first world problems and one year

I am so irritated with my laptop right now.  

I usually use iCloud and have all my photos from my phone uploaded to Picasa and then to private web albums for storage.  I then post blog posts from my laptop.  I can't get my pictures to upload to iCloud and I can't find my memory card for my Canon camera.  I lost it.  In all my years of having a camera I've never lost the card.  I'm so sad because the fall leaves look amazing right now.   I think Lily ate the card, and I'm not following her around for a week to retrieve a memory card.  

Why the whining?  

To me it looks like all my pictures are blurry when I post from my phone.  I don't get it.  It's a real bummer.  I have deleted iCloud and reinstalled it.  I have reinstalled Picasa.  I'm so over this tech business.  

I got a new phone and ended up losing all my contacts because I accidentally deleted iCloud.  SCREAMMMMMM!  Whatever you do, don't get comfortable with something, because before you know it, it will change.  

I WILL get my blogging system back down.  I love my laptop and I don't want to journal from my phone anymore.  I want to edit the pics and make them fun.

I can't take the time to get my computer figured out because every waking moment I am not trying to raise two kids and two dogs I am scanning, email and/or faxing things to Texas for the closing of our house there.  The gosh darn house had substantial water damage and so we've been dealing with the insurance company to get that repaired.  Construction is underway.  Seriously, were talking all new walls, tile, carpet and even kitchen cabinets.  Big time issues going on down there in Tejas.   We are trying to close and be done with it all in November and now the HOA is being all weird about HOA dues.  I am so over this two household business.  It's a pain in my butt.  Once it's all over I am throwing a party, but I'll be to tired to actually follow through do it.   I could write a book about how crappy the whole situation has been.  It's ridiculous.

I've been dealing with this for over a year.  Yes!  We have lived here one year on November 1st!!  It's so exciting.  I look back and think about what an amazing year it has been.  We've met some awesome people and I am so thankful for every single person I have met.  It's been a blast!

Also I am thankful to not be complaining about our first house here anymore.  If you didn't know I hated that house with a purple passion.  It was all in the plan and it made me super thankful for what I have now.  I am finally in a place where I want to stay for awhile.  We don't own this house, but we are making it home and making some pretty fun memories here.  The thought of buying a home right now makes me want to vomit.  I'll just do fun decorative things to make this place OUR home.  I'm so thrilled to decorate for Christmas!

And now I am off to try to figure out my laptop. :-) 

Tired, sore and full, but happy!

Is it just me, or do all moms and dads fall onto the couch in the evenings with exhaustion? I'm so tired at the end of the day. I thought once the kids got older and could do more for themselves I would have more energy. Um no.

I thought once both kids were in school all day long I'd have more time to do many things. I'M BUSIER THAN EVER. It's a good thing, to be busy and have a full life. But dang I'd love to have the brain power in the evening to write some interesting blog posts. I know posting about our day to day activities doesn't always make the most interesting read.

I'm recording life though so it is perfect for now.

Also, I'm so sore. I workout hard three days a week and sometimes run on a ransom whim if I don't workout. However, I ran chasing after the kids at the Fun Run Saturday night and my shins are still killing me. It is Wednesday. They are so sore. What in the world? It's seriously the craziest thing.

Another crazy thing.....

We ate out at a restaurant twice yesterday. Once for lunch just Gary and I, and once for dinner. Layla has dance class on Tuesday night and Gary and I like to take Hayden to dinner all by himself. He enjoys the alone time with us and Layla loves getting TO-GO food from a restaurant after dance class. The point....

I feel yuck this morning. As in puffy eyes and swollen hands. I had chips and salsa, a cheese enchilada and a little bit of beans and rice for lunch. For dinner Gary and I had appetizers, 3 wings and shrimp and we split a turkey wrap. Blah...I just feel yucky eating that much junk that I didn't prepare. My body lately likes meat, veggies and beans. I'm learning to let go of the pasta, bread and potatoes because I just feel better.

I feel like this post is all about age, who's with me here?? How does it take us 30 something years to realize our bodies talk to us? Why do I finally enjoy working out and eating right?

My body is screaming: yuck to that food, don't run on the street like that without stretching and GO TO BED YOU'RE TIRED.

Maybe it finally took this long for me to listen! My body has been screaming at me for years. I'm just finally smart enough to listen. Honestly this age thing isn't too bad and apparently with age comes randomness.

How's this for a super random word-full Wednesday morning blog post?

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Us lately. A random update.

Fall is setting in here in Ohio and I couldn't be happier.  

I seriously don't know if I can be talked into EVER moving back to Texas.  It's just so hot there and I am spoiled by these AMAZING temperatures.  This to me is the perfect weather.  High of 72 and low of 50 at night.  I'm in my happy place with these fall temps.

Every now and then a huge group of leaves will fall from the trees in our yard.  I just assumed they would all fall off all at once, but they randomly fall and the kids giggle as the leaves hit their faces. 

Speaking of random....it's been awhile since I've written a random post.  

I'm pretty good at posting our day to day lives, but the random posts take a few extra minutes.  I've been so busy since the start of school and sadly I've put posting to our blog on the back burner.

