' bean burrito at every Mexican fast-food place we go to, for that matter! Until recently. She's recently turned into a crunchy taco girl. Sometimes she'll change it up and go for a soft taco, but for the most part crunchy's her favorite.

J taught her all about how to eat one correctly. That'll always be a sweet memory for me.

Y'all know how OCD I am and how clean-obsessed I get. This new taco trend has not been good for my blood pressure. :0) There's a big difference in eating a neatly wrapped-up bean burrito and an open-top crunchy taco! It almost makes me want to go back to her wearing a bib!

Lucky for me, Rosie's still in the kiddie bean burrito stage. She can eat a whole one all by herself!! She's our champion eater, that one.

It was such a fun day! We love that J's job is one of service and giving back, and he's so good at it. And we love to support him whenever we can!

Bestselling authors visit local church this Sunday

Have you read this book?
It's a good one, isn't it?

My church is in the middle of a great compassion series--focusing on very practical ways we as individuals can DO something for the down-and-out in our local communities.

On the first Sunday of the series, each family in our church was given a copy of this book so we could all read it in preparation for this Sunday, February 22.

In both of our morning worship services, the authors of the book will be there LIVE! This Sunday, 2/22!

Just wanted to get the word out in case you're interested in joining our church family for this special event!

I heart V-Day

I confess...I LOVE Valentine's Day! It's not a huge deal here--we don't go all-out buying in to the commercialism and whatnot (gifts, dates, etc.), but I do love the decorations. It may have something to do with my newfound love of the color red.

Though it's not a lot, here are my simple, fun pieces:

My door hanging. Got it last year in the T*rget dollar spot. See how well it held up staying stored in our garage all year? And you might not be able to tell, but it's coated in glitter. :0) It's fairly small compared to my usual wreaths, but I just thought it was too cute to pass up. And who can resist decor for a buck?! I don't anticipate it lasting very long since it's cardboard, but I'll enjoy it while we have it.

And quite possibly my favorite thing. My new addition for this year:


A KISSING BALL in my front entryway! Have you ever heard of one? Think mistletoe: it's to be hung in a doorway, and if one finds themself underneath it, they get a kiss. (Yes, I know it's V-Day commercialism cheese, but I just think pomanders are so cute! I don't care what they're for.)

I saw one of these last year at T*rget and fell in love with it (no pun intended), but I was not loving the $15 price tag. (I'm frugal, people.) I decided I could make one myself until I priced styrofoam balls. Have you any idea what those cost?! You'd be surprised at how expensive they are. So I tabled it altogether.

Well, I was at J*Ann F*bric the other day with my mother, and I found this one on sale for $5! It's not quite as pretty as the one I found last year, but I love the way it looks in contrast with our all-white entryway. (They came in pink too, but you know I love red!)

Now I just wish I'd bought enough to hang from our mantle. We have hooks across the bottom of the mantle for our Christmas stockings, and four of these hanging from the all-white mantle and fireplace would be so cute too! Oh well...maybe next year.

M's already getting in to the spirit. Tuesday night after we'd had Chinese food delivered, after I closed the front door and began to walk out of the entryway, she stayed behind and called me on it: "Mooooommy! Come back! I'm under the Kissing Ball and I need a kiss!"

So of course, I obliged the girl. :0)

I do love Valentine's Day. We don't do anything special really as far as dates and all that--I'm blessed to have a husband who loves and honors me like Valentine's Day is every day--but I'm having a blast enjoying the little things with my girls. Homemade treats. Homemade cards and crafts. Cute red, pink and hearts t-shirts and jammies. Today we surprised Daddy and took him his favorite Mexican food for lunch at his school.

And I'm so excited when I think about the future--their school Valentine parties! I'm totally going to volunteer on their party planning committees!

Until then, I'll cool my jets. I'll just savor the sweetness of this stage and love every minute of it!

Wordless Wednesday: Sick-days

It's been quiet around here, I know. Rosie's been sick since Monday night, so we've been shut-ins basically. A mixed bag--the girls and I had a busy week with lots of fun activities to go to, but we've had to cancel them all. But it's kind of nice to be forced not to go and do anything! :0)

Luckily, it seems to be just a cold at this point. With all the major bugs going around, I'm thankful that so far she only seems to have a runny nose and an on-and-off low-grade fever.

