Funpack Cereal Fight

I was on the cereal aisle when my eyes caught sight of the fun pack cereals. You know the ones...6 or 8 little boxes of all the best sugary cereals shrink wrapped together. And in a moment of nostalgia and apparent lack of judgment I grabbed it and tossed it in the cart.

What a fun and rare surprise for the girls, I thought.

They don't yet know the delights of these little boxes of pure sugar disguised as breakfast food. That Corn Pops used to be called Sugar Pops in gramma's day. That Cocoa Krispies will leave you with a delightful bowl of chocolate milk to drink. That Frosted Flakes are best eaten quickly before they turn soggy...that goes for Honey Smacks as well. Fruit Loops aren't as healthy as they sound...and although they leave your milk pink, it doesn't taste like Strawberry Quik.

Oh the wonders to discover.

Even in their clueless state, they knew mommy's surprise was something special. The packaging of these little gems is a little more enticing than Target brand cheerios I guess.

A fight ensued, and only a good mommy blogger would grab her cell phone for a picture instead of breaking up the fight.


Lily stands confident.


A clear winner.

Though winner and loser shared the spoils.



It was the most quiet breakfast in months. I'm not sure they breathed between bites and slurps. ..the slurping of the milk straight from the bowl. (Jade did this too when she ate her second box with milk.)

I have no clue from where or from whom that skill was learned. But, mmm...that chocolate milk was good.

A House of Sheets Brings Rest

I honestly can't remember the last time my 4 1/2 year old took a nap. At least a non-carseat induced nap. Let's just say it was many, many moons ago.

So, as usual it was just Jade and I going up the stairs for nap time. I got Jade, Pooh and Tigger tucked in for a rest and paused to make a couple of phone calls before heading back down to play some games with Lily. As I went back down the stairs I was secretly hoping that just 1 or 2 rounds of The Ladybug Game would suit her fancy when I heard a strange sound.

A snoring sort of sound.

It was coming from a sheet tent the girls had made just before lunch. The first one they've made together as sisters.

I peeked in and there was Lily. All curled up against the couch with a pillow and blanket, just sawing away. On the cold hard floor.


Had I tried to entice her to her soft mattress, or even a carpeted floor for that matter, an afternoon nap would not have ensued.

But lo and behold in the tent house on the cold floor of the den my little girl slept. For two and a half hours I could have heard a pin drop. And for that time she seemed little again...in need of midday rest. And I enjoyed the quiet and the peeking at her and listening to the hum of her breath.

And thought of how I see the making of many, let me repeat...many, sheet houses in our future. May they all bring rest.

Coffee: Whole Bean vs. Ground

I have and addiction that I need to confess. I promise I am not a coffee snob. I do not care what brand of coffee it is, even the cheap stuff works for me, but my one request is that it is whole bean. I like it to grind it fresh right before it is brewed. There really is a difference, folks.

It all started when we were looking for the house we currently live in. Our old one had sold and the new one wasn't found just yet...so we moved in with my dad and Kim for nearly two months while we continued house hunting. Their house is where I grew accustomed to the whirling sound of the coffee grinder each morning...and where my addiction to fresh ground coffee...actually coffee in general was started.

When we found our house, they surprised us with an awesome Cuisinart Grind and Brew Coffee Maker as a housewarming gift. Hence, the addiction continued.

I buy a couple of bags of whole bean coffee at a time. Running out is not an option. I didn't realize though until this weekend that I need to give the bag a good squeeze before tossing it in cart. You know, just to make sure it actually is whole bean...

On Friday morning, I opened up a new bag and alas it was ground. What?!? I reread the label thinking for sure we had just picked up the wrong kind. Nope. It clearly stated whole bean. What!?!

Apparently someone opened it up and ground it in the store's grinder and then put it back on the shelf. Where it sat for who knows how long and not even in a vacuum sealed bag.

The nerve.

So, I ran to the pantry and checked all drawers and shelves hoping that indeed another bag of coffee would be found. And, as with any addiction I can imagine, I had gone through them faster than I had thought. No good coffee. Anywhere.