Monday nights Layla has soccer practice, Tuesday night she takes a tumbling and hip hop class.  Wednesday nights are our free night to relax and catch up.  Thursday night Hayden has soccer practice and Layla practices with the girls traveling soccer team.  Friday nights we usually hang with friends and then the weekend is just whatever. This Sunday we begin fall soccer games.  It seems like we never stop, but we are all happy and loving our schedule.  

Gary is keeping super busy with work.  His travel schedule is about to slow down, but he's been going non-stop.  He is loving his job and it seems to be going great.  He found a position that fits him perfectly and although it is stressful at times he loves it.  I'm so happy he loves what he does.

Hayden is loving kindergarten.  He's learning lots of stuff, including ABC's and 123's.  He is learning how to treat others and hopefully one day he will be able to tell me is friends names.  He can't remember names just like his daddy.  His imagination is certainly growing, as he loves to tell 'tall-tales.'  He can make up some pretty far fetched stories and sometimes I have to wonder what is true and what is imaginary.  His soccer skills are progressing very well.  All summer he practiced his golf swing, and now as often as he can he is outside kicking the soccer ball.

Layla is doing great in Third grade.  She isn't digging math, but loves science, social studies and really loves reading and writing stories. Her spelling skills are awesome.  She takes after Gary when it comes to spelling.  I'm a terrible speller.  She loves dance and I'm shocked by her drive for soccer.  As I mentioned earlier, she was asked to practice with the girls travel team.  I think she was blown away by how good some of the girls are.  I thought she'd be intimidated by them, heck, I was.  She wants to get better and she loves to learn.  After just one practice we could tell a difference in her skills.  I hope she decides to stick with it, but I'm not forcing her to do anything she doesn't want to.  We might gently nudge her, but I want her to be happy and do soccer because she really wants to.

I am adjusting to having both kids in school.  I felt like I'd have so much time to just sit around and eat bon-bons, but I don't.  I'm busier than ever.  If my people would just stop wearing clothes my job would be 50 times easier.  I'm drowning in laundry 85 percent of the time.  I'm trying to go to Zumba/Boot Camp three mornings a week.  It puts me in a great mood and I'm so happy to be able to go.  Also this fall I've finally gotten things done for me, doctor, dentist and hair appointments...you know just stuff us moms sometimes put off in the summertime.  

Daisy and Lily are loving this weather.  They run and play and wrestle in the backyard.  The cooler weather makes them frisky.  Lily has escaped from our yard many times lately.  She is letting the PetSafe in-ground fence shock her and then she busts through it to chase squirrels.  She's run away too many times lately.  She is literally in the dog house.  She ran into a wooded area behind our house on Monday and scraped her paw pretty badly.  That slowed her down for a day or two, but now she is ready to explore again.  I went to Lowe's and got the 'stubborn dog' collar and now she is a little easier to keep around.  I hate to make her wear it, but seriously, we live right beside a road.  She will get hurt really bad if she gets too far away from home.

After living here almost a year, I think we are all over the initial shock of living in a new town.  We are all thriving and loving small town life.  We defiantly like the house we are living in much better than our house downtown.  Sometimes I miss walking to school with some of our downtown buddies, but all in all we are much happier having a big yard to run and play in.

Sadly our house in Texas still hasn't sold.  It is under contract and we where thrilled to be signing on the dotted line to sell it for good this next week....UNTIL...the inspector didn't turn the water BACK off after the buyers inspection.  A vacant house shouldn't have water turned on in my opinion.  The refrigerator malfunctioned/leaked and water damaged the entire house.  The mistake wasn't caught for about 10 days.  You can imagine water leaking into a hot house in Texas for that long.  

So yea, we are dealing with that crap.  It's a hot mess.  I'm so over the homeowner experience; it is not the American dream in my opinion.  UGH!  One of these days we will be free from that house.  I'm choosing to stay positive when it comes to that topic.  I can easily cry a river if I let myself.  I just can't believe we have so many memories there, but it is causing us so many problems.  

On a lighter note,

Football season is in full swing and it is so fun to cheer for our Texas teams while watching our friends here cheer for their favorite teams nearby.  Baylor plays West Virginia and that game should be super fun to watch with some of our friends who love WVU.  All my buddies are trying to convert me to Buckeyes fan, but I can't do it.  I can't wear red.

I'm excited for football nights with friends and bonfires roasting marshmallows.  I think burning a pumpkin candle while cooking dinner tonight put me over the edge when it comes to fall.  I'm really enjoying having my windows open here in the house.  Having my windows open in Texas was a favorite thing, but we only got to do it for a few days.  It seems like it was always too hot to open the windows.  Anyway, I'm loving the fresh air and it defiantly puts me in a  great mood.  I love waking up and adding an extra blanket in the middle of the night!

Bring on the chilly weather and all things fall and winter, especially soups and chili!!  Hopefully I'll find time to try some new recipes and post them.  Nothing makes me happier than cooking and taking pictures of my food!!

It's feeling more like home around here

As you know, our summer started off with us moving and all being sick.  

I don't know what sickness we have, but Gary and Layla started it, and I have it bad.  I have coughed so much I'm sore, and my eyes are so itchy.  It's like allergies and a sinus infection all rolled into one horrible sickness.  As a mom I don't really get sick days, so I've had to just keep on keeping on.  (I know you are sick of me talking about being sick, but hey, I'm just keeping it real around here!) 

