Monthly Archives: January 2012

January Goals Revisited

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Setting goals by the month turned out pretty well for me. While I accomplished a lot of things on and off my list, I will admit I sometimes felt stressed by the list. There were moments when I was sitting on the couch thinking, “I really need to get up and make some pillows.” While I thought this I never actually got off of the couch to work on anything but I still thought it.

Let’s review my January Goals:

*Have a Date Night with Husband – check and check! We actually got babysitters twice during the month.

*Keep downstairs clean & ready for visitors – check! – The upstairs might have looked like a bomb went off but it didn’t matter to me. My floors were vacuumed, counters straightened, and toys were off the floor. My definition of clean would probably not be what someone else’s was but the house always felt clean enough in case someone dropped by. In other words, the mad dash panicked cleaning lady did not have to make an appearance.

*Complete Valentine Bingo game for etsy – check!

*Sew pillows for my bed – check! You will see the results soon.

*Add 20 items to my 143 Acts list – check! – #1, #2, #3 – bought bags of food for homeless at store #4 – gave unopened bottle of champagne to neighbors #5 – complimented stranger on her skirt #6 – gathered carts in grocery store lot and put them away #7 – sent email to teacher I used to work with telling her we still use the baby gift she gave us nine years later  #8 – dropped off clothing at Goodwill  #9 – sent in supplies to teacher #10 – sent in teacher wish list items #11- complimented mom at Kindermusik  #12 – told mom her daughter was well behaved #13, #14, #15, #16 – waited for a moment so could hold door open for mom coming into school with stroller  #17 – shared Angry Bird Valentines I created  #18 – returned extra grocery carts #19, #20 – complimented a mom on outfit

*Try one new recipe – check and check and check! Three new recipes in one month! Who am I? Julia Child? We tried the Bacon Cornbread Muffins, a Jambalaya recipe, and these very tasty 15 Min. Sticky Buns.

*Complete bathroom redo – check, sort of – the pictures need to be hung tonight

*Knock $100 off monthly food bill – Fail! In a huge way! – completely over budget – spent entirely too much money – remember those 2 times we went out by ourselves? We ate at mighty expensive places and indulged – add 2 girls nights out for me with expensive trips to Costco and it just spelled failure for us – hopefully we’ll do better next month.

*Scrapbook 10 pages for Caroline – check – I actually completed 19 pages so this is a huge weight lifted off my back. I kept stalling on working on Caroline’s baby book but always felt guilty since the boys have several books. Now I can proudly say Caroline has a scrapbook now and she’s already 5 months old in it. Hey, if I hadn’t started she still wouldn’t have anything so I figure this is a great start.

Alright, this wraps up a pretty good month for me in terms of accomplishing goals. While I felt some mild panic set in around January 20th , I persevered and finished many projects. Did you accomplish anything your excited about this month?


A Proud Mom

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My six year old has come over to the dark side with me.

At least that’s the opinion of my husband.

To really understand this scenario you have to go back with me thirty years.

The place I remember going out to eat more than any other growing up is Pancho’s.

Glorious Pancho’s.Enchiladas made with cheese from a can.

Tamale sauce with a one inch top layer of fat.

Sopapillas still dripping in oil.

And the pinatas at your birthday…….

…..don’t even get me started over that thrill.

When our family gets together at the holidays, there has to be at least one trip to Pancho’s.

Well, my husband doesn’t get it.

Neither does my brother-in-law who is married to my sister.

They’re what we like to consider, “Pancho outsiders.”

They weren’t as fortunate as us to grow up with this delicacy so they don’t understand.

When our family goes to Pancho’s for the holidays, my husband always chooses to work that day. Whatever. More chiquitos for us.

So yesterday, my son and I were discussing places to eat for my birthday.

“No way,” was my response when Steak n’ Shake was suggested.

“No can do,” when Pizza Hut was offered.

But then he said, “What about Pancho’s?”

“Now there’s an idea son. I like it.”

And then he said the words I will never forget.

“When I grow up I want to work at Pancho’s so I can eat their food everyday.”

There just couldn’t be a prouder moment for this mom.

My family was equally proud when I told them.

Imagine, mother and son eating lunch together everyday enjoying tacos and refried beans.

Just the two of us making wonderful memories.

After all, my husband will be stuck eating leftovers at the house because he never came over to the dark side.

Quotes

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Any illusions you may have had that this is a family blog will be over shortly.

Found these quotes.

I think they are funny.

And my favorite….

Have a great weekend!

Hunting

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How long have you stood looking into your pantry trying to decide what to eat?

