Fit Friday/Bloggy Giveaways

***THE GIVEAWAY MENTIONED ON THIS POST IS NOW CLOSED***

***THANKS FOR STOPPING BY, HAVE A GREAT DAY!***

Halloween is upon us and not only am I so thankful for the candy season to be over, I'm also thankful that the family down the street will be taking down their Hollywood grade, life size murder and graveyard scene. I'm hoping for it to be replaced with some pumpkins and haybales soon so I can once again drive by without giving my kiddos nightmares.

As of tonight, all the good candy will be given away. No more peanut M & Ms to tempt this girl. The faux chocolates that Lily brings home from the neighborhood just don't appeal to me, so I'm hoping to get this diet of mine up and running again.

I do have one lingering chunk of chocolate that I've decided to giveaway lest I commit sin and consume it. This Ghirardelli Intense Dark Chocolate bar will be on its way to one of your lovely homes. Then you can be tempted by its tagline..."twilight delight"..."moments of timeless pleasure".

Be sure to let me know in your comment if you want the candy bar. I'll pick a winner tomorrow morning.

As far as Fit Friday goes, I had a decent week all things considered. With Jade's ear tube/adenoid removal surgery being scheduled for today, I din't want to have her in the gym nursery much. Of course she ended up coming down with a slight fever last night anyway, so now we aren't sure if the surgery is going to happen afterall. I did get in one cardio workout and one good workout with weights. And I managed to shed .5 lb. Whoopee.

I hope that your Hot for the Holidays week went well. I'm looking forward to checking in on everyone when I get home this afternoon.

For more Hot for the Holidays/Fitness Fridays go here.

For more Bloggy Giveaways go here.

Have a fun night with your little ones.

It tastes so good you'll forget it made you cry

I am so enjoying the crazy Texas weather. It got down into the 30s earlier this week and the heater got its inaugural run for fall. Does anyone else enjoy the smell of the heater when it turns on for the first time each year? Something about the smell of burning dust on the coils just warms my soul. This may be admitting too much weirdness, but I also enjoy the smell of filling up the tank and a freshly lit match. Not to be enjoyed simultaneously obviously. Another scent I love, a little less peculiar perhaps, is the smell of freshly carved pumpkin.

I pretty much like to smell everything and it occasionally gets me in trouble. Once when Jerry and I were still dating, he accompanied me on a quick run to the drugstore. I was there to pick out some new shampoo and he was just learning my habit of having to smell everything. He was making fun of me as I picked up several different bottles and gave them a little squeeze to get a good whiff. When I squeezed one bottle though, it gave a bit more quickly in my hands and I ended up with shampoo completely up my nose. He smirked and asked me if I had gotten a good enough smell of that one.

Anyway, Halloween is forcasted to be in the 80s here, so I wanted to jump into some cold weather cooking while it lasts. When BooMama mentioned doing a Souptacular / Crockpotalooza today, the first recipe I thought of was for Crockpot French Onion Soup. Onions do not happen to fall in the category of things I enjoy smelling, so I can guarantee you this is the only recipe I make that calls for 3 large onions...thinly sliced, no less. Expect to shed a few tears, ladies.

Crockpot French Onion Soup
(prep time 15 min; cook time 7-9 hours; 8 servings)

Ingredients:
· 3 large onions, thinly sliced
· 1 Tbsp. butter, melted
· 1 Tbsp. olive oil
· 1 tsp. sugar
· 3 Tablespoons flour
· 1/4 tsp. pepper
· 4 (14 oz) cans ready to serve beef broth
· Shredded Mozzarella cheese
· French bread, sliced

Directions:

In 3-4 quart crockpot, combine onions, melted butter, olive oil, and sugar. Cover crockpot and cook onions on high heat for 30-40 minutes or until onions begin to brown around the edges. Stir thoroughly. Sprinkle flour and pepper over the onions; mix well. Let cook for 15 minutes longer on high. Then add beef broth and stir again. Cover crockpot and cook on LOW for 7-9 hours until onions are tender.

Finishing touch:
Top sliced bread with shredded cheese. Place in broiler until cheese melts and bread is browned. Float a piece of toasted cheese bread in each serving.

This is one of my favorite recipes because it truly only dirties your crockpot. It is the only one I've found that doesn't require you to saute the onions in butter first.

Oh and the original recipe mentions that you need to peel the onions. I thought that was a given, but just in case I don't know my audience...please PEEL the onions, folks.

Head back over to BooMama's for other great recipes.

Jade's Baptism

Jade was baptized last Sunday, October 19th. It was a beautiful day that just so happened to also be my in-law's 41st wedding anniversary, making it all the more special.

The service was at our old church, for reasons I explained here. Worship was wonderful. I really enjoy the "contemporary" worship style (for lack of a better word) at our new church which we love dearly, but still have a great appreciation for the pipe organ and hymnbook. I also enjoyed being in worship with all of my closest family members. I'm so thankful to be surrounded by a family of believers.