Finally Layla said, "I'm ready for summer to be fun!"  Well, excuse me if being sick and moving isn't fun...haha! Bless her heart!  I felt so bad for her, so I took the kids shopping.  We bought a pool and some outside toys and they each got swim suits.  We got groceries and curtains for the new house.  We did it all in a day and today we were set!  

We ate all the fruit we could get our hands on today.  The kids were thrilled to have a house full of food.  We have been eating out so much since the move and even before while packing.  It is great to feel like we have an almost normal house again.  

I still have plenty of unpacking and organizing to do, but I'm getting there.  We are all just happy to have clean clothes.  I got so behind on laundry.  I did a million loads today and I didn't even mind.  It was great to get it done.  Between loads I watched the kids play in the pool.  

Since I had some down time I tried to beat level 65 of Candy Crush.  Seriously.  I have been on this level for weeks.  I'm about ready to delete the app from my iPhone.  I haven't had much time to play it lately, so I'm thinking I'll conquer it soon since I

I love summer.  I love being at home with the kids.  I want to do fun things with them and let them try a few camps, but mostly I just want to hang out with no set schedule.  I love getting up and having coffee on the porch while they play.  We all enjoy watching Lily run like a wild puppy around the yard.  

I can't explain how we all feel so much more at home in our new space.  We all needed room to roam and play outside.  I'm thankful for us finding a new home.  It isn't our forever home, or even our dream home, but we are feeling at "HOME." 

And now I am taking my coughing self to be to win Candy Crush!  haha! Good Night!

about the move and the dogs

Moving is not a fun chore.  Moving while having a cold that your child passed to you and your husband is brutal.  Yuck.  I'm on the mend, but I was miserable!

Lily threw up in the middle of the night last night.  It was all watery foam. AND A ROCK.  Since moving a few days ago Lily eats everything in sight. Sticks, rocks, twigs.  You name it and she munches on it.  Sorry about talking about dog vomit, but I couldn't believe it.  She's a wild pooch.

We have been moving and organizing and un-packing for 4 days.  4 days and I still don't think I've put a dent in our stuff.  GAhhh!  Moving is not fun and when you are overwhelmed with 'stuff' you just wanna toss everything in sight.  Including your cheerleader pom poms from high school and all the pictures your parents passed down to you.  Unpacking even makes you want to throw away all the toys in the world.  Although I must say our kids don't have as many toys as we do "keepsakes."  But, what is it with me and blankets and comforters?  I moved to Ohio and felt like I would need lots of blankets.  I mean seriously....there are heaters here.  Yes, it is cold, but the heater works.  I'm saying goodbye to many many things over the next month or so.

Gary and I installed a PetSafe in-ground fence at our new house.  It rocks.  It took us several hours and about 12 bottles of beer, but together we did it.  He dug the small trench and I buried the wire.  I was on my hands and knees sticking that wire in the grass which explains about half of those beers.  I am sore, but it is soooo worth it.  Lily is loving the freedom.  Daisy doesn't like the collar at all.  She got a little close to the border one time and she didn't like the feeling of the collar, so she will barely get off the porch now.  I know she will be fine with time, but I wish she loved it as much as Lily.  We thought about getting the wireless system, but we are happy with the choice we made.  I'm hoping to devote an entire post to our PetSafe install!

This blog post is courtesy of At&t.  We haven't had access to internet since we moved until today.  I am so happy to be connected again.  I am sitting on my back porch watching the kids play.  I am so happy!  I'd be happier if I was all unpacked and this sinus mess was gone, but hey...that will all work itself out!!

TV, pretzels, shots and homelessness

The Deadliest Catch comes on tonight again!  I'm so excited. Whoo hoo!  I've missed it.  I am hoping this season is good!  Also.....I've really enjoyed the show Dallas on TNT.  I'm gonna be so sad when the season is over.  I think there are only a few episodes left.

The kids and I had fun making pretzels for breakfast.  I found the dough in the dairy section of Aldi.  The sugar and cinnamon flavor was a hit for our clan!  The best part was creating our own shapes.  Mine is supposed to be an A, but looks like a house. ha!  Layla loved making hearts and Hayden just wanted a regular "kretzel" shape.

I love this picture of the cinnamon leftover after the pretzel baked and was devoured.  I will seriously take pictures of anything!

Lily Jack got a few shots on Monday afternoon.  She handled the shots great until we were almost home and then she got sick in my Jeep.  Yuck.  Poor pup.  We were almost.home.  I hate vaccinations, but I know they are very necessary for her health!  She is almost 4 months old and weighs in at 25 pounds.

Our little boy is officially registered for kindergarten.  He's growing up so fast and I am so proud of him.  I know he is ready for big school.  I am not quite sure which school Hayden is going to attend.  There are 3 possible schools he can attend and he aren't sure where we will be living in the fall.  It's such a nervous feeling.  I know we won't be homeless, but not knowing is scary.

Our house in Texas is under contract.  By the end of April that chapter of our lives will close.  {fingers crossed} Our lease on the current house we are living in here expires the end of May.  It is exciting to think of the possible homes we can live in here.  I just love this little town and I can't wait to see what the future holds for our family.  I honestly have no idea what will happen!  Hey,  I didn't think I liked flying by the seat of my pants, but I know it will all work out the way it is supposed to!

