Nine Months Down.

Nine. It's really blown by, especially this summer. Guess when you have three kids that's what happens. 

Jonathan is now nine months old and into everything. He crawls, eats, babbles, sleeps in his own bed, stands with help and is trying to pull up on his own! 😲 

As for the girls, they claimed major game around here when they wrestled a crocodile the other day. Ok, kidding. But I'm not kidding about the front one going into first and the back one starting kinder on Monday! I am going to miss the sweetness of this summer (but won't, for the record, and already don't, miss the hundred-million-degree heat). These two girls aren't babies anymore! 😢

This summer, as you're probably aware, a mobile game known as Pokèmon Go was launched and quickly exploded in popularity. I held off at first on downloading it until my two olders randomly began speaking of random Pokèmon around the house, without even knowing the game existed. 

Needless to say this game has become a staple in our household and the girls and I go on hunts as often as we can. 

I've connected with these girls way more that I could have ever imagined over a game! The Number One (pictured above) watches the show and collects the cards as well, and has taught me so much about the characters and the game.

Moral of the story? When something new comes along, run with it. You might just get a pleasant surprise out of it. And if not, keep trying. Life is full of these little surprises that have a way of jumping out at us and saying, "Hi, I'm here." Some you can ignore and put off, but others, no way. Be in the moment. 💕

October. Hi-bye!

I must've blinked too many times or something. Because here I sit, due date tomorrow with our little boy, still trying to grasp that it is now the end of October. 

Sister-in-law arrives Friday night (hopefully no weather interference- the forecast calls for tons of rain!) to help out for the week. Hopefully he makes his arrival before she leaves! 

J started kindergarten two months ago and is doing wonderfully. I just had my very first-ever parent-teacher conference on Monday! It was a bit scary not really knowing what to expect, but we breezed through it with a good report for Jessy and all my questions answered before I even asked them! 

I am now off-work until about three months after baby arrives. That's right. Three months. Paid. Time. With both the girls I did not get to experience paid leave , and with J was forced to return to work entirely too early, long before I was close to ready- physically or emotionally. Right now I'm sprinting my time getting the house ready (as much as I can; baby is so low this time it's difficult to get anything done!). Baby will sleep, for now, in mommy and daddy's bedroom in the bassinet used by his older sisters. He has a ton of clothes, diapers and a changing pad, among other things, all ready and awaiting his arrival. 

Some of the ladies at work threw me a surprise shower a couple of days before I left. So sweet! 

This will be little boy's first blanket...

...and his Christmas outfit!

Look at that cake. It was yummy!

...and the diaper cake!

And of course, his name! After much contemplation we decided on Jonathan Keith. It's a strong name that goes well with the sibling set of his, and the middle name is daddy's name. 

Let the perfection begin!

Slice and Dice Sunday- an Enchilada Story

Wash, wash, wash, chop, chop, chop. Cut, cut, cut, munch, munch, munch. It's been a slicing and dicing day in our household since I actually had a burst of energy. Knife went to carrot, lettuce, tomato and even watermelon. 

Perhaps I should say "knives," instead of knife, as my original one but the dust whilst carrot-chopping. 

Whoops. Thankfully I have many reinforcements at my beck and call that were able to help. 

Lunch and snacks were made for the next day. 

(In case you're wondering, the black and gray things are chia seeds.)

Next up was a delicious dinner in the oven. Since we had company over I decided to try my hand at another enchilada casserole. Having made it before, I remembered the basics of what I needed. Ground beef, enchilada sauce, onions, corn, black beans and of course good ol' tortillas!

I quickly began to piece everything together. 

Sauce and tortilla pieces (I used beef enchilada sauce and corn tortillas):

Then the (red) onions and beef:

Then I threw in beans and corn:

And I kept layering until I was finished. I them threw on some shredded cheese and covered with foil and placed the pie in the oven. 

Baked it for about 25 minutes and after that, I took off the foil and threw on more cheese, and baked for about another 5 minutes, and ended up with this:

It was a tad messy to scoop out and onto the plate, but very tasty! We tossed some fresh tomatoes, avocado and sour cream and very quickly devoured it. And my picky kids ate it as well!

This pie will definitely be consumed again, once this heat wave passes. 

Oh BOY! A bedroom makeover, of sorts.

Recent times have been occupied by our bouncing, rolling, kicking and punching baby BOY, and his bedroom is no exception. Granted, he probably won't be in it until he is about five or six months old, but I have a feeling time will be too fleeting to start getting it ready then.

I should probably disclaim this before we go any further, and advise that this is not a sponsored article; just all my opinion. I'm receiving no reimbursements from the maker of the product about which I am about to gush.