I think I stood there for 5 minutes today before coming out with a granola bar.

A granola bar, that’s it. Nothing exciting.

You’d think the choice would have been easier since yesterday I went to Costco and spent $170 on groceries.

But alas, it seems I didn’t buy the cheeseburger in a box that would have made me oh so happy.

Damn my store buying will power.

Where to Go? – Restaurant Printable

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My husband and I had a date night on Saturday.

Once the babysitters were settled we left.

We then drove around aimlessly for 40 minutes because we couldn’t think of a new restaurant to try.

 It seems like every other time we are in the car, driving from one activity to the next, we see a new place and say, “Next time we should try that place.”

But inevitably, we never remember the restaurant when its time to choose a place to eat.

We even say to ourselves, “We need to write that name down.”

But we never do.

So I decided to make a list.  If you would like a copy of this form, click here.

If you download the form, please consider becoming a follower of Big D & Me.

My husband and I eventually settled for a steak place and had a great meal though next time I hope we don’t waste forty precious child free minutes deciding on the restaurant.

Tuesday To Do Party Todays Creative Blog

The Kissy Girl

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There is a kissy girl in kindergarten.

Normally I wouldn’t care.

But my son is in kindergarten, so I do.

My sweet innocent loving boy is in kindergarten WITH A KISSY GIRL!

The other day he came home saying, “Bambi kissed me on the lips.”

No her name is not really Bambi but I think it fits her nicely.

What do you mean Bambi kissed you on the lips?

“I was playing at recess and she walked up and kissed me.”

Do not let him see the steam rising from your head. Keep it together. Do not walk over to the school right now.

We then had a discussion about telling the teacher if something like this happens…and then I ran as fast as I could to my computer. My email was calm and clear, “Not sure if this really happened but wanted to make you aware of what my son is saying.”

About two hours later I took my children to the grocery store. As we walked passed the deli counter my son said, “That’s her.”

“What?”

“That’s Bambi over there.”

Cue my wide eyed glare and robotic head turn.

Cue the western music.

There’s going to be a showdown in the middle of Kroger.

“That’s her?”

“Yes.”

“Did she really kiss you on the lips?”

“Yes.”

“I’m going to ask you for the last time, did she really kiss you on the lips? Because I’m going to walk over there and speak to her mommy and you better be telling me the truth.”

“Yes, she did.”

I slowly turned around and envisioned my near future. I’m going to be the crazy mom on the playground from now on. My son has probably made up this lie and now I’m going to look like a freak confronting someone who is holding 2 pounds of ham.

“Excuse me. Hi. I am Andrew’s mom and he told me something which I’m not really sure is true or not. He said Bambi kissed him on the lips on the playground.”

She turned to Bambi, “Did you kiss him on the lips?”

“No.”

Liar. You little liar. You kissed my son, you two bit tramp!

“You better tell me the truth. Did you kiss him?”

“No.”

“We will talk about this when we get home.”

“Like I said, I don’t know if it’s true or not.”

I felt awful the rest of the day and questioned my choice of approaching the mom. But I quickly felt vindicated when I received an email from his teacher the following day.

Apparently, “the kissing incident,” did happen. Andrew didn’t tell the teacher on duty because it wasn’t his teacher. It was corroborated by others. Andrew and Bambi have been informed that they need to stay away from each other and there should be no touching of any kind.

I can see the school playground from my house but have decided to wait on the purchase of high powered binoculars.

I may change my mind though since I will have more time on my hands.

My husband is now in charge of all grocery shopping.

You never know who I might see, and more importantly, what I might say.

 

Angry Birds Valentines

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My six year old requested Angry Birds valentines this year.

I just made them and he is “super” excited to give them to his friends.

If you’d like a copy of the valentines, click here.

Please consider becoming a follower of Big D & Me if you decide to download.

I found the Angry Bird art work on this blog. He has t-shirts and bumper stickers to buy of these super hero birds. I’m thinking those might make a great birthday gift for someone.

 If you’d like something for the younger crowd, I have some Storybook Character Printable Valentines.

michellepaige Tuesday To Do FEatured Todays Creative Blog Making

Running Pet Peeve

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In no way do I consider myself a runner.

However, I do feel I am now qualified to comment on something runners often do.

When having to wait at a stoplight, runners often jog in place.

Why?

Is it to impress us?

Listen, we’re already impressed you’re running. No need to go for bonus points.

I hate to break this to you but we are talking about you as we sit in our car.

We are thinking:

                  1. “Thank god that’s not me out there.”