April, our house in Texas and getting back into our routine

I am so thrilled about April.  I am ready for spring time and spring weather. ( I know, I know, I sound like a broken record!)  Even though it was a bit breezy today I went outside in the backyard to get some fresh air and soak up some sunshine!  The sun was amazing and if the wind wasn't blowing today would have been perfect.  I won't complain though.  We love SUN! 

I can't explain how cranky I get when I have to think about our house in Texas.  It is for sale again after the tenants we had in it moved out.  They signed a short lease and we are hoping the house will sell this spring.  I know leasing it was the only option at the time and us leasing here was the best option, but I am over this whole housing mess.  I want to feel like we have a home again.  I've never felt totally at home in this house in Ohio.  Hopefully, we will find something more suitable here and I just know someone will fall in love with our house in Texas!  There aren't many things that get under my skin, but I really let that house get to me.  It makes me feel all grouchy!

The kids will get back to school tomorrow after a fun week and a day off.  We had so much fun and I am thankful for our time.  Honestly...I'm ready to get back into our groove.  The kids were starting to drive me a bit crazy today.  We stayed home all day.  I was literally covered in laundry and they were tired from our eventful week.  They were bickering and fighting. They were loud and didn't listen when I asked them to be quite while I was on the phone.  I may have lost my temper a time or two.  I'm thankful for school tomorrow and I know they are ready to see their friends.

Spring break was like a free pass for me to eat everything in site.  I was starting to get burned out with counting calories the week before spring break.  I think I needed to splurge for my sanity, but I also realize how yucky I felt several nights after eating everything in sight.  I've noticed a huge difference in my body since I started Zumba.  I have been logging my calories in MyFitnessPal for months and months, but I really think monitoring calories AND working out has made a huge difference in being more toned.  Both together work for me and it works better than just riding my beloved stationary bike. I love that bike.  Also, I don't eat perfect.  I eat junk and have a few drinks, but in moderation.  Moderation works for me.  Sometimes I don't need an entire snack bag of chips.  I can eat 6 Doritos and be happy.  And now I am rambling....the point....I'm ready for my routing back.  I never knew how much I liked routine until I had kids.  My kids have taught me so much!

I love these pups, but we slept in until almost 9:00 this morning. (They were still on their mini-vacay from our trip.)   Gary and I asked the kids to sleep late, or stay quiet so we could get some much needed rest this morning.  It was awesome.  Lily has to potty really early in the mornings, so one of us usually gets up to let her out.  I can't remember a morning I woke up so refreshed!  Sleeping in rocks!  I hope Lily and the kids will sleep in this summer.  I know one day I'll have to beg the kids to get up, but for now some days I just wanna snooze in!

Who wants to come help me fold the millionth load of laundry for the day?  Hey, I'm folding while watching Dallas.  It's a great show. 

Night y'all!

Tuesday randoms

Tuesday's are my random thinking days.  It seems like I come up with the oddest blog posts on Tuesday.  So here goes....

This is typically the time of the year when I am ready for spring to show itself.  Back in Texas I know it will go from cold to straight to steaming hot.  I'm hopeful that here in Ohio we will get some springlike temps soon.  I'm not bogged down with being cold like I thought I would.  It really isn't so bad, but I am feeling that spring fever creeping up on me as it does every year.  My favorite thing to do is sleep with the windows open at night.  We rarely get to do that in Texas, but I just know I will be sleeping in fresh spring air soon.  A girl can dream right!?!  Today all we have is rain.  It has rained on and off all day long.

I miss having a TV in the kitchen.  You  know one that I can see from the sink while I'm cooking or chopping vegetables. Lord knows I don't wash dishes.  If it can't be put into the dishwasher I don't own it. Anyway...we have always had to a very open floor plan in our kitchen/family room.  Now we don't and I've been craving some noise in the kitchen.  I decided to get a docking station for my iPhone or the iPod.  It has made my cooking and cleaning experience so much better!  I have been jamming out to my favorite Pandora stations while doing my least favorite chore, emptying the dishwasher.  Music makes the worst tasks more pleasant!

I am loving cereal lately.  Every once in awhile I get on a cereal kick.  I discovered Honey Nut Cheerios Medley Crunch.  I am a huge Honey Nut Cheerios fan and adding flakes, almonds and clusters of nuts to that is perfection in my book.

Here's the box...go get some!

The kids love breakfast.  They usually have smoothies and pancakes, waffles or french toast sticks.  And fruit, they love fresh fruit.  I wish I could say I get up and make them bacon and eggs every morning, but I just don't.  I bought these mini pancakes at Kroger and they are a huge hit.  They smell amazing when they are cooking in the microwave for all of 30 seconds.  The smell lingers for several hours after I cook them.  One morning I'll have to eat a few myself.

Tonight I am making bar-b-que chicken.  It's just chicken breasts, a few seasonings and bar-b-que sauce.  It smells so good baking away in the oven.  I could have picked a million recipes, but chicken in Sweet Baby Ray's sauce sounded amazing.  Hayden saw the chicken and called it steak, so he's thrilled to be having steak tonight!