Remember how I was in need of a sweater for Jade? Not because it was chilly, but because the familial baptismal gown was designed for infants, and she hasn't fallen into the infant weight class for about a year now. When I had tried it on her the previous week I was unable to button the back, so I needed a sweater to cover the gaping neck line. I'm not sure if I stretched it out while ironing it or what, but it fit perfectly that morning. I was glad to not have to cover up any of the 60 year old gown.

The girls did beautifully up in front of the church. I wasn't sure if Lily would be intimidated and clingy or if she would see this as the perfect opportunity to break out into some of Ariel's greatest hits while she had the stage and a captive audience.

At one point she got a little restless and started up the stairs to the choir loft...where there are lots and lots of microphones. I was relieved that she was easily reined back in and even let me hold her during the other baptisms. Of course then she discovered my silver necklace (I rarely wear jewelry) and proceeded to thump it repeatedly against my chest. I just ignored it and I'm sure everyone on the first row mistakenly now believes I have the patience of Job.

Our standards for her have been lowered after the flashing incident at our new church. I don't think I've aired that news on the blog yet. Let me flag this post as one to remove before she's a teenager.

A few weeks back we had a meeting at our new church with a couple of ministers to discuss our views on baptism and how it might affect our ability to join the church. They graciously offered to provide childcare for our kiddos while we met. Just prior to that meeting Lily had been down for rest time. At rest time (notice I don't call it naptime anymore), we always put her in a pull-up just in case the Lord hears our prayers and she actually falls into a long deep sleep and has an accident. When she got up it was time to go, so I told her to take off her pull-up and get some panties back on.

We got to the church and were surprised by how many people...staffers and volunteers...that happened to be gathering in the foyer during the gap between morning and evening services. We began introducing ourselves to some of them, all the while Lily was twirling around in her favorite dress. Then she loudly announced to the whole group, while lifting up her dress no less, "Mommy, I don't have any panties on!"

That's when I remembered that kids need ONE instruction at at time. She had at least gotten the pull-up off. Step TWO...oops. This would have been one instance where I wouldn't have minded if she hadn't listened to me at all.

I'm sure the first impression they had of us was just excellent. There we were trying to join a Baptist church while holding to paedobaptist beliefs and our four year old flashes the whole foyer. Fun times.

Anyway, back to baptism Sunday. Jade was a breeze. No problem being handed off to the pastor or anything. She was in the I'm going to suck my thumb, hold my blankie, and not give anyone a smile type of mood...which is evident in all the pictures below. I didn't care though. I was just glad that we didn't have to enact any of the "hollering baby exit strategies" that they had gone over with us before the service.

A few of you had mentioned being curious about why we believe that the Scriptures teach not only the baptism of believers, but their children as well. My husband found a link to a site that has 3 brief articles written on the topic. One of which is a letter from a father to his college age daughter...written to explain how his views had changed when she inquired. Click here if you're interested.

And remember, my blogoversary giveaway is open through Friday at midnight.

A Savior on Capitol Hill

Any Derek Webb (formerly of Caedmon's Call) fans out there? Back in the days when we didn't have a sitter racking up charges in our absence, they were a band whose concerts we frequented.

Anyway, my hubby found a little video of Derek singing some thoughts on the election. Since I am the epitome of someone who is not political and also too lazy to post it from GodTube, you can find it here.

That would be on my hubby's blog. The one he posts to about once every two months. Isn't it a funny thing...husbands and blogs? He just had to start one...probably out of sheer curiosity of what in the world I found so fun about blogging...I'm not sure he gets it. Quite. Yet.

Do any of your hubbies blog?

My daughter really IS well rounded

We were traveling on one of the main roads through town when suddenly all the cars came to an unexpected halt. Lily has always been fascinated by traffic, so I wasn't surprised when she started commenting about it.

L-Mommy, there sure is a lot of traffic.

K-Yep, lots of cars on the road today. I wonder where they are all going.

L-Probably either to Old Donalds or Chick-n-Play.

K-Really? What makes you think that?

L-Because those are the only places we go.

K-Really? We don't go to pre-school, church, the bank, the doctor's office, the post office, the library, the grocery store, music class, kids club or anywhere else?

L-No. Only O'Donalds and Chick-n-Play.

I'm sure the grandparents are really impressed. We probably eat 19 out of 21 meals at home weekly. And the two times we eat out are rarely at those places.

Maybe she's tired of my cooking and trying to drop a hint. Oh and those aren't some weird knock off restaurants, those are her names for McDonalds and Chick-Fil-A.

What have the little voices in your car been saying lately? Visit Mary @ Not Before 7 and let everyone know on Tiny Talk Tuesday.

Oh, and another place we go to is Starbucks...will be headed there soon to get the giveaway giftcard...you can enter by leaving a comment on my blogoversary post before Friday at midnight.

Happy Birthday, Blog! Giveaway Time!

Well as I mentioned a while back, in honor of my first blogoversary, I decided to give one present to myself and one to you guys. The present to myself was the new sidebar. Yay! I'm so excited to have a second sidebar now. There are some other little things in the works, and I'm still not done rearranging everything yet, but I think Candace at Mommy Designs Blogs has been great to work with. She even made a little button for my blog with code. It's over there a ways down on the left. Isn't it cute? Copy and paste away. Thanks, Candace!