Our little Gummy Bear has taken over the Firecracker's bedroom, and the Firecracker is now back to sharing her room with the Snowflake, as they did in our old home. Surprisingly, they don't mind a bit! (They actually asked for it!) I'll take what I can get, though, if it makes life simpler. As an added bonus, our bedrooms are large enough to fit two twin-sized beds, two dressers and a book shelf, and the beds are not bunk beds.

Now, here's the bonus:
Firecracker's room used to be pink. And by pink, I mean BRIGHT pink on two walls and a more-subtle (but still obvious, not Pepto pink) shade on the other two. Most paints would require oodles of primer if not at least two or three coats of colored paint on top of that to cover bright or loud colors with a lighter color, but not our Behr Premium Plus Ultra!

However, to paint this room over to the start of the Gummy Bear's theme, this is only one coat of bright blue, on top of dark pink. No extra priming step needed as the primer is mixed right into the paint, making painting a breeze. One coat and some touch-ups later, the Gummy Bear's room is nearly complete!

Now, to add the furniture back in and get some decorations in there... We may do monkeys and trees here; it would be very fitting for this little tornado boy.

One coat, y'all. I think the Firecracker is just as excited as I am! 

~~CrazyMom

Eons gone by

Here we go again!! 

Has it been a while or what? I can't believe it's been six months since my last post- and that 2015 is nearly half-over. Whoa. 

Where to begin?

I'll start with our crazy-cold winter. Ok maybe not quite as cold as 2014's winter, as our highest gas bill was only in the $80's as opposed to the $140's. That said, we had a chance to go sledding, which rarely happens in Dallas! We bundled up, buckled up and carefully slid/drove up and down some hills over to a hill next to the middle school we live near, pulled out the hubs' old childhood sled and let it rip! I didn't get any pics of the sweeties sledding as I was busy running up and sledding down with them, but suffice to say we got in a good workout. 

The girls ended up enjoying it thoroughly but we're ready to go home pretty quickly. But not before I grabbed some cool snow pics. 

Snowflake, as seen on the rear side window of our car. Taken with an iPhone 5s. 

As was this one. 

But it's probably a good thing we didn't run around too much, as a big surprise was in store for us the next day. 

Here we go again!! Baby Gummy Bear is due 10/28. Assuming baby cooperates, we will find out if our newest tornado is a lad or a lass next month. 

We are very excited! 2015 is turning out to be an exciting year for us. 

A Thanksgiving Scramble (Pic Heavy!)

So here we are... late November 2014 already. It seems like just yesterday that we celebrated Snowy's 4th birthday and now here we are, getting ready to haul another big turkey out of the fridge and into the oven.

What have been doing the last several months? More like what haven't we been doing!

Chasing kids around, cooking and cleaning house are a full-time job in themselves, but add on the kids and you get a circus! A circus that I wouldn't trade for the world, of course... ;)

For starters, Snowflake and Firecracker scouted the 'hood for candy as Elsa and Anna on Halloween and made out like a couple of little bandits. Their pumpkins were nearly full!

Crazy girls ready for a night on the town!

And now that you've received your dose of cute, let's fast-forward to our crazy time of year; I've decided to take on the turkey project again (Henry looks juicy yet again!) and host everyone (which is a rather light group for us this year; BIL is joining. We've invited his dog- the more the merrier!)

Yum! You know you want some... ;)

Last night I started the dessert tray- made a yummy rhubarb pie somewhat from scratch (I didn't make my own crust- ain't nobody got time fo'dat!). Amidst that I cleaned our living room, vacuumed, and cleaned out the girls' car seats. Man, those things were awful! I'm amazed that they didn't get up and walk out of the car, so sorry, no before pics. ;)

Trust me, these things were yucky. 

And this year we have a new oven, as the other one was just not up to par. It performs just as beautifully as it looks! Can't wait to see what it does to ol' Henry. ;)

 No it's not your imagination; the back-left burner is crooked. It didn't work. At all.

Much better. Four FIVE working burners and a CONVECTION oven to boot.

And since the oven is ready to go and I'm not, we all know what I must do. Stay tuned!

I Confess.

I think I may be addicted to Chipotle. You know, that clean-food, drool-inducing fast-food (or is it "fast-casual" these days?) that actually tastes good and in some ways is good.

The mouth-watering food is too tasty to stay away from. The flame-grilled and just-right-seasoned chicken (albeit not spicy) tastes sooo good in both burritos AND bowls. And we can't forget the seasoned steak, flame-grilled typically to medium-well and tastes amazing as it comes from grass-fed cattle. The barbacoa has a spicy kick that I've found best uses one of the huge burrito tortillas to extinguish. The carnitas also have their own spicy kick that can only be calmed down with an iced tea or ice-cold beer.