This little sassy puppy is giving me a run for my money.  The kids were showering in our master bathroom and the shower doesn't have a door, so she just climbed into the shower with them.  I walked away for all of 2 seconds and she was in there fast!  She is all lab.  Daisy would never get herself wet on her own free will.  Lily was in the shower having a grand ole time.  The kids thought it was hilarious.  I'm glad she could make their shower experience more pleasant!

Andddddd I just got a call from Gary that his stomach is upset.  Looks like I'll be eating my chicken with the kids and watching Pretty Little Liars alone tonight.  I don't want to get the stomach bug again.  Hopefully it is just something he ate and not the bug.  I'm praying and crossing my fingers for him!

random ramblings...

Gary and I aren't really into Valentine's day.  We do fun stuff for the kids, but I don't usually expect flowers and chocolates for myself.   I love all the red and pink and all the fun things for kids.  I love the candy, but I like to sample a piece of candy from the heart shaped box and put it back if I don't like it.  Yucky huh?  My family won't share candy with me.  I'm not a big chocolate fan, so if it tastes weird I put it back.  I don't waste calories on something that doesn't taste good.  Oh .... I know I am pathetic!

I've been addicted to the show Pretty Little Lairs.  I finally caught up on all 3 seasons.  It is a girlie show and honestly I don't think it is appropriate for ABC family, but whatever.  I usually let Layla watch most shows on that channel, but Pretty Little Liars is a little scary at times.  She won't be viewing it any time soon.  I can't wait to watch the episode recording right now on my DVR.

It has been warm the past few days here in Ohio.  When I say warm I mean it was 61 degrees yesterday and very windy.  Today it was in the 50's and still nice outside.  The weather makes me very excited about springtime!!  I can't wait to see all the trees green.  There are so many trees in our new state!  I wish our yard was bigger.

In previous posts (especially back in TX)  I have mentioned Hayden having asthma and needing an inhaler for daily breathing treatments.  Since getting his daily doses of medicine he hasn't really shown signs of asthma attacks.  We moved to Ohio and he hasn't needed allergy medicine or his inhaler.  We have stopped all medications all together. I am so happy for him!!! Even his eczema has pretty much gone away.  (crossing my fingers it stays away!)  Here I am hoping for springtime and in that hoping I also hope Hayden's allergies and asthma don't come back. Who knows what will happen when all the trees bud and the grass turns green. Also we don't have carpet in our house.  I wonder if that is helping him too.  We'll see how he does since we got a new puppy.  I hope he isn't allergic to Lily.

Lily is doing great.  She let me trim her toenails tonight.  She is so sweet and very vocal.  She grunts and groans and barks.  She is just so sweet and I love her little face!


Today I was late picking Hayden up from school.  I had to mail a few things and I got stuck at the post office.  It never fails when I go to the post office I get stuck in a line of at least 10 people.  I have all my items all packaged up and ready to mail and the post office clerk tells me I've used the wrong box.  Today was no different.   I wanted to crawl into the post office drop box just to get away from the frustration.  My lovely friend Erin picked up Hayden from school because I was late.  When I finally got him and got home we headed out to the backyard to let Lily do her business.  Hayden shut the backdoor and we quickly found out the door locked.  We were locked out of the house.  This is the second time this has happened to me since moving here.  I'm going to make a few spare keys tomorrow.  I ended up having to call a locksmith to come let me in.  It's just a ridiculous expense.  I'm thankful for the man who broke into my house, but it sure hurt handing over my credit card number.  At least this time the weather was nice.  Last time I locked myself out it was cold and pouring down rain.

Tomorrow is the first of our Valentine's parties. Hayden has one party on Wednesday and one on Thursday.  Layla has her party on Thursday and then we are doing our family stuff on Friday.  It will be a fun few days of celebrating 'RED and PINK'

Now I am off to watch some PLL!   Momma needs to watch some drama that isn't hers!!

My thoughts on a Tuesday

Happy New Year!  

I spent most of the day in the kitchen.  It is my favorite place to be.  As you know we are renting this house.  I am so excited about looking for homes to purchase here in Ohio.  I'm hoping for a sweet kitchen.  It seems like our family always gathers in the kitchen.  Today I cooked chicken spaghetti, chicken salad, black eyed peas and cabbage.  I used leftover fondue chocolate from breakfast to coat pretzels and pretzel sticks.  I did all this in our small kitchen.  Also it isn't open to the rest of the house, so I felt secluded.  Sometimes seclusion is nice, but usually I like to be around my people.  So I'm looking forward to a new kitchen this year.

I noticed on Facebook everyone is all about resolutions today.  I don't have any.  I just live each day the way I want.  I know how to have fun and balance life.  I don't really think I need to change too much about my life right now.  I'm just gonna keep on keeping on!

I think every woman should have a set of four red plates for their kitchen.  It is necessary in my opinion   I recently broke one of my red plates and now another one is chipped. I have two left.  I am on the look out for new red plates.  The size of the plates I prefer are salad size.  They must be microwave safe and any shade of red will do.  I like to use them at Christmas, Valentine's day and Fourth of July.   I know, red plates are totally random, but I just needed to be random.