So for this "Not-So-Wordless-After-All" Wednesday, I thought I'd post some of my favorite pictures of M. She just happened to be sick, and she's about 16 months:

Yikes! Rosie just sneezed, so I'm off to pin her down with a Kleenex before she takes matters into her own hands (or sleeves?!).

Works-for-Me Wednesday: Every Girl's Crazy 'Bout a Sharp-Dressed Man...

I truly love to take care of people. It makes me so happy to anticipate needs and meet them before people realize they have them! :0) So it's no shocker that in my career I was a PA of sorts to this man. Ever since I saw the movie The American President, I knew one day I wanted to assist someone important. :0) Because durnit, I'm good at it! haha

**********

So switching gears into my role as homemaker a few years ago was a pretty smooth transition because I could easily morph my "job" into being an assistant of sorts to my husband. (Seriously...I'd be his secretary if the school district would let me! haha)

**********

One of my favorite ways? Making sure he looks good every day when I send him out the door into the world!

**********

Ironing and starching his work clothes every single day, handling the dry cleaning of his suits, buying him clothes...I love it all!

**********

One of the things that's really helpful for me is to keep a Word file of all of his clothing sizes: shirts (dress shirts, casual shirts, t-shirts, pullovers--he wears a different size in each!), pants (dress pants, jeans, khakis, shorts), suits, belts, skivvies, casual clothes, shoes, etc. Then I print it out in a very small size and keep that slip of paper in my wallet for those times when I'm out shopping and I find something to add to his wardrobe. I don't always remember his sizes off the top of my head, and he's not very reachable during the day at his desk due to the nature of his job.

**********

And I keep the file in Word because his sizes do change more than I imagined a dude would! :0) And that way I can keep it more easily up to date.

**********

Another little related project I cooked up recently? Inventory of his ties.

**********

Since J wears one every day, his collection is vast. And though I have his wardrobe fairly memorized, when it comes to his ties I'm hopeless! I can never remember which ones he has, so it's hard to buy for him when I stumble upon a new one that I like. So the other day I decided I'd lay out all of his ties (closely layered, like you see them displayed in department stores) and snap a digital photo. I'll process it and keep that in my wallet too so I'll always have his tie wardrobe with me!

**********

Have a fabulous tip that the world needs to hear about? Need some advice on a particular subject? Share yours, or check out hundreds of ideas at Rocks in My Dryer's Works-for-Me Wednesday!

May I ask you something, mom friend?

I have a confession to make. During my girls' waking hours, there are times when I simply can't play with them. (Shocking, I know!) Like, when I have little bits of business here and there that I didn't get done while they were sleeping (could be a load of laundry needs attention in the garage, could be a phone call, could be an email...). And I need them to entertain themselves for a few-minute block.

Don't get me wrong, I try my hardest to get all "my stuff" done while they're asleep, that way I'm not "infringing" on "their time", but it's frustrating that sometimes I just don't get it all done.

We did decide long ago that preschool, Mothers' Day Out and other organized childcare programs are out of the question for us--we really want as much time with our girls as possible before we entrust them to the public school world. So that logical answer is out.

Which leads me to my question for you all: how do you handle it when you have a little bit of work to do and need your children to self-entertain? My one-year-old is a champ at it. Three-year-old? Not so much. I'll direct her to some sort of independent activity, but seconds later she'll do all she can to end up in my lap, or she needs to be leaned up against me in some form.

And I guess I should add that I do include them in my work most of the time--they help me clean, etc., but my quandary is about those times when they just can't help.

So what's a mother to do? I always feel so guitly, but sometimes stuff just has to be done. I also feel like somehow I've failed my three-year-old. Like I somehow didn't equip her with self-entertaining skills? I thought I did a good job in that arena, but I'm starting to wonder... :0)

So for all my two readers (ha!), any advice you can pass along?

Thanks so much!
~R