Don't like spicy stuff? Don't despair. The chicken is probably your best bet, next to the vegetarian flavor. The reason I use the term flavor here is that you can get these items in either a bowl, burrito or taco format. They have several hundred, possibly several hundred-thousand different ways to have your food. And probably the best reason to go there? They're making strides to go GMO-free. Yeah.

And I have experienced withdrawals if I go too long without my fave bowl or burrito. And I could go there... 2, 3, 4... days in a row.

I think I've just figured out what to do about lunch tomorrow on our journey over the river and through the woods... ;)

~~CrazyMom

Good Evening.

I'll admit it's been a while since I posted. Too long. But in case I have any audience left, ;) I want to air something out. 

I confess. I really don't understand folks who dislike daylight savings time. Yes, the time change is a bit grueling. But why can't we just stay on DST and forget standard time? 

Pretty random thoughts tonight, but had to get it out. Observe:

Our yard at about 8:20pm central daylight time. Note how light the sky is still. In standard time, this would be only 7:20 pm. 

I like my daylight! I'd never make it in Arizona. Hawaii, maybe, since it's closer to the equator. ;)

No Gym For Me.

That's right. I don't wanna go to the gym. But I want to lose weight and be healthy. Isn't that oxymoronic and crazy?

There is a laundry list of reasons why I don't want a gym membership, the number one being FINANCES. Even if it's only $10 a month, that's $120/year. Two or so of those could get me my very own elliptical. My. Very. Own. Elliptical. And I have room for it in my house. No reason why I couldn't slip my big toy in with the little girls' (eh, engines'- more on that later) toys, right? Or I could get 13 or 14 meals at Chipotle. Or a night out at Six Flags with the fam (which is awesome, especially when a mini-you likes the same rides you do). Or a bunch of clothing for the tornadoes girls. You get the idea.

Privacy. Yeah, there's just something about being seen in public as a sweating, winded hot mess, whilst enclosed in a huge, oft-crowded room. At least at home it's only my family (if them) that sees me.

The pool's not what it's cracked up to be, if there is one. Seriously. The last time I went into a gym swimming pool it was so ice-cold it took me 20 minutes to get in. And I could barely move, let alone get laps in, without fear of bumping into my fellow gym-rats. No thanks. It's like... swimming laps while playing dodgeball.

Bikes. They're a reason to join, and not to join. Our city is (believe it or not) very bike-friendly and you see TONS of cyclists when the weather is right. But let's face it, when it's cold/rainy/stormy, they have nowhere to ride. However, the seats are horrible. Even after buying a seat pad, I was still miserable unless I rode on a recumbent bike, which has a much more comfortable seat. But at least with your own bike, even if the seat is just as brutal, it's yours. No one else's sweat has been all over that thing, unless you let your SO borrow it.

Childcare. If the hunny is working or working out himself, I'm pretty much stuck at home with the girls. And if they're napping and the house is clean (HA!), I have nothing else to do! Even with a mile-long to-do list, I can probably whittle out some time, from somewhere. Even if it means plopping the girls in front of the TV to watch cute little dolls or choo-choos for a bit and they chill while I exercise, it can be done. And those cute little cartoons won't charge an extra fee or become overwhelmed, assuming the tornadoes don't join me in my little quest. And that right there is almost a reason not to join. At a gym, very rarely is/are one's kid(s) allowed to join in on the workout, leading to many potentially missed awesome memories. I'll shut up on that one before I get all sappy.

Weights. Store 'em in a closet. They're really not that expensive, until maybe you get to the benches and bars. Which I'm convinced I can live without. (See last sentence of bikes paragraph above.)

The Drive. Almost right up there with childcare. The gas costs alone are enough to make you break out in a nice sweat before you even get to the gym, depending on the gym's proximity to where you live. Of course, if your heart rate increases with said sweat, it could burn some extra calories, right?

Depending on how you think, as shown, these can easily be reasons for or against the case for a gym membership. I think I'll keep my tornadoes with me so that we can all laugh at my attempts to dance around.

~~CrazyMom

I need an exercise program.

Period. Yes, I just said that publicly. Why??

1. I have extra me that I want to lose.

2. My brain is about as foggy as London (which is about as foggy as foggy gets, right? I mean seriously- it is imperative that my head stay attached to my body at this point. Otherwise I will lose the damn thing.).