Kids should be enjoyed and listened too.  I think they should get to voice their opinion at anytime they want.  I'm willing to listen and in our house we let the kids talk!  I may not like what they have to say or agree with it, but they deserve a listening ear.  Communication is key to any relationship and I hope my kids know they can talk to be about anything.  Layla dropped a $25 gift card down deep back behind the cabinet.  That gift card is lost forever and will never see the light of day.  The owner of our home didn't put trim on the kitchen cabinets and the card just fell right down between the wall and the cabinet.  She was so upset and a little scared to tell us. She knew we would be mad at her, but she told us even though she knows she did something very wrong.  Gary and I are just thankful it wasn't a $250 gift card.  We'd be tearing the wall down.  I'm thankful for this lesson for her and myself.  Hayden recently lost a gift card and we looked for it for hours.  It finally turned up, but I now know my kids can't be trusted with money or plastic.  LOL!

The kids have one more day off from school and then they return to class on Thursday.  It's a two day week and then the weekend is here.  It'll be a fun week.  I am looking forward to my shows starting up again.  I love my TV shows, or as my Grandma would say, "I enjoy my programs."  I am ready for Parenthood tonight!  

The kids are begging Gary and I to play a game with them before bed, so we are heading upstairs to play a game of Hedbanz!  It is the best game and we always laugh so much!

Thursday night randomness

We had a serious dinner conversation about butter.  I need the kids to understand the very big difference between butter and margarine.  While having this conversation Layla ate 5 Sister Schubert rolls with butter on them.  Every once in awhile I'll buy the honey flavored Country Crock for toast and waffles, but otherwise we are a butter only family.  Butter just tastes better!

Guess what Gary's new favorite show is?  Duck Dynasty. Yes. We have been watching episode after episode after episode.  "These skinny girls, they don't eat boudin." That is because it is NASTY! I don't like boudin.  I have a pretty open mind when it comes to food, but I won't eat boudin. It's yuck.


We are expecting snow tonight and tomorrow and our family is so stinkin' excited about it!  I just went outside to let Daisy out to do her business and the wind is whipping like mad.  It's gonna get cold cold cold!  Layla and I finally have snow/rain boots, so I say bring on the cold and snow!  I tell you what...I was miserable in the cold rain here in Ohio without rain boots.  My feet get so wet and cold.  I wore new boots today for the first time and I was loving them!  Warm feet make this momma happy.

Hayden made several ornaments at preschool this week and tonight he was so cute putting them on the tree.  He has been under the weather, but today he is finally better and was able to go to school.  Layla has been keeping her distance.  She's terrified of being sick, so she's been treating him like is is disgusting.  Gotta love sibling love.  heehee!  

Y'all.  We live in a small town and there is a rumor going around town that Gary is a certified Grill Master.  haha!  I'm dying.  Is that even a title?  Anyway, it is a funny joke between Gary and I.  I'm ready for him to smoke a brisket.  His work schedules has been hecktic and it has been cold, so all he has used the grill for is steaks.  I'm ready for some good meat.  I love our husband and wife  agreement.  He's in charge of the meat and I do all the veggies and sides.  I'm slowing learning his tricks though.  Maybe one day I'll be able to smoke a good brisket!  It's a ton of work though, so I may just leave it to him.

Hopefully we will wake up to some awesome snow and I can go wild with my camera and take tons of snow pics!  

Night night!

locked out

This my friends is a picture of a man breaking into my house yesterday.

Don't worry.  I paid him to do it. 

It was about 12:20 and I was getting Hayden all ready for school.  It was pouring down rain so I made sure we had the umbrella, his backpack, our coats and my purse and grocery list.  (I was heading to the store while Hayden was at school.)   We were leaving out the back door because since it was raining I was going to drive him to school.  When it isn't raining we usually walk to school because it is so close.  Good thing it is close, because I had to walk him in the cold rain. I locked my keys in the house when we headed out the door to the garage.  GAhhhhh!  I couldn't drive the Jeep with no keys and I couldn't open the door to the house.  The only thing I could think to do was go ahead and walk Hayden to school and then come back home and deal with the mess I made.

I managed to get Hayden to school safely.  We had to dry him with paper towels in the bathroom.  He was as wet as a duck.  I was wet too.  The boots I was wearing were horrible for walking in the rain.  My feet were freezing and my socks were soaking wet.  Next on my shopping list....snow boots or rain boots.  I called a locksmith from the church foyer and by the time I walked back home the man drove up to the house.

After a few tries he had my door unlocked and was asking for $42.80.  

You know what I learned... 

a.) hide a key.  

b.) get rain boots or snow boots soon. cold, wet feet aren't fun. 

AND 

c.) living in a small town has it perks.  the locksmith was ultra speedy! 

monday night randoms

Gary and the kids made pancakes Sunday and there are leftovers.

Leftover pancakes are the bomb.  The kids love anything with syrup.  I am with them.  Syrup is so good, but I like the butter flavored syrups.  Everything is better with butter flavor added.  Mmmmm!  I love a good waffle too.  Random.

This is a nativity set that I absolutely love.  I'd really like to get a more current nativity for the kids, but I just love this one that my grandma gave me years ago.  There are some things I am super sentimental about and this is one of them.

