Weekend Update

So my recap of this weekend's events isn't nearly as funny as seeing Amy Poehler and Seth Meyers on SNL, but I'll recap nonetheless.

If you read my post from last night, you know we had a short lived adventure at Salvation Army on Saturday morning. Nothing like trying to find some amazing bargains with a three year old who could care less about the diamonds in the rough in the furniture section. She'd prefer to pull all 4576 books off the shelf in search of the Berenstain Bears.

Saturday afternoon was spent driving twenty minutes North to the only bookstore in the area that still had copies of Glenn Beck's new masterpiece, Glenn Beck's Common Sense. We searched high and low for this book, hoping to surprise T for Father's Day. We managed to snag a copy, only to have Natalie announce "Daddy, we got you the Glenn BACK book!" as T came downstairs on Sunday morning. So much for surprises! (Aside: This book is selling out everywhere. If you believe that we need less big government and more personal responsibility, a return to what our Founding Fathers hoped for our nation, this is a must-read!)
Here are the girls all decked out in their swimsuits on Saturday afternoon. After several years on the waiting list, we finally got membership to the community pool that is literally a block or two down the street from us. This counts as our "vacation" this year, as T cashed out one of his weeks so we could buy in. I figured we'd spend an awful lot more on a real vacation, and we can go to the pool every day for the rest of the summer if we want!

Natalie started doing her happy dance, she was so excited about the pool. It also usually involves hopping and arm pumps, but I guess she didn't want to knock her sister over (for once).

Outside the pool gate. Her first comment after seeing the high dive?

"Can I go on that?" ??!!! An interesting question for a girl who didn't even want to get off the pool steps. I'm not quite sure how her reasoning is on that one....

Once she got over her initial displeasure over the water's frigid temps, Michaela Byrd fell in love with the pool. It was really really hard to keep her out of the baby pool when we had a "thunder watch" for 10 minutes.

Miss High Dive in the baby pool. Notice the careful placement of her head. She was not about getting her face in the water. I think swimming lessons are in order. It was hard to try to work with her in the big pool while holding a baby at the same time.

Last, but not least, we had a special dinner for T last night. His favorite dinner, chicken casserole, and strawberry short cake. I'm not a gourmet or anything, but I thought they turned out cute. Natalie and Michaela Byrd were over the moon for the Cool Whip and chocolate.

It's the start of a new week. Who knows what it will hold. With little ones, I try to take things one day at a time. Today was the first day of our church's Vacation Bible School, which is one of the largest in Virginia. We have hundreds of children from across the area come to meet friends, make crafts, play, and learn. I'm sure I'll have some good stories by the week's end!

Have a good one! I'm off to brace myself for another afternoon of pool fun. (And count down for Wed. afternoon when T will be home so I can go down there by MYSELF, haha!)

Thrifty Treasures!

It's Thrifty Treasures Day over at Rhoda's! Head over there today to see what she found this weekend. She has a gift for finding good deals!

There wasn't a whole lot to look at this weekend in the 'Burg. The weather was nasty, and the paper didn't have many sales listed that were close enough for me to justify going out.

So I took the girls into Salvation Army for a quick browse. It was quick because I couldn't find a cart to stick them in. Michaela Byrd gets heavy after a few minutes, and Natalie kept pulling on my arm and saying, "But I don't want to go to SalBation Army!"

She cheered up considerably when we found a mini muffin tin identical to the one I found last month. It will come in handy when I need to make a bigger batch of mini muffins, brownies, or tarts. It also nests perfectly inside the other one for easy storage!

I am a sucker for children's books. I grew up loving good books, and I am so (!) glad I have two girls who love to be read to. We found Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and Ramona and Her Father (who doesn't love Beverly Cleary?!) tucked away on a bottom shelf. Sometimes you really have to dig through the beat up Disney dime-a-dozen books, but you can find a real gem if you try!

Got all three items for...74 cents!! Not bad for a rainy, muggy day.

I forgot to share this last week. Found this at the same Salvation Army last week for a dollar. I liked the shape of it. I can't decide if I'll use it for a vase or to serve juice at my sister's shower in August.


Close up of the detail on the front.