It's been a fun year. And thanks to the ol' blog, a lot of it actually got recorded. Never mind that Jade's baby book is near blank. I'm thinking that when my PT job has officially ended in a few weeks, I'll have time for all of that. Right? Yeah, I thought not.

Anyways, I thought I'd pull out a few of my favorite posts...one for each month.

And then I thought, who would actually read them? Maybe my mom and one other soul? Yeah, I thought so. Although I am going to eventually round up some of my faves for my own sake and list them in my new sidebar, I'm going to save myself some time and get straight to the giveaway.

I previously said I was going to round up all of the spare change from my car and sofa cushions...and actually had started doing so. Then Lily found a pile of change and claimed it as her own. Something just doesn't feel right about robbing my daughter's piggy bank for a little giveaway.

I'm just going to call it an even ten bucks and get the giveaway a goin'. A $10 gift card to Starbucks. Any takers? Just leave me a comment here before Friday at midnight and I'll let Lily pick a winner Saturday morning. She may still be wearing her Princess Belle dress from Halloween the night before, but that will just add to the drama. I think a video post is in order. Oh, and I would have Jade participating in the drawing festivities, but she is having ear tubes put in and adenoids removed early Friday morning. I don't want any drunk looking baby footage floating on the internet...CPS creeps me out.

Anyways, I know $10 isn't much. I do think it will possibly buy you 2.7 of the new Salted Caramel Hot Chocolates that they have out. I would have never thought to order a hot chocolate with the word "salted" in its description, but when I grabbed a free sample at Kroger earlier today...wow. I thought about ordering one immediately...but then I remembered it was 80 degrees outside and resisted. Yep, still holding off on carving the pumpkins...they would mold right away in this heat.

Regular reader or commenter or not...everyone's game...spread the word!

A time-line of my day. Just the highlights prior to 7AM.

The first two hours of my Friday morning:

5:03 woke up. still on couch. realized that i must have fallen asleep 2.3 seconds into grey's anatomy. what is up with that show this year? totally disappointing.

5:31 crawled in bed and heard jade stirring. shoot. did i wake her as i came up the stairs?

5:52 just fell back asleep. wah...wah...wah...came from jade's monitor. ignored it and turned over.

6:03 unable to ignore the cries any longer.

6:05 opened her door. greeted by vomit smell. again. remember?

6:05:01 i realized that jerry did not go to workout this morning. lucky him.

6:05:02 woke jerry up. because i'm rude like that.

6:06 removed vomit clothing from baby while jerry went about changing her bedding.

6:12 tossed jade in the tub for a good scrub down. enjoyed combing food chunks out of her hair the most.

6:20 dressed and lotioned up jade. started to realize she is wanting milk and she only needs pedialyte, which i don't normally stock.

6:22 mentioned to jerry that jade really needs some pedialyte and that we don't have any.

6:22:01 blank stare.

6:23 mentioned to jerry that i really couldn't give jade any milk...what she really needs is pedialyte.

6:23:01 blank stare.

6:24 i guess one of us really needs to go get some pedialyte.

6:24:01 j-yes, kerry, you've mentioned that a few times now. but i've got to leave for work in 20 minutes. (isn't it so annoying that boys can go from boxers to dressed w/a tie in 20 minutes)

6:25 k-so how am i going to get the pedialyte?

6:25:01 j-load jade up and take her with you, i'll listen for lily while i shower.

6:26 k-oh, yeah. that makes sense i guess. (envisioning jade vomiting all over car) but walgreen's isn't open yet(1 mile from home).

6:26:01 j-yeah, but kroger's is (3 miles from home).

6:27 as we were leaving jade spotted a sippy cup on the counter. the wailing ensued. that girl has to have her milk w/in a minute of waking up. i can't even change her diaper first.

6:28 the cold air hit her face and the wailing stopped. praise God.

6:28:01 i realized that jerry's idea of cleaning up the vomit sheets was to throw them on the front porch...as i tripped over them on my way to the car.

6:29 got jade buckled in. the wailing started again. what? realized she spotted another sippy cup in the car. she. cried. every. second. of. our. drive. not like a whimpering wah, wah, cry. it was the full on I AM TOTALLY ANGRY THAT YOU HAVE FORGOTTEN TO GIVE ME MY MILK WOMAN cry.

6:35 arrived at kroger with crying baby on hip. brought sippy cup from car with me.

6:36 passed by Starbucks kiosk and thought about shouting out my order over jade's screams. resisted.

6:37 ignored comments from the lone cashier woman..."baby must not do mornings, ha, ha"...so not funny.

6:39 busted open the pedialyte right there on aisle 6 and filled jade's cup w/just a couple of ounces.

6:42 picked up a few other essentials for our home-bound-vomit-ridden day. mainly strong coffee.

6:45 proceeded to self checkout supervised by said lone cashier. (are y'all familiar w/those things...where you scan your own groceries? i have fits with them during waking hours...much less at this point in my day. clearly not designed w/a mother in mind...one whose children like to sit down in the bag area..."new item in bag area...not scanned...please scan new item" ugh.)