Daisy Mae is lazy.  She is a bit bored without a giant backyard to play in.  She does have a new BFF next door.  They have a golden retriever and she runs and plays with her every day.  But Daisy really has a nice and easy life! ;)  Super Random.

Our house is 2 story and there is no way Gary was gonna climb on the roof like he did in Texas.  So ... this is it for our outdoor decor for this year.   We have an outdoor tree and our tree inside peeks out the front windows.   I need to snap a shot during the day so you can see the cute bows.  Anyway,  It's fun and festive for this year.

I wonder where we will be next year? 

Telemarketers, food and T.P.

Our house is still for sale.  You wanna buy it?  Do you?  Do you?  Huh huh?  

It is showing well, but we haven't had 'that' family enter these doors just yet.  I know it is coming.  I can feel it.   One family loved our house, but wanted a 3 car garage.  Another family liked our house but want a bigger lot.  I'm just happy that we are getting positive feedback from our showings.  I'm almost certain that even though our house hasn't sold yet we will be moving soon anyway.  It is time.  We are ready to call the moving truck and see what happens from there.

*****

I despise telemarketers.  I love to mess with them.  (Immature, much?)  I received a phone call earlier this morning.  It went like this. "Hello, Congratulations!!!  You and you family have been selected to receive a vacation package.  Please press 1...."   I hung up.  But yesterday I took a call from a man from Charter cable.  The kids were watching TV and I was playing around on pinterest, so I was mindlessly listening to him talk.  I told him we were paying way more for our cable than what we are.  He freaked out and told me how much money I could save.  He went through his whole script like a robot.  I felt bad for him, but I figured I'd listen and give him a few tips on how to sound more like a person and not like a robot.  He didn't appreciate my input.  He promptly hung up on me.  I seriously need to cancel my land line phone.  It is ridiculous.  And the political calls right now....ugh!   I'd like to voice my opinion to a few people when they call, but they are all recorded messages.  I find myself wanting to argue with their ridiculous ideas. 

*****

I hope I never come across as one of those people who knows everything about everything.  I know a person who thinks they know it all.  They even know things about me that I don't know yet.  Ummm really?  I know this is totally vague and silly, but I really want to understand people.  I like to have a discussions with people about what is going on in life. I like to talk about something that happened to me and then talk about something that happened to them.  I like to compare notes and learn how I might deal with a situation later.  In discussing life I feel like I learn from my friends and family. These discussions leave me feeling good, like I learned something.  I don't know about you, but when someone talks AT me I don't get that warm fuzzy feeling.  Often times I just don't want to talk to that person anymore.  

Are you totally and completely confused?  I hope someone gets this jumbled mess of blah!!

*****

I always have so many thoughts about things to blog about.  I have these wonderful ideas in my head and then I forget.  I have too much going on in by brain and stuff gets all jumbled.  Why am I so scatterbrained recently?  haha!  I  know it is more than recently, but I'm feeling extra jumbled lately.

*****

I love food. I love taking pictures of food.   I know it is totally random, but it's fun and I love it!

Instagram makes playing with pictures of food even more fun.  

I actually just made this collage while watching Toy Story with Hayden.  I thought he was done with the Toy Story phase, but he asked to watch it this morning.  After he started watching it he had to go get all the characters from his room and line them up in the playroom.  

I realized just how similar we are as I sat here and lined my food pics up and made a collage.  We are both in our happy place.  

*****

And that concludes one of the most random posts in 'Just Shy of a Y' history.  Although the post I asked you about toilet paper. That was a really random post.  Since I bought up the T.P. topic...

 What about you?  Do you put your T.P. on the roll over or under??

i don't even know why i'm telling you this...

I like for everything to be symmetrical.  In my own way it needs to be balanced.  The pillows on the couch should be in the same spot on opposite sides of the couch. The mantle should be balanced.  I appreciate the same concept in flower beds.


When I can't understand something and I am scrambling for advice or help I turn to reading.  I love to read and I feel like reading can help me through anything.  This can be in all aspects of life, parenting, cooking and even finding patience.  In my older age I am reading the Bible more.  I think it helps me feel better and I understand more now that I am more mature.  Well, I think I'm more mature.


I wish I could clean a room at a time every day in my house.   Does that make sense?  But I can't.  I feel like I need to clean the entire house on one day.  Then I can sit down and enjoy it if it's all done and complete.


I can't stand it if there are numbers on my apps on my iPhone.  If I had 3 missed calls or 41 emails, I'd flip out.  I have to read the emails as they come and call people back as soon as I can.  One time I read a group of text messages and forgot to respond to a few.  I felt bad, but I had to read them to get the number off my home screen.


In the summertime I have to put 1 cube of ice in my glass of red wine.  It is too hot in the summer to drink room temp wine.


One of the reasons I am looking forward to moving to Ohio is because I want a house with a porch.    In a perfect world, my house would have a porch all the way around.


Enough of my random thoughts for the night....

Peace out!

a whole lotta jibber jabber

The end of summer is coming up fast.  I can't believe school will be starting in just a two weeks.  

I am ready for fall temperatures, but who knows if we will get fall here in Texas.  This is the time of year when I get so mad about the Texas heat because the grass in our yard is so dry and dead.  It makes me so sad.  We use our water sprinklers, but the grass is still khaki and dry.