Happy Thrifting!

Get on the Phone Right Now...

...and call your dad if he's still around.

I wish my dad was here to spend Father's Day with, but he passed away in 1996. Not a day goes by that I don't think about him or miss him. When something exciting happens, there are still times that I'll start to think, "wait til I tell Dad!"

I have a wonderful father-in-law. But he's not my dad.

So if you have a dad or a step-dad in your life and you can't be with him today, call him up and let him know how much you love him!

Is That Your Final Answer?

So I've got a whole lot going on in this post today. Hope that's okay. I'd do a double post, but I have to go to the dentist this morning to get tortured have a check-up. Plus, I always wonder what goes on when I leave T home with the girls. I imagine it involves a lot of cartoons, crackers, rough housing, and an unloaded dishwasher. So I have a lot on my mind.

First, I have an exciting announcement!

Southern Living's blog division of their site chose moi (??!) as their Southern Living Mama Blogger of the Week. I was so excited when I got an email from them saying they wanted to feature this post from Wednesday, dedicated to my aversion to running. See, people, sometimes laziness does pay off!

I want to thank "Bella" at Southern Somedays for sending my name over to Southern Living. I really really appreciate you thinking of me!

If you have a chance today, please go check out Southern Living's website. We all know that the magazine is fabulous, and the website sure doesn't disappoint! They have everything from recipes to before & after decorating shots, to a feature on Southern Weddings. Best of all, they showcase different blogs under the Healthy Living section. Fun stuff!

I decided that since my post being featured over there was about running, perhaps I ought to follow up to that post and this first one that started the whole mess. So many of you readers commented on the posts to encourage me, so I feel I owe some sort of answer. Plus, I am seriously terrified of my sister...if I don't decide soon, she will beat me up. Really.

Here are the reasons why I have chosen to attempt (!!!) training:

1. My brother-in-law-to-be, Sam, commented on my last post at great peril to himself. He is a big, hulking, Army Black Hawk helicopter pilot, but even he appears to be phased by Mr. Hyde my sister. She can turn on scary like a light switch. I figure I owe him this much.

2. I had to buy a new bathing suit this week. It was a terrifying experience. Natalie almost opened the dressing room door on me. I think the poor dressing room attendant would have suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder had she witnessed such an event.

3. Need I reiterate the terror my sister (who is younger than me by three years, might I add) induces? Even though she strikes fear into my heart, she can be pretty nice when she wants. She offered to send me a training thing for my iPod. The person tells you when to walk and when to run. I like this because the person can't see me and laugh at me. If they do, I can mute it.

4. It wouldn't hurt to use the gym for reasons besides the 2 hours of babysitting I can get. Body Jam is super fun, but I bet I can come up with some more reasons to go. (Smoothie café, anyone?)

5. Get to know some new people. Thus far, everyone who has offered to run with me (or run while I slobber and crawl a mile behind them) is on a completely different fitness level from me. Maybe while I am slobbering and crawling, I'll meet another girl whose evil sister lured her into entrapment.

6. Disney. I love it there. Whether or not it will still be "The Happiest Place on Earth" when I'm through with it this time (if I even make it!) should be left unsaid.

7. This is the best one. My cousin Blair said he would run it and wear a pink shirt. We had a chat on Facebook last night that went something like this after the general greetings and pleasantries:

Blair: Just run it, you wuss.

Me: Only if you run it too, and wear a pink shirt. Boo ya!

Blair: That's fine with me. I can be a princess. For 13.1 miles at least.

Me: (thinking frantically) What?!

Blair: Like a regular looking pink shirt? I'm down.

Me: No, no. You're supposed to say "Hell no I won't wear a pink shirt that's so gay don't even think about it."

Blair: Bummer how that worked out, huh?

Me: (still thinking of an excuse) Maybe I could drive a golf cart or something.

Blair: As a health and kineselogy major, I would have to advise you to do it. Once you hit twenty-faux, things start to go downhill.

Well, there you have it, folks. Finding the cash to get to Florida after paying for preschool and Christmas (and inside Disney's pearly gates!) should be a challenge matching this training. We'll see.