6:46 scanned my items one by one. all was going well. then the register stopped and some big error message filled the screen letting me know that i needed supervisor assistance. oh, geez, not from her.

6:49 we finally realized that the smarty pants register's scale has noted 2 ounces missing from the pedialyte. NO JOKE.

6:50 she exerted her will over the too-smart-for-its-own-good register and i was allowed to proceed.

6:51 i grabbed jade and the groceries and was happy to be heading home.

6:52 the cashier decides to engage me in conversation. it went kind of like this:

cashier: that pedialyte is good stuff.

me: yep, it does the trick.

c: you know, we use it for our lizards.

m: lizards? like you give it to them to drink? (heading for the exit)

c: well, yeah. sometimes we just let them soak in it. you know, when we see that they are looking dehydrated.

m: (trying to think of a time when she saw a lizard that didn't look dehydrated) oh, wow. (still heading for exit)

c: sometimes we just spray it on them with a mister. (not getting the hint that i'm more than ready to leave)

m: oh, i bet that works well. (feeling a little explosion in jade's diaper)

c: yeah, well the vets charge so much to see lizards and diagnose them. (totally clueless of my situation) like $50 or $60 a visit.

m: (totally smelling jade's deposit) wow, that is a lot. (making a bee line for the exit and not looking back) good luck with all that!

6:58 i was back in the car and headed home. trying to think about how excited jerry would be when I told him that he would now be running late for work because apparently i needed a good education on the methods of treating dehydration in lizards.

Snack size M & Ms may not be the best snack

Dieting around Halloween time can be difficult. I shouldn't have bought the candy until the night of Halloween so I could have gotten rid of it quickly. But I'm a sucker for a good deal...especially a CVS or Walgreens deal. I love those stores. So, when CVS put M & Ms on sale the same week the paper had a $1 off coupon...I prepared for Halloween early. 2 bags of snack size M & Ms for two bucks? That's a deal.

We've had a crazy busy week that started off on Sunday with the baptism of my 15 month old. I haven't even posted the pics of that yet, so you know how busy I've been. We celebrated that event with a nice dinner out at Pappadeaux's Seafood Kitchen. I was determined to "be good", so I ordered blackened catfish with a side of grilled zucchini.

But then the devil himself appeared at our table. He was in the form of a bread basket of course. With a side of real whipped butter. We had 17 guests and I swear the waiter brought out a bread tray for each and every one of us. I couldn't let it go to waste. It went to my waist instead.

Warm crusty bread with whipped butter.

Not a huge problem. Except for my mindset. When I've had a "cheat" like that, the day is blown for me. I hadn't eaten that much food in one setting in a couple of months. So dinner was no problem. Jerry and I even had a date that night and I could barely eat. I was still full.

But then about 10:00 PM I swung by the Halloween candy bowl. I thought to myself...hmm...I've already blown the diet for the day...a little snack wouldn't hurt. I opened a snack size peanut M & M's and quickly ate them. All six of them. Seriously. Six M & M's...that is hardly a snack.

You know that when you find yourself irritated and wanting to call the candy makers late at night to complain about the size of their snack bags, you are clearly mad at yourself for your lack of self control.

Anyway, I survived, decided not to weigh myself for a few days, and the week continued.

So did my "snacking".

I have a part-time job that I do from home. For a long time it has been easy to manage and I rarely go into the office. Recently though my hours have increased from 15 to closer to 25 weekly. With little childcare, it has become more stressful.

This week one of the other girls was on vacation and I was asked to help even more due to her absence. Quickly my little at home job turned into more of a monster. And to top things off I got called into the office two times this week for meetings. I usually go in twice in a month...so twice in one week was a stretch. The second of the meetings delivered some important news. I am needed full time. Not full time from home though. They want my presence at the office full time. They gave me 30 days to decide.

It took Jerry about 30 seconds to decide for me. Our desire is for me to be able to focus on the kids during these early formative years. Putting them in someone else's care 10-12 hours a day so I could do a long commute to work and make almost nothing after taxes, gas money, and the $390 a week daycare bill...just isn't worth it.

I get paid well, but to pay over $20,000 annually in childcare? Is it just me, or is that outlandish?

I'm in angst about communicating our decision to my employer. We can tighten the purse strings and make it. It just feels wrong not taking an opportunity when you know so many people are without work. I guess I'm just going to look at it like we're allowing someone else the shot at a new job...someone who may need it more than we do.

So the stress has continued...and along the way I needed some "snacks". Although somehow in the madness I convinced myself that two snack size M & Ms were clearly necessary due to the obvious packaging size error.

I realize this is a totally pathetic Fit Friday/Hot for the Holidays post.

My report:
Work outs---NONE.
Eating---healthy except for downing an entire loaf of bread with butter and enjoying multiple "snack" size M & M packages.
Weight---STEADY! Yay! I didn't lose, but I am actually just relieved that i didn't gain.

There is hope in sight. Jade woke up before 6AM with a stomach virus. So I'm thinking by the time it ravages the family, I will have a weight loss to report next week.

Hey, you've got to take it...in no matter what form it comes.