3. I want to firm up my arms and increase muscle mass.

Now, I started stair-climbing last Friday on a whim at my job while on a break. In this Texas weather, when it can be too windy one day and/or too cold the next (then too hot!), I needed something I could do away from the elements. Wow, it's challenging; much more so than I expected! Seeing as I have a two-story house, I expected it to be fairly easy. Well, getting to the second floor was. Beyond that, it becomes challenging. But let's re-visit last week.

Friday, I climbed up to the fourth floor (out of 10) and by the time I reached the mezzanine, I was out of breath and my heart pounded. Now, my heart still pounds a bit, but not nearly as much. Until I reach the fifth floor, that is. Then I am just as winded as I was last week at the fourth floor. I still haven't decided when I want to move up to the sixth floor (ha), but I think I'll take my time on that one, as I am in no rush and want to not only get in shape, but want to STAY in shape. Now, while I can't work on the arms this way, I can at least firm up the gleuts.

And now that I have discovered the goodness that is gelato, I really need an exercise program.

Wait, was I supposed to take the picture first?

I want to do all of the above, and not go to the gym (as for why, that's a whole other post). So please help me... what are some good home workouts I can do? Preferably not too noisy since I would be doing them either very early in the AM or while the girls are napping, assuming it takes place at home.

Keeping my gelato would be great, too. ;)

~~CrazyMom

Words of Wisdom: Wait for it.

"Good things come to those who wait," my mom always said to me, throughout my life.

I had just graduated college the spring before and started my full-time job a few weeks before, and I was (unofficially) engaged to my sweetheart. Things were looking up.

I was just engaged. Literally. Said sweetheart, I'll call him Y, had just asked me while driving down a quiet country road that evening. It wasn't exactly the stereotypical romantic storybook proposal, but it was unexpected. And awesome. I had spent the evening floating on Cloud 9 (which, by the way, is awesome transportation) through Downtown, and landed on my doorstep, kissing Y goodbye for the night. However, the high of good news came crashing down with news of a death in the family (whose funeral we could not make, due to financial reasons).

Some weeks later, we made the way to our fave restaurant and had the family meeting, i.e. Y asked my family for his hand. We wanted to marry that next fall. It went well, for the most part, except one thing, which was made clear over time... my mom was not pleased about my choice. We had many a discussion, and I'll not-so-proudly admit that some were more like catfights. After all, she had a point. I had just graduated from college and found a job in the real world. I hadn't really... LIVED yet.

But I was determined that Y was The One. Undeterred, we looked at homes together (albeit totally on our own, homes that were under construction). We discussed how we'd raise our kids. Still, my mom pressed. She felt that Y wasn't The One. He wasn't right for me. It got under my skin. It irked me.

Finally, I caved. I sat down, shut up and did some soul searching. I hadn't even had my own place yet. Heck, I hadn't even had my first real review yet at my job (you know, the one that doesn't scream "We are going to throw you under that DART bus if you don't do XYZ!"). I hadn't even experienced what it was like to... have my own place. My own space. Breathe. I hadn't even really stopped to... you know, smell the new roses that had bloomed right in front of me.

That night, I swallowed my pride and conceded. I admitted that my own gut had even hinted that Y wasn't the right man for me, and that mom's advice to not marry him had affected me as well. I made the difficult decision to call everything off (fortunately, no dress or rings were bought yet, so that made it a *tiny* bit easier). After all, good things come to those who wait, right? Shoot, had I been more prayerful about it, it probably wouldn't have taken so long.

Fast forward about a year. I was settled in my own place and my job was going well. I loved it. Newly single from another relationship that I knew wasn't compatible, I had vowed to take it easy, no dating for a while. That lasted all but a couple of months. I met the man who later became my husband and we hit it off.

And here I sit, now, with two young tornadoes girls, watching Lalaloopsy Land as I type this and talk to them. My husband is out and about and we are sitting in our home, living the American Dream. Thanks to heeding what was probably the best advice my mom gave to me, I am so blessed right now. Good things do come to those who wait!


~~CrazyMom

All Too Aware.

"There is a lump in your left breast," informed Dr. W as she did my exam. "We need to schedule an ultrasound to see it."

"OK," I replied.

"Do you take alot of caffeine," asked the doctor. "Chocolate? Chocolate girl!"

Later that week, I confided in my then-new-fiance/now-husband. "They found a lump in my breast. I have to go get an ultrasound."

"Ok. We'll see how it goes.I'm here for you."

"Thank you."