If you're new to my blog, I thought I'd offer a few of my favorite posts. I categorized them in case you're one of those poor saps who wants kids but is too scared to learn the awful truth.

Mom Stuff:
Rock On
I (Heart) New York {2008}
Viva Las Vegas

Funny Stuff with my Family:
Can You Hear Me Now?
Adventures in "Babysitting"
Help! I've Fallen and I Can't Get Up!
Ode to Dog Water
Hairspray
The Gourmet {2}

My Attempts at Crafty Stuff Around the House:
Salvation Army Saves the Day
Frugal Friday Party
Hair Accessories on the Cheap
My Dressed Up Dresser

You can always just peruse my labels on the sidebar for more posts, but these were some I thought were passable. If you're new, I hope you enjoy them. If you're "old" I hope you'll keep coming back for more! I am so thankful for all of the people who take the time to read and comment on what I've written. That you all find anything I have to say interesting still blows my mind. You are adding some Serenity to my life.

Happy Friday!

Thrifty Thursday: It's Chic to Be Cheap {16}

I'm editing this oldie but goodie to link up to Holly's IKEA Party. Too much fun!

Lots of pictures today, people!
I'd love to say that I won the lottery last weekend and that this is me lounging in my newly furnished addition that my favorite designing bloggers jointly designed for moi.

But it's not. On Sunday, Su-Su (my sis-in-law) and I went to....(drum roll, please).....
Can you guess? No really, can you?

In case you haven't had coffee yet this morning, we went to IKEA! I had to pick up my bridesmaid dress up in Northern Virginia, and Su-Su and I planned a little jaunt over to our favorite Swedish discount home store.

Su-Su and Jamie (my brother) are buying their first house this month, and she wanted some inspiration. I wanted some deals. I sometimes feel like I need to be a 5' 11" blonde named Annika, married to a Sven to shop there, but I get over it fast when we hit the front doors. I'm not a fan of their ultra modern stuff, but they do have some cute "Swedish Country" pieces that are fun. T hates furniture that you have to glue together, so I knew I couldn't come home with any IKEA furniture....

Get ready for some IKEA Eye Candy!

We had the best time exploring all the little "apartments" (always my favorite part of IKEA!). The room below was Su-Su's favorite. She quite forgot we were shopping, she was so comfortable. She laid right down to take a nap.

I think heaven might look like this closet/dressing room.

I liked the double sinks and vanities in black with the pale blue wall. I would have no reason to fight T over who gets to brush teeth first in this bath!

J'adore (I know that's not Swedish, y'all) this blue dresser!

We thought the back splash in this kitchen was neat!

We just liked the sink, okay?

Cool aqua tiles and nice stainless!

Here's Su-Su in my favorite kitchen! I loved the little white table, the red on the chandelier, and the little desk nook that you can't see.

This was the light over the sink. So stinkin' cute!

One of the kids' rooms was so ugly...it looked like something out of Mickey and Minnie's house in Disney, but we liked this one. They did a good job using the small space to fit two (pretend) kids in. My question? Where are all the toys on the floor?!

We decided to stop at Panera Bread (my fave!) on the way home for a late lunch. Su-Su's soup and sandwich looked so good, I had to take a picture. She is thinking, "Put the ^%%$# camera down so I can eat my food!"

This is me enjoying the glorious feeling of the caffeine coursing through my system. I do not have a problem. Repeat, I do not have a problem.

Here's what I picked up for my Thrifty Thursday finds! A pack of 5 cardboard magazine holders for $2.50, I think. They have a rendezvous planned with some new scrapbook paper. The little lamp shades were $3.00 each. I also picked up some amazing bottled fruity drinks that I featured in Tuesday's post.

Here's my dining room before. (Excuse the sewing machine)

Here's the after. I like the look and it diffuses the light for sure. I HATE the popcorn ceiling, but that's something we'll have to live with. T promised me crown moulding 4 years ago, but that's a forgotten dream right now (well, I haven't completely forgotten!)

{Do you have a store you look forward to visiting??}

(My other fave is the Hobby Lobby in San Antonio!!)

Happy Thrifty Thursday!