It's not too late to get Hot for the Holidays...join the fun at It's Almost Naptime!

And don't forget to check back here for my blogoversary giveaway. Starbucks makes great "skinny" drinks. I should have it up late Sunday or early Monday.

Little White Dress...Pretty Pink Shirt

Well, the dress actually isn't that white anymore, but I'm sure sixty years ago it was. It is the familial baptismal gown. It was worn by my dad, my sis, myself, Lily and Jade. The only weird thing to this story is that Jade actually wore it a year ago to be dedicated, not baptized.

Here we are a year later, and I think I just grew a grey hair for each year of its age as I ironed it in preparation for Jade's baptism tomorrow morning.

I'm sure I've just thrown a few of my church buddies for a loop. We attend an amazing reformed baptist church. We've been going there a couple of years now and got Jade dedicated there last fall. We're actually going through the membership class right now and through that process, the issue of baptism has been raised. After careful prayer and much study, we've decided that we truly believe that the scriptures support covenantal infant baptism. So, since we are still technically members of our old church, where Jerry was on staff for many years, we decided to get Jade baptized. We made it fully clear to the old church that our intentions are to leave membership there and join The Village Church.

That is, if they allow us. We've met with a couple of pastors there twice and will probably be going before the elders at some time in the future to plead our case. Will they allow these two paedobaptists and our young children become members? That is still an unknown. Our pastor's wife mentioned that she occasionally keeps up with my blog...so Lauren, if you're out there, we're the crazy couple that is trying to join the church while maintaining our views on this issue.

I realize this deserves a weighty theological discussion, however this little blog just isn't the place for it. Feel free to comment away, by all means, but I just don't feel like hashing out the whys and hows here myself. There are a ton of great books out there that discuss this issue, and I'll give links to two written by former Baptist ministers who through study of Scripture became paedobaptists: Children of the Promise and The Case for Covenantal Infant Baptism.

Now on to the lighter side of things. The little white dress.

Okay, so obviously baptismal gowns are usually worn by infants. Please click over to the post where you can see Jade wearing the gown when she was dedicated as a 4 month old. I would repost the pictures here, but we didn't have a digital camera then and I'm not in the mood to scan. So just go...real quick.

She has always been off the charts on height and weight and I was really worried about her even fitting in the dress then. Fast forward to now when as a fifteen month old she is tipping the scales at almost 27 lbs, I knew wearing the gown would be out of the question.

So, I was on my way to buy a new gown and I was feeling a little sad about the fact that I wish she could have worn the same gown that all of us had...especially since she was being baptized in the same church as Lily. I decided to pull it out and just try it on her for fun.

To my surprise, it actually went over her head. And with a little tugging, I actually got her chubby arms through the holes. I was giddy. Then I realized I couldn't quite button the neck and I wasn't sure if it would even be long enough to cover her thighs. I'm sure she is 32 or 33 inches tall by now. I decided to stand her up and give the whole thing a look over. It went down to her knees. A far cry from most baptismal gowns which at least go to the ankles, if not many inches or even feet past. My heart was pounding so I snapped a few photos and shot them off to my a few family members cell phones. 1 no, and 3 yeses later, it was decided. She'd be wearing the gown.

Now all I had to do was find a little off-white sweater to cover the gaping neck and some good tights to draw eyes away from the fact that the gown was too short.

Finding the sweater was easy. Finding the tights really stressed me out. On my way to the third different Target store a couple of towns over from here I totally got lost. The little inventory receipt thingy said they had two pairs left in her size and by golly I was going to get my hands on one of them. I went to turn around and apparently made an illegal u-turn.

You guessed it. Sirens and lights. Great.

As the cop asked for my license and insurance I really started to worry. My license had expired oh, lets see...back in mid-August. Not just like a couple of days ago...I really don't know why I haven't renewed it. Maybe it is just the thought of standing in those long lines and trying to get photographed with two kiddos in tow. Just. does. not. sound. fun.

Then as I reached for the insurance, I immediately remembered getting our new cards in the mail recently. Did I put them in the glove box though? Nope.

Double great. Expired license and expired insurance...all while supposedly making an illegal u-turn. I envisioned them announcing to the congregation how sorry I was that I couldn't attend Jade's baptism due to my recent imprisonment.

I got off with a warning. A WARNING. That just doesn't happen to me folks. I have been 8 months pregnant, bawling my eyes out, laying my head on the steering wheel trying to get out of a ticket before and NEVER gotten off with a warning. Maybe it didn't help that in that instance, when I laid my head on the steering wheel I actually honked my horn with my head. Kind of ruined the moment. Nevertheless, I was thrilled. And, to top it off, he told me how to find that elusive Target.

Unfortunately, all of this stress has wrought havoc on my face. I have a very large pimple that I am not happy about. Debbie saw me earlier today and can attest to its vastness. And to top it all off I ran out of my foundation today. A little before ten tonight I remembered that I was in definite need of some makeup to cover this sucker up.

I grabbed my keys and headed to Walgreens. Wouldn't you know that once again they changed all the packaging and naming on the brand of makeup I like? I don't know why I haven't learned to buy multiple bottles when I find one I like. Sigh. I picked out a few different shades in hopes to camouflage my little visitor and headed to the register.