                  2. “Nice running belt. Do you really need 17 bottles of hydration. Ya big geek.”

                  3. “You know she wants to stop. Why doesn’t she just stop?”

When I was running I was thinking, “I’m just going to stand here. No need to torture these innocent people sitting at a red light. All the jiggling and wiggling of my lower half can at least wait to be seen until they are moving at a higher rate of speed. No need to prolong their torture.”

So really. Take a break and just enjoy a little rest until your green light.

At least that way we won’t be talking about you running in place.

Your running belt though is still fair game.

New Recipe – Bacon Cornbread Muffins

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One of my January goals was to try a new recipe. I heard from some of you who thought this was just laughable since you try at least one new recipe a day. And to that I say, good for you! But if it is up to me, we will hire a cook when we become bazillionaires. Since that doesn’t look like its going to happen anytime soon I’ll just try one new recipe a month.

We ate these muffins with meatloaf last night so the bacon in the muffins was a bit much. Sort of felt like carnivore overkill. Next time I make these I will be sure to make them on a night that is meat free.

Also, I skipped the jalapenos since I knew there would have been a revolt from everyone else in the house.

I found this recipe in our local paper.

To print out a copy of the recipe click here (it’s 5 x 7)

Have you tried any new recipes lately?

Done!

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Done!

I am done with the half marathon.

Praise the lord 0 Hallelijah!

I’m happy to report my sisters and I all completed the race.

In case you don’t remember, my sister Kelly asked me and our sister Amanda to run a half marathon for a sisters’ weekend.

Amazingly, we agreed.

Here’s a quick look at our race.

Hi hotel lady – Would you mind taking our picture? Yes, we know it’s 6 AM and 40 degrees outside but we are dreading eagerly anticipating our run this morning.

Kelly, me, Amanda

(You may notice the stained shirts – during the race, as you get hot, you toss your outer layers to the ground – the race director stated that all the clothing collected from the ground goes to a homeless center – How wonderful for the homeless to receive stinky clothing, snot covered gloves, and dirty hats )

Look how freakin’ dark it is! We are insane!

This is all your fault anyway. You’re the one who wanted to do this.

Thank you for pointing out that fact for the millionth time Jennifer.

Good times. Good times.

It was quite cold at the starting line so I felt justified in complaining until I noticed the soldier who planned to run the entire race in his combat boots. Hmmm, perhaps I should just be grateful I can choose to do this run. Yes, I’m thankful but I’m still freezing.

Once the gun when off all three of us stayed together for a total of four minutes. Amanda took off and left us in the dust. Keep in mind she didn’t even train a total of 13 miles for this race and it’s all the more impressive. I ran over 140 miles in training and was tired at mile nine. Amanda kept telling us she would die but we never bought it.

My sister Kelly and I stayed together for the first 5 miles but then separated after that.

I hate this song, not motivating at all, why did I put it on here?

This song isn’t helping either.

I’ll just pretend I’m listening to music and eaves drop on theses other runners for a bit.

At mile six I stopped at an aid station since my hands were swelling. I made the mistake to leave my gloves in the hotel and as a result my hands were painfully cold the entire race. I asked the nurse at the aid station if it was okay that my hands had turned into giant man hands. She seemed to think it was perfectly fine so I went on my way. After all, only 7 more miles to go.

The race was extremely well run with water stops, cheer groups, and plenty of support. The cheer groups had signs that said, “You did this to yourself,” “Beat Oprah,” and, “Pretend you’re a Kenyan.”

I was able to give those cheer groups something to laugh at as well.

When asked what name I would like to show on my bib number, let’s just say I didn’t write down Jennifer.

At the eleven mile mark the lead marathoner passed me. In the same time it took me to run 11 miles, he had run 24 miles. 24 MILES! It was unbelievable to watch. Of course, I only watched for a minute since he was quickly out of my sight.

I was incredibly happy to see the finish line when I rounded the final corner.

Many people report having a runners high when completing a long run.

Not me.

I was just relieved to be finished and was desperate for a pair of gloves.

I need a picture of us at the finish line.

This is not going on your blog.

Oh yes it is.

Can’t we go back to the hotel and change first?

No, the final picture has to be us at the finish line. Now let’s take the picture.

Fine. Let’s put our hands on our hips so our arms will look less flabby.

Amanda (2:17), me (2:40), Kelly (2:45)

Amanda and I have informed Kelly that we will be planning the next sisters’ weekend and there won’t be a tennis shoe insight.

 So for now I’m hanging up my sports bra and calling my running career over.

At least for now.

After all, you never know when a sister is going to need you.