She Upped the Ante

Some of you may remember my post from a few weeks ago, in which I exhorted against my sister's invitation to run a 5k as a big bridesmaid bash for her wedding. Apparently, my lack of zeal for her plan was unacceptable. She took it upon herself to up the ante in a new challenge. I thought I would include her challenge as a guest post today, along with my timid rebuttal, of course. I'm a little scared.

Frankly, Ahmadinejad would find my sister in all her wrath skeeeeeeeery. So here's her challenge:

CHALLENGE

I am hereby challenging my sister, Amanda at Serenity Now, to train for and FINISH the Disney Princess Half Marathon with me on Sunday, March 7, 2010.

She recently wrote this post about running because I had the {amazing} idea to get all my bridesmaids to run a 5K with me before the bachelorette party. Sadly, I can't find a race in Virginia that is convenient to all the other things going on that weekend AND all the girls' schedule.

BUT THEN SOMETHING AMAZING HAPPENED! I was watching television the other day and saw this girl wearing a wonderful pink shirt kissing a medal hanging around her neck that looked like a tiara...I watched as the screen panned out and holey moley there was Cinderella's castle as the lady on the commercial invited me to a princess weekend at Disneyland! I never knew there was such a thing! aldfa;lfjj!

Anyway, here are the reasons that this is an amazing idea for my sister and I to plan for/train for/save money for this amazing princess-y event:

1.It's something to look forward to...everyone needs something to look forward to!
2.It's my birthday weekend and you could race with me as a present (You're cheap, you admit it, it's ok.)
3.We can get in better shape so that,
4.We will look amazing in our new PINK SHIRTS
5.Family vacay afterwards?
6.We can be a team and get our names on our bibs!
7.You can blog about it!
8.Mom will pay your entry fee (heh heh she doesn't know this yet, but I'll break it to her tonight.)
9.It's only 13.1 miles and regardless of if it takes 2 or 6 hours - it will feel so good to do it!

So, here it is Manda - do you accept my challenge?!?!?!


And my rebuttal:
I actually considered this for half a minute until I did a double take and saw that her challenge mentioned not a 5k, but a HALF MARATHON. I was almost (almost!) distracted by her description of a necklace-like medallion in the shape of a tiara. I am all about the necklaces and tiaras.

I'm really not sure how to address this except to say that:
1. Someone who gets winded opening the freezer door to retrieve a Skinny Cow Chocolate Truffle Popsicle has no business "running" a half marathon.
2. "Only 13.1 miles" might as well be "only a quick jog across the continental U.S." for all I care. 13.1 miles is a good drive; much less run, walk, or better yet, crawl.
3. I took the girls on a long walk in the double stroller the other evening. It only reaffirmed my distaste for exercising outdoors. Our neighbor SD and his kids rode by on their bikes and I was more than a little jealous that they'd be getting home much more quickly than I would.
4. I don't think I would be able to enjoy a family vacation afterwards. I would probably be in the hospital getting oxygen.
5. I have no money. We just cashed a week of T's vacation out so we can join our neighborhood pool. Unless he buys a winning lottery ticket or something, I might have to walk to Disney. Then I'd be too tired to run. Plus they don't let you in the parks without tickets, I hear.
6. I'll get bored of training and quit in a week. Just being honest. I'll get distracted by something shiny.
7. Who am I supposed to train with? Myself? I think we established in #6 that would not be a wise option. Natalie would be a mean trainer. ("Run NOW! But I want you to run!") Michaela Byrd would be too nice. ("Awwww. Yuv Yoo.") T is always at work or on the couch watching the country go to pot on Fox News.
8. What is this bib thing?! I don't wear bibs. I think.
9. You bet your you-know-what I'd blog about it!
10. Running 13.1 miles is not something to look forward to. Ever. I would dread it like I do the end of naptime.

I just can't decide.

?

OR

?

(The Nikes are cute, but those Louboutins are so beautiful they make my very soul sing.)

I still haven't made my mind up. If she can find a training plan that involves a stop at the Starbucks drive-thru window, sign me up!

Tasty Tuesday: Dressed Up Popcorn!