And that is when it happened. I got hit on by my local, and might I add young, Walgreen's cashier. It was awful. I don't know if my pimple resonated with him and made me seem more young? I felt him staring me down as I searched for some cash and then awkwardly trying to make too much eye contact with me. I looked down at my ring finger and noticed I had left my wedding ring at home. Apparently I looked really hot. Maybe he is studying to be a dermatologist or something. But he just really liked my shirt. My shirt looked really good on me and it was really cute. Did I mention he really liked it? Yeah, well he said all of that while looking at my girls. Not Lily and Jade. The other girls.

I really don't think that I own even one piece of provocative clothing. The shirt I had on? It was the one I wore to Jade's first birthday party for heaven's sake. And something tells me that if I had my real girls with me...like Jade on my hip and Lily running the aisles wildly...he wouldn't have noticed my shirt or anything within.

I don't know if I'm more thankful that Lily and Jade are usually with me or the fact there is a Walgreens on every corner. Either way I'm pretty sure this was the last time he'll be seeing me or my pretty pink shirt.

Pick a size! Any size!

My closet could be its own little retail outlet. Not because it is full of cute and fashionable clothes though. It really isn't. However, it is chocked full of a plentitude of sizes.

Really. Pick a size, any size...and odds are you will find an outfit to work for you.

My fav? Size 4. I am completely certain that I will never get these hips into a size 4 again. Ever. But I have chosen to keep 3 outfits that are special to me that also happen to be the wonderful size of 4. I'm really not sentimental about clothes usually, so let me tell you what outfits they are. One is boxed...my wedding dress, so I guess that isn't too weird...everyone keeps their wedding dress, right? As for the other two? I still have the outfit I was wearing when Jerry proposed to me...for the second time. Not that that I said no the first time...it is just a really long story...another time, friends. And I still have the outfit that I wore to our rehearsal dinner. So they are all related to marriage. That makes me feel not quite so weird.

That pretty much represents size 4. Remember MetaboLife? Yeah. That is totally how I got skinny back in the day. Not the new kind, but the old kind that had some funky herb in it. I stopped taking it shortly after our wedding when the FDA banned the funky herb due to young people falling dead on their treadmills while taking it. What a way to go. I think spending my last minutes on earth on a treadmill could just be the worst thing ever. I'd rather keel over while enjoying a plate of Snuffer's cheese fries myself.

Anyway, back to my closet. On the other side of the size spectrum is 4 squared. 16. Sixteen. Nothing like being honest on the ol' blog. Size 16 isn't represented very well. Pretty much just a pair of "mom jeans" that got worn for a few weeks post Lily because I had sworn off any form of maternity clothes. Sadly though, that same pair got much more use post Jade.

Then there are lots of choices in between, mainly 8s and 10s, most of which I don't fit into very comfortably. Not without the muffin top syndrome at least. Keep the muffins in the pan...not over the top of the jeans, mama! Unless there is a muffin in the oven of course.

Why am I talking about all of this?

Well, my blog buddy Missy has put up a little weight loss accountability thingy over at her blog. Hot for the Holidays...how cute is that?

We're supposed to give our stats, a before picture, and list out our goals.

I'm cringing at this moment. I've learned recently that some of my old high school buddies are readers of the blog...isn't facebook fun? I'm positive they all still weigh 105 and wear their prom dresses on the weekends. Rock on Class of '94.

Here I go. Starting weight: 160. It really isn't my fault that Oreos were perpetually on sale when Jade was a newbie. And they beckoned me all through the night while I was up nursing her. And although it is frito lays old motto, I truly couldn't eat just one. Or is that pringles' jingle? I can't remember now. Maybe frito lay makes pringles too? Geez. I work for a snack food distributor, I should know this stuff. Hey, another excuse! Working for a snack food company isn't good for the waistline either.

Before pic: I usually show weight in my face, so here is a chubby face pic (with Lily on July 4th).

I actually started dieting on August 31st. So I am joining Hot for the Holidays with a bit of a head start. I've currently lost 13 pounds and am down to 147. Here is a current picture (with Jerry and Lily on her 4th b'day):

My goals:
I'm 5'7" and think I'd feel best around 135. I'm happily married and honestly don't feel pressured to look a certain way. At this point, I just want to get to a healthy weight and stay there. Eat well...lean meats and good veggies...and be a good example to my daughters. I want to teach them to cook in healthy ways and enjoy food for the right reasons. I'm also interested in staying away from high fructose corn syrup and hydrogenated fats.

The real place that I need accountability though is when it comes to exercise. We belong to a wonderful gym...way too wonderful actually. Our little mom and pop gym just got bought out by LifeTime Fitness and we are enjoying all of its benefits until they up our rates to God only knows how much.

Great gym. Great childcare. I've just got to get my hiney there. And regularly at that. And not just to sit in the steam room. I actually did that a few weeks back when my sinuses were about to explode. The eucalyptus steam room at LifeTime...I highly recommend it...thanks for the tip Melissa.