Time dragged on over the next several days as I informed my mom of what was going on and then finally had the test. The wait seemed to drag and drag until I was finally called back, took my bra off and put on the standard-issue muumuu gown for the test. Since it was a breast that was being scanned, I was able to use a pillow to lay back on. I watched as the tech ran the wand through the cold gel puddle on my breast. I strained to see the black-and-white clipped-triangle screen and make heads or tails of all of the black and white lines on the screen to no avail.

"What do you see," I asked the tech in earnest. "How big is it? Pea-sized?"

"Yeah, probably pea-sized," she replied as she kept scanning.

And more scanning, scanning and more scanning, for what felt like an eternity. Finally I was free to go, hoping that would be the end of it.

Unfortunately, I received the dreaded callback the next evening. The doctor was talking, but all I heard was "solid nodule... biopsy..." I began crying right there in the car (my fiance was driving) and didn't stop for quite some time. God Bless my husband, I even screamed while freaked out and crying; he had told me everything was going to be ok. My comeback? "Not if I have CANCER!" Yes, that dreaded C-word had crossed my mind and taken up residence at the forefront. cancer?? can't do that... hell no... wedding in sept... what to do? how many opinions to get? surgery? drugs? what next? "It'll be a fine-needle biopsy" "Please please please get me in SOON!"

They say ignorance is bliss. Perhaps it would have been in this case. But unfortunately, one could probably say I knew know too much about some things. For me, this would have been one of them. I was officially TOO aware.

I'm going to be blunt here; I don't get it. I may as well just admit this is a rant.

Don't get me wrong here, I understand wanting to be aware of a disease that can, and does, sneak up on you and can kill you. But there are a whole lot of other diseases that can do that. A whole month (and then some) of having this "awareness" shoved down my throat? No, thanks. Does Diabetes awareness month get this much attention (ever heard of a 3-day for diabetes)? Heart awareness month get this much attention? Not that I've seen.

"Save the tatas." Really? Do you have to shout such a juvenile and asinine slogan? Save my life, please! Even if it does ultimately mean cutting the girls off and laying them to rest. They've done awesome feeding my daughters, but that's the thing- I have them to think about. And a husband. And in-laws (I get along with!),among many others. Don't get me wrong, I have followed many a survivor's story, and it's not that simple- in many cases I've seen mastectomy AND chemo needed. But that's the trouble- such a simplistic slogan makes it sound so, and definitely minimizes the disease's impact it can have.

And what about the sophomoric games that have been played, while supposedly in the name of awareness, but really have absolutely nothing to do with cancer, but are demeaning to women. Telling the Facebook world what color my bra is is not going to magically end any cancer, let alone breast cancer. List your status as "pink" and I am liable to think you are talking about the musician. Black? uhhh... new pair of shoes? Show me a picture, please!

The pink merchandise. Wow, that's a whole other ballgame. I love the color pink. In fact, it was one of my wedding colors. However, the whole breast-cancer awareness thing has, well, put a damper on it for me. I feel hard-pressed to find a pink toy or appliance that doesn't have that cutesy pink ribbon on it. Sure, I'd love to buy that pink stand mixer or pink knickknack for my girls, but sorry, but I don't want to think about breast cancer every time I bake. Or play with said knickknack with my girls. I know you can't really say how you'd act in a situation until it happens to you, but I know I'd be a bit annoyed to receive pink boxing gloves as a recovery gift from a breast cancer treatment. Seriously. I don't intend to look a gift horse in the mouth or anything here, but I'm sure I'd need a punching bag to go with a set of regular, red boxing gloves. Wouldn't want my girls to see me freak out.

Seriously. This is overkill. Yes, cancer is a horrible disease, but so is Epidermolysis Bullosa (EB), stroke, AIDS and HIV. Diabetes and sleep apnea suck, too. Where's their 3-day, 60-mile walk and cause-colored merchandise? This is not to minimize breast cancer. I know that, unfortunately, hundreds of thousands of people have died from it over the decades. Yes, people (NOT just women!). Trouble is that other forms of cancer exist and kill people: brain cancer, pancreatic cancer, ovarian cancer, cervical cancer, testicular cancer, heart disease (especially of the congenital variety) and a myriad of other diseases. Why does breast cancer trump all of these by getting a month of its own? Some of these other diseases, like diabetes and heart disease, have their own months, but how much do we hear about it, save for social media? How come it seems to trump social issues like...bullying?

I felt blessed to find out the day after my biopsy that the lump was benign. A fibroadenoma, with some glandular tissue mixed in (which was confirmed in my lactating days). Yes, I still have it, but I keep a tab on it. While it was a huge relief to not have cancer, I thought about all the folks who aren't so lucky, and I still do. I feel for them, many having to put their lives on the line by way of surgery and/or dangerous chemotherapy that could very well end their lives.

