Month: May 2008

A year ago, that’s how Logan pronounced “banana smoothie”. I still like to call them that. It makes me laugh.

You can just call me Suzy Homemaker this morning. I had a craving for blueberry muffins, so I made these. They were SO good, even made with frozen blueberries! I will definitely be making them again.

Then the kiddos requested “meema moomies”, so I made those, too. Here’s our moomie mix, which I think is pretty darn tasty!
–1 frozen banana (really has to be frozen-it makes a big difference!)
–blueberries (probably about 1/2 cup, but I never measure.)
–strawberries (I think I used 7 big ones today. I love strawberries!)
–yogurt, any flavor, one small container (1/2 cup)
–orange juice
–milk (I usually put enough liquid to almost cover all the fruit and use about equal amounts of oj and milk)
–a tablespoon or two of flaxseed. Don’t ask me why I have flaxseed, but I do. So I randomly mix it into things like smoothies and muffins. Gotta keep the family regular, and just saying I cook with flaxseed makes me feel all healthy.

Do you think that our fairly healthy breakfast will counteract the Mickey D’s we are going to have for lunch? I am pretty sure that flaxseed cancels out french fries.

Since it was a holiday weekend and all, it seems fitting to blog about the events.
–Friday: Connor came down with a fever, and I developed some serious sinus congestion. Nothing too major, but not the best start to a long weekend. Oh, and the kids were awake and in and out of our room three times in between 4 and 6 a.m on Friday night/Saturday morning. Fun times.
–Saturday: Derek’s parents arrived for a visit, and took us out to Chic-Fil-A for lunch. Connor’s fever was gone, and we spent Saturday afternoon swimming and playing this fun marble/card game they brought with them. Saturday night, just as we are sitting down to dinner, Connor’s fever came back. He ended up falling asleep on the couch at 6:15 and Logan crashed at 7:00. We had a nice quiet evening and watched Juno.
–Sunday: Connor and I skipped out on church. We all had a pretty lazy morning and afternoon. Derek and I took a little trip to Best Buy and HEB (exciting stuff, I tell ya!) For dinner, we grilled hamburgers and hot dogs, plus had fresh corn on the cob and strawberries-delicious!
–Monday: Reggie and Janelle left really early, and Derek, the boys, and I spent the morning at the pool. Derek went to his Man Store (aka Fry’s) for a few hours in the afternoon, and when he got home, I headed to Babies R Us for a few things. All in all, not a bad weekend! Swimming, relaxing, movies, games, shopping, and good food…it’s a winner in my book!
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Two funny Connor stories…I gotta write these down or I will forget!

A few weeks ago, Connor was having a time-out. It’s always a pretty big scene…he HATES going to time-out. He was crying and flopping on the ground, trying desperately to make a deal with me. I say (well, sort of yell…let’s just be honest…) “Connor, you do NOT bargain with me!”. In between hiccups and sobs, Connor replies, “mom, I don’t even know what bargain means!” It was hard to hold back the laughter on that one!

Our new car has a voice command system. It’s really cool-well, it will be once I figure out how to work it. You can pretty much control anything (the ac, the navigation system, the radio, etc.). I was showing Connor and Logan how it works, so I asked it, “what time is it?” When it told me the time, Connor’s eyes got really big. I asked Connor what else he thought we should ask it. After taking a moment to think of the perfect question, Connor says, “ask it ‘How far away is Jupiter.'” Much to our disappointment, the voice system did not reply.

My new ride:

which actually looks the same as the mom mobile we had for awhile before we got the CRV:

(we seem a little bit like car buying addicts.  I assure you, we are not. 🙂

The old was a 2006 Odyssey (the basic model), the new is a 2007 Odyssey Touring model, which basically means is tripped out for a minivan! It is so nice-WAY nicer than what I thought we would get. The way the whole thing went down is pretty crazy and we ended up getting an amazing deal on it!