My goal is to work out 3-4 times weekly. I'm not up to classes yet, but I want to do cardio and even hit the weights. Yikes.

But hey? I've got up to 2 hours of free childcare daily...you'd think I'd be all over that. So. Lacking. Motivation.

And what size am I picking? I'm hoping for a size 8...maybe a 6. I just want to fit in it...not squeeze into it...with no baked goods hanging over. Is that too much for a girl to ask?

Want to join in? Head over to Missy's at It's Almost Naptime for more Hot for the Holidays fun.

I didn't think I'd be pulling out the "U" word already

First let me immediately squelch two emotions on the grandparent front: I am NOT pregnant. That kind of news would have sent one set into squeals and my mom into sheer panic.

Okay. Glad to have that out of the way.

I never quite know what Lily's little brain is thinking. Today, completely out of the blue, she uttered this thought:

Mommy, what happens to the baby in your tummy when you eat food and it goes down and splashes all over the baby?

I stuttered around and can't even recall exactly what I said, but something to the effect that the baby isn't actually in your tummy, but another part of your body.

The moment I mentioned the term "uterus", she completely lost interest and skipped away.

I don't blame her, I think the word uterus is a little ugly myself and am glad it doesn't have to be a part of my daily conversations.

There are two schools of thought on all this body part naming business. I say two, probably more than that though honestly.

I like the idea of calling everything exactly what it is from day one, or at least I thought I did, until I actually had children. Then it seemed so unnatural and a little awkward. I like the innocence of the little names we have for the "private parts" and think it is fine keeping it that way for a while at least.

Then Lily poses questions like she did today and it makes me feel like a liar.

What school of thought do you belong to? I can totally see the benefits of being more straightforward, but just haven't succeeded in doing it.

The craziest thing to me is that kiddos actually see eachother's "privates" at times during the course of the preschool day. Potty breaks are pretty public business at many of the nursery schools we've experienced. Maybe this freaks me out because I have only same gender children, so the opportunity for life's little lessons doesn't present itself as part of our day.

Which leads me to a true story that makes me giggle every time I think of it. It may not be very funny typed out because I won't be using names and I don't know how to spell a key word...even phonetically.

There once was a 2 1/2 year old girl who was new on the preschool scene. She was accustomed to calling her potty part an ouou (oo, like in soup). She was very concerned when during the day she spied a boy's potty part. After school she ran up to her mother and exclaimed, "Mommy, that boy has a long ouou!"

What is this green stuff?

I live with a heckler. My husband. He is constantly joking around and completely in good fun trying to get a rise out of me or ruffle my feathers in some way.

I'm starting to realize that his love language is heckling. I'm not sure if I am blessed or cursed.

Apparently he grew up seeing his Merner and Paw heckle each other in this way and loved it. Sadly I never got to see those two in action. I wish I had...if for no other reason so that maybe I could understand it a bit better.

Jerry and I rarely get ready together in the morning. He is usually out the door around 5:oo AM to head to the gym to exercise, where he also gets ready for work.

Yesterday morning he was off for the holiday though. I was finishing up showering while he was at the sink.

And the conversation begins:

J-What is this green stuff?

K-Green stuff?

J-This green stuff.

K-(peeking out from the shower curtain) What green stuff?

J-Right here. (pointing and tapping) This green stuff right here.

K-(wiping the water from her eyes, expecting to see some strange hair product spillage or remnants of who knows what...finally sees what he is referencing) Jerry, you ___ ____!

In order to keep the blog family friendly, I didn't call him anything too bad....something along the lines of "smarty pants", and the girls were not within hearing distance.

Yet, I did totally cuss back at him. That is just carrying on the family tradition from what I hear from the relatives. When I look at their pictures, I still can't envision Merner and Paw heckling each other in the family room and throwing out an occasional cuss word for good measure.

So, I'm guessing you're curious as to what "green stuff" he was referring to.


The bathroom counter top. That is the green stuff. Which is usually completely covered. It just so happens that this weekend I actually made it past cleaning just the downstairs and the parts of the upstairs that the girls use. I ventured into cleaning the master bedroom and bathroom. Which required me to remove countless bottles of hair product, make-up, random accessories, brushes, combs, cotton squares, q-tips, facial cleansers, contact solutions and cases, etc.

That is the thing about Jerry's heckling. It is always rooted in truth. It had been quite a while since he had seen those green tiles.

I am laughing because I totally had to clear it off again just to take the above picture. Why is it so hard to keep it clean? Between the two of us we have nine drawers and three shelved cabinets to store toiletries. I guess I just don't see the point of moving it a mere 18 inches to put it away only to get it all back out again.

I can't blame my mother either. She always kept things clean and tidy. She was not a heckler. If my room got out of hand she didn't say much. I would come home to a closed bedroom door though which meant she was tired of looking at it.

Maybe next time we have company over I'll hear Jerry say, "Kerry, what is that red thing?"

"Red thing? Oh yes, our bedspread is red, isn't it honey?"

Blogoversary Approaching...Giveaway Coming!

Blogoversary. Now that is a word that I did not know a year ago. That and tons of other blog lingo.