Stop giving breast cancer awareness a bad name!

~~CrazyMom

Wait, WHAT?

It's Dec 31 already?! Wow. And yet again, I have failed to find the time to blog more! I know I've vowed several times to do so and, well, failed. But this year will be different. Yes, I know.

It will.

I have always had trouble (as all writers do, I'm sure) finding and thinking up stuff to write about. While I love to blog about my home projects, they don't come near often enough at this point to be able to center this entire blog around them. Not everyone wants to hear about my home life, either, and I don't wanna write too much about controversial stuff (abortion, gay marriage, for two) either; it's just not my thing. I just wanna be me.

Thanks to a long-time reference site of mine, SITS, I finally have some writing prompts I can identify with! It's funny, because the first one listed mentioned basically mentions blogging more, in my mind. Probably because I need to do it. I know I won't have the time to do every single one, nor do I have an answer for every single one, but they are something to work with! If you have a blog and are struggling with ideas, I suggest you check the site out. It's awesome! (thesitsgirls.com)

So there you have it, one of my 2014 New Years Resolutions. The funny thing is that I haven't made any NY resolutions in a long, long time. So why not go for some now?

1. Blog More. I have a smartphone. No excuses on this one!
2. Spend more quality time with the family
3. Breathe a little more
4. Stress a little less
5. Eat healthier. This one goes for the entire fam.
6. Stop and smell the roses more often.
7. Make 2014 an incredibly awesome year. Period. And do whatever is necessary to make it one. Well, almost whatever is necessary...

If anyone has any suggestions for topics or just wants to see me write something, call me out! My e-mail is listed in the contact link above. It's just spelled out to (hopefully) keep spammers out.

A clueless girl's rudimentary guide to football:

It's that time of year again, folks, when (grown) men, in stadiums throughout the USA, run around chasing an oval-shaped, brown ball, with cute stitching on top, around a field. The field has two yellow goal posts which look like a robotic-shaped letter 'Y' on each end of it (commonly referred to as an end- zone). The objective is to get the ball into the opposing team's end zone or something. 

But that is no easy feat. Or is it? It appears incredibly easy from high up, or even on tv, where we can see which end zone is whose. But from the ground? How is it possible? Both end zones look alike! Obviously I've never played tackle football before but I can guarantee you that I would be the oddball running the ball in the wrong direction, all disoriented from seeing so many different men dressed alike and nearly all running after me...

But back to the game: Then the unfortunate ball-carrier either trips over his shoelaces (a fumble?) or gets straight-up tackled (or -*gasp*- sacked!). The men then pile on top of each other, with said ball being hugged by the poor guy at the bottom, who I am sure is thankful summer is on its way out, being so close to the guys. 

Then they line up, scatter a few others around for good measure, throw the ball up in the air and do it all again. For two hours. But there are breaks in this cycle; occasionally a man will break through his invisible wall and somehow make it to the other end of the field, with the little oval still in his arms. That, my friends, is a touchdown. Said man then may spike the ball to the ground and throw his arms up in the air, shouting celebratory remarks (whilst the opposing team surely utter curse words under their helmets). But it's no shenanigan; that victorious runner just earned his team six points on the board. And if he kicks the little brown oval with the cute stitching on top through the top of the big Y, it's an extra point. Hey, every little bit helps.

Finally, the game narrows down to the last couple of minutes, probably the slowest part of the game (especially if you're watching on TV!). If the game happens to be tied, it could go either way as both teams scramble to get hold of that little brown oval with the cute stitching. Sometimes, unfortunately, the game is already won or lost, depending on who you root for.

Once it's over, though, one thing is for sure: we can't wait for the next game of men chasing the that little brown oval around the stadium, but then it all goes too fast- before we know it the Super Bowl is over and we are vacuuming confetti off of our living room rugs and savoring the last of the ranch dip with the chips of the potato chips.

The Honey-Do: A Re-Visit

A reminder for those who are new to this; this is not to be confused with honeydew. I actually don’t like honeydew very much (I prefer cantaloupe, if I might say so myself), but I like honeydo. Our new home has so much potential that it’s not even funny. And we have a Texas-sized to-do list to fit the bill, if I might say so myself.

We have knocked off several items, with several to go, and several others unmentioned as we have realized there is always more!

1. Paint Downstairs - eh, still working on this one. Have at least the hallway and kitchen. The kitchen... anyone wanna come tape with me?? I'm sure it will take just as long to tape as it will to paint...