( I just finished typing what’s below, and it’s a really long story. Sorry for being so long winded! I tend to ramble when I’m excited. Feel free to skip this entry and just be proud of my wonderful husband for scoring us an incredible deal.)

I went to the dealership on Wednesday just to get an appraisal on the CRV. I was trying to decide whether to trade it in, sell to carmax, and even just how close we were to at least being even on what we owed vs. trade in. Of course, car dealerships don’t want to do appraisals unless they think you are going to buy. After being there for several hours, I let the salesman show me the van, just for kicks. They wanted me to drive it home and show Derek, and I said no-it’s too big of a hassle to transfer carseats and junk. They said, well, we’ll bring it to your house. So I said yes. We went out to dinner that night and then returned it to the dealer. That’s when Derek got to go in and lay down the law. We aren’t buying this car. I don’t care what kind of deal you can give us. He played a little hardball (while in the back of our minds, we were for real going to discuss if this van could be a possibility.) Mr. Salesman says, well what if I can get you more for your trade in? Ironically, we received in the mail on Wednesday and advertisement for a big sale this weekend with top dollar trade-in value. Derek says how much? Mr. Salesman says 3,000 more. Hmmm…this just got interesting. Suddenly, we have a pretty good down payment with the trade in plus some money we have set aside for a car. D says, well, you have 10 minutes to make that happen or we’re out, oh, and we want the no-haggle internet price. Mr. Salesman talks to his manager and says, okay, it’s deal. Suddenly Derek is filling out paperwork. And I panic just a bit. It’s 7:45 p.m. The kids are going crazy, and I just feel like the whole thing is rushed. Derek and I talk quickly and decide that we need the night to think about it, that we are interested, but we cannot do it right now. The car people get all flustered. We say we’ll come back tomorrow, and they say, well, we can’t promise anything tomorrow. So we say, fine, we’re out. They say, take the van home. You can come back tomorrow and we’ll give you the same deal. We go home and spend many hours crunching numbers, researching, and discussing. Should we get another car just to get us through the next few years? Or should we go for the car that I will drive for the next 10-12 years at least? In the end, the deal was just too good.  It was the trade in thing that really did it. We didn’t get much less than if we sold it privately!

I am so thankful for a husband who not only provides for us, but who can go in and be (and I quote from Mr. Salesman) “the hardest sell I’ve ever had.” He was actually intimidated by Derek, which just cracks me up. Mr. Even Keeled turns into a totally different person in situations like that! I mean, he was still nice and polite, he was just no nonsense. I loved it! It’s a really good thing when the car people want to sell the car more than you want it.

So there you have it. The WAY too long story of my new mom mobile. Now I just have to figure out how to work all the gadgets and buttons.

Assuming that the car dealership hasn’t changed anything about the deal they offered us last night, in just a few minutes, I am on my way to purchase a van!  Woo hoo!!  More to come…

I know some of you out there have bathroom cabinets that look like this:

and this:

That top one may not look so bad. But what you miss in the picture is the odor. Something inside that cabinet stinks, and has for quite some time. I’ve been too scared to clean it out and find out what it is. Until now. One hour and one large trashbag later, I had this:

And this:

And the odor? I couldn’t identify exactly what it was, but something inside this white basket stunk.

I think it was a mix of old nail polish remover, old nail polish, and water. There was a pretty good size puddle in there, which is pretty gross in and of itself.

It sure felt good to get those two cabinets organized! Let the nesting continue!
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It feels like summer today. First, it’s hot. Second, we had nothing to do today. Not a single thing. So I busted out The Slide. It also feels like summer because the kids are wearing hardly any clothes, and I haven’t showered yet. I’ve done minimal house work, and instead took pictures, read my book, played Webkinz, watched tv, took a little nap, and browsed minivans. It’s been a really good day.