I was working on entering a Thirty-One order on Saturday and Layla was very curious.  She got so excited to pick out her school bag for the year.  She decided on a purple bag and a pink lunch box.  She said, "Mom, it's so cool that I don't have to go out and buy a school bag.  You own tons of bags and I get to create my own!"  I feel that way too.  I seriously could have one of everything Thirty-One sells. I love what I do!

Gary and I drink coffee together in the mornings before work.  I love my morning coffee.  Sometimes when I am at the store I try to buy coffee that is cheaper, but seriously there is no comparison   Expensive coffee is better.  Life is too short for bad coffee.  If only I could lose my Splenda habit.  I'm trying to stop using artificial sweeteners, but it is hard.  Coffee just needs Splenda!

Gary was out of town all last week.  It was a hectic week for me.  I tried to keep the kids busy, but that just made me tired.  By the end of the week I was so ready for a break.  These children are so cute and sweet, but they never stop talking.  They must take after their father. heehee!

We watched the season finale of Dallas on Saturday night.  I'm so sad it ended.  I love that show!!  I'm so excited to see the new season and I hope it's as good as the first season.   I'm ready for my fall shows to come back on TV.  

Hayden and Layla fight over TV.  He usually just gives in and watches what she wants.  Poor little dude watches more Jessie and Austin & Ally than any other 4 year old.   My favorite show right now on Disney is Good Luck Charlie.  I think it is great.  I love when they play back to back non-stop episodes.

I have been lazy with my camera lately.  I am posting this entry with zero pics.  GASP!!  

I will get back into snapping shots.  The end of the summer brain fry is in effect.  I've been a tad bit grouchy.  Good thing for me the grouchies don't last too long.  

And now I'm off to have my morning coffee.

Jump! Jump!

I don't know what it is, but I love jumping pictures.

I love action shots and the silly looks on the kids faces when they are jumping.

My kids are wearing mix matched clothes and running around the backyard like banshees!

We are having some good times laughing and being silly.  Who cares what we are wearing right?!

I'm hoping to take some fun pictures this weekend at Hayden's birthday celebration.

We are going to see Monster Jam LIVE!!!  

Happy Friday.  Have a great weekend!  

Oh & take some jumping pictures...it's FUN!

word-full wednesday

It is officially that time of summer.  The time where I miss my blogging friends because I am so busy with the kids I haven't made the time to check on my friends and read their updates.  If you are a blogger you probably know what I mean.  Having two kids home 24-7 is amazing.  I love their sweet little faces, but I also love when they go to school so I have a second to myself.  I just want to say I miss you all so much and I do read when I can.  There are so many new twitter friends I have made that also have blogs and I can't wait to read them.


Today is Layla's 2nd day at golf camp and I'm pretty sure she is loving it.  She practiced her swing last night in the backyard and I already think she is better!  I am so happy for her.

It helps that a few of her buddies are attending the camp too.  Everything is better when you get to be with friends.  Since I mentioned friends I must mention that I had a fun time this morning too.  I got to visit with a few mommy friends while the kids were golfing.

Us moms did lots of chatting and had coffee.  Hayden and his friend played monster trucks on the golf course patio.  It was a win-win!

Anybody's kids have super sensitive ears?  Hayden hates loud noises.  He doesn't like the swimming pool because it is loud.  He despises public toilets because they flush too loud.  If someone is squealing or screaming near him he will get up and leave.  I remember Layla having sensitive ears and she outgrew it, but he hasn't outgrown it yet.  Bless his heart.  It drives me bonkers.  At first I thought he might have a hearing problem.  I remember last summer when I had that horrible ear infection my hearing was super amplified.  Nope, his hearing is good.  He just has sensitive ears.

I miss reading recipe blogs and researching new recipes.  I am such a recipe nerd and I could read recipes for hours!  I'm excited about a recipe exchange Jenn {one of my dearest friends} is bringing back. You heard me right....bon appetite is back!  Starting next Tuesday we can link our blogs to her site to share our favorite recipes!

Have I mentioned iCloud on the blog before?  I love it.  Gary and I share an iCloud account, so we share a photo stream and I can see his photos and he can see mine.  If he is out of town traveling and he takes pictures of the scenery I can see those pics.  {as long as his is connected to wi-fi}  I have our photo stream set up to my Picasa account also.  When I open Picasa on my PC the pics will load right up and I can edit them.  I also have them linked to my online Picasa Web account so they are uploaded to the internet and I'm able to put them right on my blog.  I am no pro at iCloud.  I have played around with it to figure all this out, but I LOVE IT.  It makes my life so much easier.  The number one thing I like the most:  my pics are on private albums on the web.  If my computer crashes my pics are safe.  I may be in trouble if Picasa ever goes away though.  Let's just not think about that.  I have pictures stored there from YEARS past.

Check out Sipes and I.  I created this crazy effect with one of the many photo apps I have on my iPhone.  Isn't it the coolest?  I am almost as addicted to editing photos with my silly iPhone apps as I am reading recipes.  I could play with Instagram for hours.  But I also like these:

Let me know if there are any other fun photo apps I need to know about!

Now, I think I will pick up my Layla bug from a crafting birthday party and hit the swimming pool.   A late afternoon swim sounds just about right on this steaming hot Wednesday afternoon!!