2. Hang Ceiling Fans in the girls’ bedroom (which could prove tricky if a- the brackets that hold the fan to the ceiling aren’t already there and b- the fact that all 3 upstairs bedrooms’ lights, plus the bathroom up there, are on one circuit, puts a huge damper on things. I’ve done some Googling- it may be do-able… but that will have to be another post)
Done. Woohoo! All three upstairs bedrooms have ceiling fans now, and they all work, beautifully. Even though they are of the "5-minute" variety, they took about 20 minutes apiece, but still... easy. Does anyone actually get those done in 5 minutes?

3. Paint Upstairs

4. Maybe a little wallpaper in one of the bathrooms?-maybe. If I can find the right pattern cheap enough. Operative words: right pattern.

5. Master bedroom fan needs a remote. Found one that will work at Home Depot, now just to go grab it and program it so it will work with our fan.

Poor thing is paralyzed. One remote has failed us as it is incompatible (go figure :p). Off to get the correct one. Eventually.

We did it! I looked at a couple of web sites and found a similar-looking fan. Looked at the specs and manual and voila- we now have a working fan in master, for a total of six working fans in this house. Which is a beautiful thing in these TX summers. 

6. Hang more pictures! The walls are disturbingly blank. Disturbingly. Especially upstairs.

7. Erect a backyard shed for the hubby’s tools, so that we may once again have two cars in our two-car garage. However, since today’s sheds are packaged in approximately 2,395,746,108 pieces, we will need to set aside a year a fortnight 4 score and 7 years some extra help to get it all put together.-

 hmm... giving myself partial credit on this one. the shed was erected in approximately 1,832,352 parts, far fewer than the original estimate. Mostly those pesky little screws. and washers. uuuuuuuggghhh... Now the thing just needs to be moved; the original spot we planned for it isn't working out. Fortunately, trees hide it from the street. ;)

8. Soak in the huuuuuuuge bathtub. Yeah. It’s still not been christened yet. YES! Did this one too! Unfortunately only had time once thus far- will pencil in time for more times.

9. Patio Furniture. Front and Back. ‘Cause it’s needed. And that’s that. And no ugly stuff! What's good quality and good-looking on a shoestring budget? Walmart! Stay tuned... ;)

10. Granite Countertops. And stainless steel appliances. Find out if the kitchen is pre-plumbed for a gas range perhaps? Half-hoping there is a capped-off line hidden somewhere within that wall. A gas range would certainly be easier to clean than a coil-top, yet have the flexibility to allow for cast-iron cookware, right? Otherwise I think we’re gonna have to go flat-top. Hate the coils. Blech.

11. Wood Floors. Need I say more? Carpet+Toddlers+Clumsy Parents=NotAGoodThing.

Hmmm… this is getting mighty expensive. Anyone wanna tell the winning lottery numbersfor this weekend? I'm still open for this one...

~~CrazyMom

September and the Tongue-Cloud

How is that possible?! September already?? I can't believe I am typing that out already! Where has this year gone? It seems like just last week we were looking forward to 2013 and seeing what this lucky year was to bring us. Now here it is, nearly three-quarters over already. The girls' school cirriculum is already in full swing, even as the hot, unrelenting sun glares down at us. It is hard to believe that just a couple of months ago, we were eagerly anticipating and counting down to our first-ever family vacation to CO! I do plan to post more about that soon; I've been very busy!

The summer has been mild, but I'm already ready for it to take a hike! It was supposedly only 95*F for our afternoon walk around our neighborhood but it felt like another 200* day. Although, to our northeast, the sky was getting pretty interesting. It started with a few subtle but fluffy clouds, which by the time we were halfway through our walk had blown and bubbled up quite a bit. One little guy actually caught my attention enough to stop me in my tracks for a quick pic in the sun:

The Tongue-Cloud. I did a quick double-take on it and it still looked the same- like it was sticking its tongue out at us, as if to say, "Neener-neener-neee-ner you're not gonna get rain!" (Only to later realize that it may have been saying "Neener-neener-neee-ner you're gonna get some rain!")

After we wet our clothes some more just by walking in the sun and arrived back home, we chilled out cooled off and put tags on Miss Mollie (she's fully legal now! woohoo!). I looked out back and the clouds were bigger and darker, closer to us. I turned my head away and that's when DH announced it was raining. A beautiful sight!

Enjoying that gentle, unexpected rain was a very nice way to wind down and relax, while the minions went wild. Tongue-Cloud was too kind.

Hard to believe we were just using that barbecuer in yesterday's 200* weather.

I'm hoping that this rain indicates a cooler, wetter winter ahead. I certainly wouldn't mind another white Christmas!

So... how's the weather where you're at?

~~CrazyMom

Damn You, Autocorrect!