Today is a Tasty Tuesday party over at Jen's Balancing Beauty & Bedlam blog. Stop by her site today for some great recipes and cooking ideas!

The inspiration for today's recipe came from a little mommy-daughter outing that Natalie (my 3 year old) and I shared this morning.

I have always enjoyed going to the movies. I still remember my O'pa taking me to see The Jungle Book as my first movie theatre experience. I had no idea where we were going or what was going to happen, but I know I was enchanted when the lights went down and the screen lit up.

Our local theatres offer free kids' movies twice a week in the summer. I thought that at three years old, Natalie would be old enough to share the experience with. Her first question?

"Can we get some popcorn?"

She asked me every time I mentioned the movie for the next week.

Okay...

As we pulled up to the theatre this morning..."Mommy, may we get some popcorn?"

After the obligatory shot with Will Ferrell and a T-rex..."Oh, look! There's the popcorn place!"

Waiting for Desperaux to start and eating popcorn.

That popcorn wasn't cheap. Not even remotely. She certainly ate my money's worth though. She ate so much popcorn that 45 minutes into the movie she said her tummy hurt and she wanted to go. Oh well...at least the movie was free, right? (By the way, I thought it was an adorable movie, and I'd love to actually see the entire thing sometime. I think she would have held out if I could have pried the popcorn bag from her sticky little fingers.)

I started thinking that it might be much more economical to do some movie nights here at home. Michaela Byrd's attention span lasts about as long as Elmo sings "La-la La-la," but it might be fun to fix up some pop corn and watch a movie together as a family. Certainly it would cost less than the TWELVE DOLLARS I spent on a popcorn and drink this morning.

I got to thinking that popcorn can be so much more interesting than just butter and salt. So I decided to do a little research for you, my readers, to find some yummy recipes to dress our popcorn up for movie nights! These two looked the best to me.

{Dressed Up Popcorn Recipes!}

Chocolate Popcorn
12 cups popcorn
1 cup unsalted peanuts
1 cup sugar
2/3 cup corn syrup
2 tablespoons butter
6 ounces semisweet chocolate
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 250 degrees. Spray a large, shallow roasting pan with vegetable spray. Mix popcorn and peanuts in roasting pan. In a heavy 2 quart saucepan, cook corn syrup, sugar and margarine over medium heat, until the mixture boils, stirring constantly. Stir in chocolate and continue to cook for 5 minutes or until the chocolate is completely melted and the mixture has thickened. Remove from heat and stir in vanilla. Pour over popcorn and peanuts; stir to coat well. Bake for 1 hour, stirring occasionally. Pour onto foil and let cool. Store in tightly covered containers.

Cracker Jack Popcorn

4 quarts popped popcorn
1 cup peanuts
4 tablespoons butter
1 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup light corn syrup
2 tablespoons molasses
1/4 teaspoon salt
Directions
1. Preheat the oven to 250° F.
2. Combine the popcorn and peanuts on a cookie sheet and place in the oven.
3. Combine all of the remaining ingredients in a saucepan.
4. Stirring over medium heat, bring the mixture to a boil.
5. Using a cooking thermometer, bring the mixture to the hard-crack stage (290°F, or the point at which the syrup, when dripped into cold water, forms a hard but pliable ball). This will take about 20 to 25 minutes (or until you notice the mixture turning a slightly darker brown).
6.Remove the popcorn and peanuts from the oven and, working quickly, pour the caramel mixture in a fine stream over them. Then place them back in the oven for 10 minutes.
7. Mix well every five minutes, so that all of the popcorn is coated.
8. Cool and serve or store in a covered container.

Of course, there's always good, old fashioned Orville Redenbacher's.

If your kids are a little older, they might enjoy making their own movie tickets to hand you as they enter your home "theatre." Every so often I'll see the red and white striped pop corn buckets (like in the photo above) at Target's Dollar Spot or The Dollar Tree.

I usually drink water at home, but a fun treat for the grown-ups might be these Kristian Regale sparkling drinks from IKEA. I have the Lingonberry-Apple Juice, and they are amazing!!! Tried and true juice boxes work well for the kids as a special treat too.

Hope something here sparked your taste buds today!

{Bon Appetit!}