-I completed yet another task of operation prepare for baby girl. Derek pulled down my bins of newborn clothes, towels, blankets, etc. I spent all afternoon going through clothes, organizing gifts and things I’ve purchased, and trying to decide just how many blankets, washcloths, hooded towels, and baby nightgowns are necessary. All the clothes I have so far are organized in her dresser-yahoo for being productive! I also cleaned out the junk in her closet, and sent Derek up and down the attic ladder about 18 times.

-Why did I save clothes that were stained beyond repair with spit-up?  Note to self…if something has a little milk stain on it, the stain will not look better after 3 years in a box.  Some of the stains even smelled still.  How gross is that?  Honestly, what was I thinking when I packed that stuff up?!

-Any money saved on tampons during the 9 months of pregnancy is spent on toilet paper. I am amazed at how fast our family can go through a Sam’s size package of toilet paper. And I know it’s my fault…I live with all boys, remember?

-Can I say tampons on my blog? Is it weird that I still get a little embarrassed buying them? And I also get embarrassed when I’ve bought pregnancy tests. I am a freak.

-I’ve gotten to hang out with Logan one on one a few times this week. He is so much fun! I think this summer, Logan will be my grocery store buddy. He is actually a really great helper. He and I shopped on Thursday night while Derek and Connor were at t-ball practice. At the checkout line, I pushed the cart up too far, and I could not fit in between the cart and the conveyor belt. So Logan hopped in the cart and handed me all the items. It was great! When we got home, he helped me carry in the groceries and even put some away. Well, he did rifle through the bags first and carry in his stuff (i.e. fruit snacks, a lunchable, and popsicles) leaving my stuff bagless in the garage. What a dirtbag. 🙂

-The kids only have 2 days of school left. My list of things to accomplish during those last 10 hours of kid freedom is way too long. Wish me luck.

-We are close to getting a van again! If you’ve been reading awhile, you know that about a year ago we got all Dave Ramsey-ified and traded in our brand new van for a not-so-brand-new CRV. It was a really good decision at the time, but I honestly cringe every time I look in the backseat and picture 3 carseats smushed across the back. And I cringe even harder when I think about our trips to the metroplex with 3 kids plus a dog. Anyway, we’ve done really well with our get out of debt plan, and we should be able to get a minivan again before little miss gets here! I am such a soccer mom-I am pumped up about my minivan.

-Connor has been enjoying t-ball lately. Well, enjoying Connor style, which means that as long as he’s in the mood to play t-ball, it’s great. We haven’t had any all-out meltdowns in several weeks, which is always a good thing. He’s so cute in his little uniform! My favorite part is the proud look on his face whenever he does anything in the game. Like when he crosses home plate, he stops and looks for us in the stands with the proudest little smile. And he’ll stand there until we give him a big thumbs up and lots of cheers. So, so cute!

-I’ve done a little scrapping this week! These boys make me laugh, that’s for sure! (click to see bigger…I’m slightly neurotic and all pictures in one blog post must be the same width.)

It’s 10:57 and way past my bedtime. Plus this blog is getting long and sort of boring. Night!

Like any pregnant woman, food has become a big deal around our house. I have gotten quite particular and brand-y about food lately. That hasn’t been very pretty on the grocery bill… I still try to buy when it’s on sale, but I indulge myself even when it’s not. The baby needs it. Right?

Simply Orange Juice

A long time ago, I used to drink the frozen concentrate stuff, but once I tried the Tropicana or the Minutemaid stuff sold by the milk, I couldn’t go back to frozen. And then Simply Orange passed my lips. It is so, so delicious. Just the right mix of tart and sweet pulp-free goodness. I limit myself to orange juice in the mornings only or I would spend a fortune on this stuff.

Yoplait Yo-Plus yogurt in Blackberry Pomegranate

I think Suzanne told me about this yogurt. It’s the best! I am a big fan of anything that assists with digestive health…but besides that, it really is a great flavor and size. It’s great mixed with granola. I also like HEB’s brand of Yogurt Smoothies in strawberry. When I buy drinkable yogurt, I want it to be completely smooth, and HEBs is the smoothest I’ve tasted.