Natalie, please get up, pick up the toys. It's bedtime. Natalie, Natalie, please, pick up the bag. Pick that up. Pick up that toy. Over there!

This is your iPhone. This is your iPhone inadvertently on talk-to-text mode while instructing your toddler what to clean up. Night y'all!

~*Whew~*

It's been a crazy week. Where to begin? Monday Keith's car decided it didn't want to play anymore, and started showing major signs of giving out now instead of waiting until spring (why, hello again, old "friend" Murphy. Nice to see you. *not*) to give us some time to prepare to take on a car payment. We did some intensive research for a few days and decided on a brand-new Hyundai Tucson! So far we love it. I love the sporty look/feel and the color is aaaah-mazing!

Without further ado, meet Mollie!

We clambered through the rest of the week and rejoiced as we came to the weekend, looking ahead and forward to getting back on routine and getting the house all tidied up again. But guess who had other plans? Our old frenemy Murphy (is this becoming a theme in my life or what? ;))! Jessica, Natalie and I all became sick. Yay summer cold. Spent most of Saturday in bed, yesterday dragging but today am feeling much better- thank you again, Zicam!

This past week, while it has been overly crazy, pretty much illustrates our whole summer. I can't believe summer is already almost at a close, but what can you do except reminisce? ;)

~~CrazyMom

My Own Business- Hoodwinked?

I know it's been a while since I've posted, a long while, in fact, but SO much has happened since the start of summer. For starters, in an attempt to make extra money, I've done it. I've taken the dive of starting my own business by becoming an independent consultant for Scentsy. Yes, I joined a MLM company.

Like I expected, this endeavor has been challenging. More so than I had expected. We had major hiccups last month as the plagues made their way around our home. First, Natalie became ill, then Jessica. Then Keith, followed by myself. I probably got over it the fastest, thanks to some supplementation, and now recommend it to everyone who suspects they are becoming ill.

Of course, my good ol' pal Murphy('s law) is always by my side, and why/how I ever thought he might leave me alone for this I will never know. All this sickness happened the very same month that they raised the bar on us consultants. The terms I signed up for/agreed to were selling $1 (yes, literally, $1) every six months to stay active in their system. However, they very suddenly "carefully considered" (yeah, right) and raised the bar to $150 in sales every three months (in one month) to stay in their game. :( Since I'm just getting off the ground I don't know how I am going to do that. I attempted to host a party this weekend but it just didn't work out- at least 140 people invited- 25 no's and four maybe's (two of which turned into definite no's which sealed the deal of no house party)- with two of those maybe's having no communication on the follow up. I hope to have a decision made on whether I will try to host a house party again next month by this weekend- need plenty of time to give notice (even though people had about two to three weeks' this time!). That probably won't be enough either... This quota thing is for the birds!

Then I finally had business cards made. I had planned to pass them out pretty much willy-nilly, until I ran out, but it turns out I seem to have lost the cards! MURPHY, WILL YOU PLEASE LMTFA?? With the aforementioned quota has me with much trepidation about putting alot more money (that I don't have) into the business. Seems too risky now- what if I bend over backwards spending a ton of money and time and still don't make the bottom line?

Perhaps I should take on knitting? ;)

I want this crazy venture to work out on my very tight budget, so come check me out!

kimmygintx1.scentsy.us

~~CrazyMom

So I did it...

...finally sent the old shower head packing to the trash can. Last night it leaked all over the bathroom (and we have a separate, walk-in shower) while I was running it to warm up the water and I slipped and slid right into the baseboard, toe first. Thankfully, the only "injury" I incurred was a broken toenail in the process. The damn thing then fell on me twice in the shower, and Keith a couple of times as well. It had been doing this over and over again, but this was the straw that broke the camel's back!

I almost grabbed a cheaper one that looked promising in the reviews that I had read online, but then I saw its shape: just like the one we had that kept falling. And one of the reviews complained about it falling, so why take that chance? And if it keeps falling and I have to return it, well, ain't nobody got time fo'dat!!

So long, slacker... on the way to the graveyard -er- trash can.

...and in with the new!!

Installation took all but five minutes, if that. As its appearance suggests, it is a dual showerhead. The fixed portion loops around the detachable portion, which itself has four spray settings. The systems splits between loop only, showerhead only and both. I tested all functions of this thing and it. is. pure. awesomeness. so far. It doesn't leak and SNAPS into place, assuring the user that it will not, in fact, fall down and knock the head.  There seems to be enough pressure behind it to allow me to wash my mop of hair, possibly in half the time.

Can't wait to test this thing for real tonight!

~~CrazyMom