These "Boots" Aren't Made for Walking

You see these shoes?  They're the rage right now, at least from what I see celebrities wearing in magazines and on TV.  Well thinking that I could try to be stylish too, I saw a pair at the mall and decided to buy them.  I should have known that my feet and legs aren't made for high heels.  The heel doesn't actually look that tall in the picture, but trust me, it is.  I simply cannot walk in them.  I look like a clown and the shoes slip off my feet every time I try to take a step.  I guess I'm just not meant to dress like a celeb. Why would I think that I could actually wear these with two small children to chase around the house?  These "boots" weren't made for walking, that's for sure.

A Change and a Mess

So you may have noticed that I changed the name of the blog.  I thought I would change the name to reflect what this blog is...a little bit of everything every now and then....

And for the post of the day......a picture of  the inside of my van. Does your vehicle look like this?  I blame it on the kids and the daycare.  We come home with about 5 different sheets of paper per child every day.  I don't want it to end up here, but it usually does because I don't have enough hands when we get home to carry the kids and all the artwork inside.  If you lost something recently, it may be on the bottom of my van.

Birthday Fun

So for the big 3-0 birthday, Arnold and I decided to travel a long way, a whole 2 miles, all the way to downtown New Orleans.  We just wanted to be tourists in our own city.  We booked a cool hotel that I found at the last minute on hotwire (thanks Atlanta Falcons fans for taking all of the hotel rooms in the city and for beating the Saints)....








I love the brick wall!  So cool!

We were only two blocks from the Quarter, so after relaxing for a bit, we went for a nice walk and ended up eating at a wonderful, hole in the wall steak house....Star!!


We were serenaded.

I will tell you that I like meat.  And that me and Arnold both ended up ordering a 16 oz. New York Strip.  We both ate every single bit of that pricey steak.  I had a pound of steak in my belly.  Yes a pound.  So we walked around some more and visited some shops.



But before all of this, the most amazing incredible thing happened.......this famous guy got out of his SUV and started walking really fast down the street in his blue velour track suit.  We followed him for a block then asked him to take a picture with me.  He was very obliging, very nice, and very....uh....flamboyant.  But super nice..... RICHARD SIMMONS!


And he's SUPER skinny.  And he wears make-up and lip gloss.  I found out that he is actually from New Orleans, and he grew up in the Quarter.  That explains quite a lot.  But he really is super nice and personable.  He had a crowd around him about 30 seconds after he walked off from us. 


Saturday morning, Arnold had a board of directors meeting.  Nah, just kidding.  We were exploring the huge, skyscraper hotel Sheraton, and found this sign outside one of their conference rooms.  We found it funny and ironic that a certain religious organization had booked a conference room for the board of directors on "Fiscal Responsibility" in one of the priciest hotels in the city.

A work of art.  Not me silly, the painting of the streetcar.  I'm totally j/k.

It was a FABULOUS birthday!  Thanks Arnold!

happy birthday

Want to know how I started off my birthday this morning?  By backing in to our other car parked in the driveway.  Nice.  You know, it's such a terrible feeling when you hear a loud boom and know you've just hit something.  I think I was still a little loopy from taking Benadryl the night before.  Luckily, there wasn't any damage to either of our vehicles!  But my day has gotten better because Arnold brought a yummy Whole Foods cake and a nice spa gift card to my work and I got a cool cd from a co-worker.  Tonight and tomorrow we are celebrating some more.  I will give details on Monday.  Maybe 30 isn't so bad after all! 

The Big Sign

Do you see the huge purple sign on the floor?  This huge purple sign was hanging from the ceiling at JC Penney's the other day.  Let's just say I knocked it down accidentally and Peyton had a little something to do with it.  It was pretty embarrasing actually, as it made a loud thud and everyone turned and stared at me.  I thought the ceiling was falling in.

Can You Guess?

Want to see what Raegan did for half the day this past Friday...See if you can guess...

It started off all fun and games...(well, not really.  There is nothing fun at 5:30am)

Things were still alright at this point...

It's starting to get worse...

Okay, now it's really not fun...

Raegan had tubes put in her ears and her adnoids removed.  I can think of a few better ways to spend my Friday, and Raegan can too.  She made it through alright, with the exception of a small allergic reaction to something, but that mainly resolved itself with a little Benadryl shooting through the veins.  We thank the Lord though that she made it through just fine, and hopefully that this little procedure will keep us away from the pharmacy at Walgreens.

Bye Summer!

It is now September 16, and we are almost to fall. I can’t believe it. I am shocked that the summer is gone, and sad too. Summer is my favorite time of the year, probably because I always associate fun family vacations and lazy days during childhood with the summer. Maybe the other reason I am sad is because I'm not a fan of cold weather. But here we are, knocking on fall's door, and so I thought I would do a recap in pictures of the summer. 

              Bye Summer!!!