Deep breath.

I weighed my options. Get both the girls and myself out of our PJs to make a run through the Starbucks drive-thru, not bothering to get everyone dressed and still go through the drive-thru, or just brew the dern pot of coffee.

Laziness (and the thought of getting pulled over while in pajamas) prevailed and I hoped that an extra shot of sugar free Vanilla Caramel Coffeemate would do the trick.

What a waste of good creamer.

I'm not sure what is worse, opening and grinding coffee only to put it right back on the shelf, or making one pot from said bag and then returning it to the store.

Just beware if you are a HV Wal*Mart shopper...I am returning this dern bag of coffee. And although you better believe I'm going to tell them the whole story, I wouldn't be surprised if it ends up back on the shelf.

Give your next bag of beans a squeeze. That's all I'm sayin'.

It did seem to be a little too quiet....

but I thought to myself, the girls must have wandered upstairs...and they are playing so well...I think I'll just finish loading this dishwasher real quick.

I guess the sound of running water drowned out the noise of books crashing to the floor. Every book within their reach had been removed from the bookshelves in our room.


See Lily's feet hiding behind the chair? (That is a chair...completely covered with clothes. Clean clothes on hangars no less. We reorganized our closet and now it takes too long to sort them out to the right place...so there they lay...getting wrinkled. Actually, I can't figure out my husband's system on his side, so those are waiting for him. Sigh.) Anyway, back to subject...Lily quickly hid to let her sister take the fall.


But then she came out to ask if I saw the bridge she made...very proud of it. Nope, I had missed it somehow...oh, there it is. That explains the quiet arranging of books. And Daddy had those all ordered into quite a system too. Second sigh.

Shame on me. I really do know better than to let it get quiet for more than say...30 seconds. After all, it was just recently that Lily had gone quiet and I discovered her busy in the bathroom.

Do you like my make-up, Mama?


Oh my.

I'm all about teachable moments, but discussing the woes of base lines with your four year old just seems a little odd.

Free Info and Ice Cream

Don't you just hate it when you learn something new that you wish you had learned forever ago...or at least much earlier than you learned it? Maybe something that once you found out about it, you felt like you were the only one who had been kept in the dark for way too long?

Well, I recently felt that way about two things that I've come to know. And although I'm pretty sure I was indeed the last person on planet Earth to find out about them, I thought I'd share them for WFMW (Works for me Wednesday), just in case I could help another unfortunate soul out. I can hear Ursula singing now...Poor Unfortunate Souls...just for you Little Mermaid fans.

The first one is free 4-1-1...I couldn't believe I was still paying some ridiculous amount to get directory assistance from my cell or land line when apparently all my friends were getting their info for free. All you have to do is call 1-800-FREE-411...it seriously is a free call...with a live operator if you need it. Sure, you'll have to listen to an advertisement, so don't call it if you're needing directions to the ER or something, but in most cases it works great. And, hello, it's FREE.

The other little freebie is even tastier. We're huge Chick-Fil-A fans here...or Chick-n-Play fans, as my daughter calls it...but not huge fans of their kids meal toys. Probably just because they are usually geared towards kids older than the age of my children. I used to just toss them with the tray...awful, I know. Then I went to Chick-Fil-A with an obviously way more savvy customer who magically turned her kids meal books into ice cream cones! You just march up to the counter when your kids are done eating and ask to exchange the prizes for ice cream cones. And all this time I had just been thinking, "Man, I can't believe all these moms buy their kids ice cream cones on a regular basis". Now Lily and Jade each have one...and mommy gets an extra 10 minutes of adult chat time.

Lily and Emma (the daughter of the savvy mom) wait patiently for their cones.

I cringed as Jerry brought the girls home from there the other night. They had ice cream cones in hand but when I went to clean out the diaper bag I found their unopened Chick-Fil-A books.

Don't think I won't be turning them in on our next visit. Mama needs some ice cream.

For other WFMW tips, visit We Are THAT Family.