A few terms that come to mind:

Meme
Blogosphere
BFF (Blog Friend Forever)
Blog Carnival
Blogroll
TrackBack
Permalink
Feeds
Tag Cloud
Blogiday
Blog Hopping
Blurker
Dashboard
Sidebar

The list goes on and on. These are some of the funniest terms I've come across recently:

Blogstipation - writer’s block for bloggers
Blogathy - not wanting to post and not caring about it
Blogopotamus - a long long blog post
Blogorrhea - unusually high output of articles
Bleg - to use one’s blog to beg for assistance etc.
Hitnosis - refreshing your browser repeatedly to see if your hit counter or comments have increased
Blogorific = blogtastic - something which a blogger says is terrific

Sadly I think I'm guilty of some of the above terms. Humor me...tell me some of your favorite blog lingo.

So, back to my blogoversary. It is just 18 days away.

I know it is better to give than receive, but I'm going to be doing both. I'm all about balance.

For me? I've been working with a graphics person to add some new elements to my page. I'm keeping my header because I love it...all of those photos represent special things in my life. I actually won it in a giveaway and posted about it here (warning: that post is an example of a blogopotamus). You won't think you've landed on the wrong page by any means, there will just be some added features.

For you? You can expect my first giveaway ever. I'm so excited. By that time, I'm hoping that even my fellow Texans will be enjoying some cooler weather. Cooler weather means it will be time to check out the Starbucks menu to see what new drinks they are featuring this fall.

So, come back in 18 days if you want a chance at winning a Starbucks gift card. How much you ask?

Well, that depends on how much change I can come up with by cleaning out the car and underneath the couch cushions.

Christina, I know that one freaked you out! Meet Christina, who doesn't like sitting on the cracks between couch cushions for fear of what is lurking below...I just love that I know that little piece of trivia about her. Considering that this type of cleaning hasn't been done in...well, that would just be embarrassing if I told you...let's just say her fear would currently be substantiated at my house.

All that said, I think that all of my cleaning out should produce a good sized gift card. Whatever coins I find minus the 8.9% Coinstar fee. Coinstar is another justification of mine. I can turn my coins into a Starbucks gift card right there at the kiosk. So spending that 8.9% saves me a trip, which saves me gas, and ultimately saves me another $5 because I won't be tempted to try one of the new fall drinks.

I'm sure by then though that I will have justified that I need to try a drink or three just so I can steer you in the right direction in case you happen to be the winner. I'm only thinking about you of course.

How I Justify Spending the Extra Money

Justification. Is it only me, or do we all do this?

I've pretty much decided I'm the master of justifying pretty much anything. The thud you just heard was my husband falling off of his chair after reading that confession from me.

Tom Thumb is my favorite grocery store. It is beautiful and clean and best of all always has great looking produce. To me, it's like having my own little Central Market a mile from home.

It has also proven to be a bit more expensive than the local Kroger or Wal*Mart where I also shop. There has to be a way to pay for the perfect lighting, bakery fresh smell piped into the entrance area, the cool mini shopping carts for quick (and childless) jaunts...and countless other little amenities that warm my heart...and that I'm also sure you could care less about.

When a recipe calls for some strange ingredient...you know the kind that necessitates a call to mom so you know if you should be looking on the spice aisle or for some funky item in the produce department...Tom Thumb is the place to go. At Tom Thumb, not only does the helpful worker know what you're talking about, but also knows exactly where to find it. And it must be some store policy that they don't just tell you where it is, but personally walk you right over to it. Justification #1.

Tom Thumb also happens to be the host of these babies.


TV Karts. Free TV Karts. Add that to the list of things their higher prices fund.

Sure, Wal*Mart has them too. Not enough of them though. And if one is available, it is most likely broken or in need of a battery recharge. Justification #2.

The girls love it. Since we don't have cable, they are thoroughly entertained by shows they don't get to see at home: Dora, The BackYardigans, BluesClues, etc. I don't want them to be completely clueless at a Bob the Builder themed birthday party. Justification #3.
Oops. Need to belt Jade in before she escapes.

Now we're ready to shop.
Also, since they are content, mommy has piece of mind and some actual time to contemplate what she is buying. And maybe even match up an unexpired coupon to the appropriate brand and size of an item she actually needs. Justification #4.



Sorry for the grainy photos. Believe it or not, I didn't head to Tom Thumb with a blog post in mind, so all I had was my cell phone cam. Wait. That could be justification #5. Blog fodder.

What is something you love that is easily justified? In your mind anyway.

So that's what wind is for.

Following is a conversation I had with Lily yesterday after discovering her bottom half naked, pee pee in the toilet, with no sign of toilet paper in the mix.

K-Lily, where are your panties and shorts?

L-On the bathroom floor.

(K walks into bathroom to find them and assess flushing situation)

K-Lily, it looks like you forgot to flush. And I don't see any toilet paper in the toilet...did you wipe?

L-No.

K-Why not?

L-Well...it's a windy day, Mommy.

Let me note that there wasn't a fan or open window in sight.

I'm guessing the non-existent rain cloud washed her hands.