Peanut Butter Brownie Cupcakes

I tried a great, easy, yummy recipe that you may want to try too this weekend.  I found it on Paula Deen's website, and I could link it, but it's so easy that I'll just post it.  We had it last night at our little Saints party.    You can't go wrong with this one!  NOTE: I would defintely go with the Reese's Peanut Butter Cups instead of the chips.  Who doesn't love a Reese's Peanut Butter Cup?

Ingredients:

1 18 1/2 ounce package Duncan Hines Chewy Fudge Brownie mix
1 12-ounce package peanut butter chips or 24 miniature peanut butter cups

Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line 24 regular muffin cups with paper cupcake liners.
Prepare the brownie mix according to package directions for cakelike brownies. Fill the cups half full with brownie batter. Place about 1 tablespoon peanut butter chips in the center of the batter, or press 1 peanut butter cup into the batter in each muffin cup until the batter meets the top edge of the peanut butter cup.

Bake for 18-20 minutes, until the cupcakes are set. When they can be handled safely, remove them from the muffin tins and let cool completely on wire racks. Store in an airtight container.

Recipe courtesy of Paula Deen
Servings: 2 dozen

Prep Time: 5 min

Cook Time: 20 min

Difficulty: Easy

The Big Box

Remember the bed that I bragged about in my last post?  The delivery guy brought it by yesterday....the two side rails, then the headboard, then the other headboard.  Oh wait, why would a bed need TWO headboards?  Yeah, the distrubtion center messed up.  And this is why I don't like big box stores, of any kind.  I know they're cheaper, but the quality and service usually suffers.  We bit the bullet this time though and went with the big box furniture store because they were cheaper.  Our footboard should be delivered next Wednesday.  And the poor delivery guy, who was extremely polite and nice, was hauling everything up our flight of stairs by himself while the other guy sat in the truck and did nothing.  This bothered me, especially when I found out that guy was only getting paid $60 for hard, manual labor, and the other guy was sitting pretty in the truck. I wanted to tell him that the Baskin Robbins down the street was hiring and paying $10 an hour. You just gotta love the big box.

A Laborious Day

Today is "Back to Work Holiday".  Did you know that?  I know, a lame little joke, but why do they call it Labor Day when you get to sit at home?  Shouldn't it be "Rest and Relaxation Day"?  Well, there wasn't much resting going on at our place this weekend.  Arnold and I finally got a bed for our mattress!  I know it sounds redneck, but our mattress and box springs have been on the floor for about six months now.  We did things a little backwards and got the mattress before the bed.  We upgraded to a queen when Arnold found a great deal on a mattress but couldn't fine a bed for a good price.  Arnold did a little maneuvaring, and well, we ended up getting a bed for $200, and it's brand new, and I love it!  For once, I was not impulsive, and it really paid off!
Saturday, I ended up throwing my cell phone in the washing maching with the sheets.  It ended up in the dryer too, but only for a few minutes.  When I heard the clunking sound, I just knew I had thrown a shoe in there.  I wish.  My heart sunk when I pulled out my cell phone.  I had that phone for over two years and was hoping to go a lot longer with it.  So if you have tried calling me in the last three days and I have not answered, that is the reason why.  I hope to have a new phone today.
And last, I have a question for all you moms out there.  I am having a difficult time weaning Raegan.  She will go the whole day without drinking a drop of milk from the cup.  Does anyone have any suggestions?  Peyton was easy to wean and quickly gobbled up the milk from the cup and demanded more.  Raegan could care less about that stupid old cup, and I really don't know what to do.  I've tried several different cups to no avail.  I would appreciate any tips, suggestions, etc.
Have a great day!  :)

Random Going-Ons

Here are some great things that have happened to us recently and some things going on this month:

1. My sister Janna coming to stay with us.  She's still got another 7 weeks.  Yea!

2. A month ago, we had some new neighbors move in across the walkway from our apt.  Peyton now has two new girl friends to play with.  She already loves them!

3. The Saints have their first game next week, and we're so excited!  PARTY!  Geaux Saints!

4. In 21 days, I will be a larger number.  I'm getting a little anxious about this one.  I will be advancing to another decade, and this is really bumming me out. 

5. We are seriously potty training Peyton.  Well, really the daycare is having to do most of the work.  She is pitching a fit every time she has to sit on the potty, but they are making her anyway.  At home, I'm offering a few little pieces of candy as rewards for pottying.  It's working wonders at home.

6. I am really thankful for our new church.  We are enjoying getting to know everyone and love worshiping the Lord there.  It's an exciting place to be right now!

7. Speaking of church, we have to have pictures made for the directory tomorrow.  I never look forward to picture taking with kids. It's extremely stressful.  Hopefully the results will be worth all the work and stress.

8. Please continue to pray for my co-workers little baby boy.  As I type, he is undergoing surgery to remove the right middle lobe of his lung because of congenital lobar emphysema.  He is 10 days old.

9. We had a back to school cookout for the students at my work this week. We had a lot of students and a great time! Nevermind that the humidity was 95%!  HA!

10. I am so thankful for the wonderful invention of the space heater.  What would office workers all over the United States do without these nice little heat-producing contraptions?