Dole or Dreyers Whole Fruit Popsicles

I have my sister to thank for the popsicle craze in our home. She bought the boys some Dora popsicles a few weeks ago, and we all loved them. The next time I was at the store, the whole fruit variety were on sale, so I picked up a box. Now it’s all I buy. It does make me feel a little better that if we eat a lot of popsicles they are at least the real fruit kind. But what really sold me is the texture. They are a little softer, so if you want to bite it, you don’t get that fingernails-on-chalkboard shiver. The lime in this particular brand are a little sour…I just save those for the kids. 🙂 They don’t discriminate between popsicles.

Fiber One Granola Bars in Oats and Chocolate

These taste like candy! And they really do help if you need more fiber in your diet. My kids love them, too, but I can only let them eat them occasionally…let’s just say they don’t need any extra fiber. I eat these a lot for a mid-morning snack, and they keep me full until lunch time.

Thomas Whole Wheat English Muffins

I love these toasted with only butter, or toasted with butter and cinnamon sugar. Derek is a bagel man, and I’m an english muffin girl. Both boys are like their dad and love bagels, which is fine with me because my english muffins last longer that way!

Life

I have loved Life cereal as long as I can remember. My favorite way to eat it is with fresh strawberries cut up on top. The only drawback to Life is it gets soggy really fast. My family knows that once I sit down to eat my Life, I cannot get up until it’s gone or the bowl is ruined.

As you can see from my list of must-have food items, there really aren’t any dinner products.  Which is one reason why lately my kids eat cereal for breakfast.

Logan is eating cereal straight from the box.

It all started because I needed to sit for a few minutes. After a long morning of laundry, a few hours at NASA, a quick stop at WalMart, an hour spent making new astronaut and space shirts for the kids, and more laundry, I needed a break.

The kids had popsicles this morning for breakfast at 8:00 a.m. Hey, they are the whole fruit kind…it’s just like eating fruit, right? They were so cute sitting side by side in chairs that I had to bust out my camera. Some of the pictures were just screaming for captions. And once I started, I couldn’t stop. I blame my children for my lack of fixing dinner. If they hadn’t been so cute with their breakfast this morning, this never would have happened.

(For the record, I think my kids like when dinner is a free for all.)

I love this kid so much.

Those two pictures totally capture him-face full of mischief, running full speed ahead, just so full of life. He is such a fun kid and always keeps us on our toes!

In this picture, you can see the remnants of his latest crash on the left side of his forhead, and if you look closely, in the corner of his left eye. He is so full speed ahead that he hurts himself on a pretty regular basis.  It’s pretty much a given that every Monday when I drop him off at school, he will have some sort of bruise from his weekend of hardcore playing.  It’s become a bit of a joke with his teachers.  This latest one happened when he sprinted into his room, took a flying leap onto a toy box only to learn the hard way that a.) the lid doesn’t fit securely anymore, and b.) in the windowsill vs. forehead battle, the windowsill wins.

Yup, he’s crazy.  But I wouldn’t trade an ounce of his craziness for anything…well, maybe I would for just a smidgen of fear.  But his wild and crazy side is part of what makes him my Logan bug.  I love him so much, and I am so thankful for the joy he brings to our family!

Happy Mother’s Day to my mom, my mother-in-law, and all my mommy friends out there!

I got to celebrate Mother’s Day on Friday. Derek took the boys shopping on Thursday while I hosted bunco. Connor was so excited about what he picked out that he spilled the beans on Friday afternoon. He wanted to give it to me right then. How could I say no to that excitement? He picked out the frame all by himself and drew a picture of me. The CM stands for from Connor to Mommy. Logan and Connor also each picked out a candle for me-Logan, the jasmine, and Connor the home sweet home. I am so thankful for my husband and my boys, and for this thing called motherhood.