Karma

Dear Karma, 
   Thank you for 1.- remembering how horrible I was to my poor mother and 2.- visiting me bright and early this morning!

   Let's play a game.  Things that make me laugh. 
a). Bee crawling up her brother's changing table and locating the GIANT, freshly opened continer of baby powder.

b). Antiquing the cat, dog, and our entire house.  (antiquing-- dusting everything you see in powder to make it look old...)

c).  Smashing a new bag of fruit loops into the crevices of our extremely large, unoffensive couch.  And by crevices I mean every square inch of space.

d).  Me stupidly thinking I had it made with good kids while I took a lovely, refreshing THREE MINUTE shower.

Husby saw how mad I was this morning.  He actually asked me if I was OK to drive.  Luckily, no one cut me off on the way to work or they would have died. 

Still not laughing,
Summer

Sister Sister

Attention Scotland:

You are about to gain an AMAZING citizen! My SISTER. Let me tell you a little about her. 

Bless her, she had the 'privilege' of growing up in the shadows of my ever encompassing capabilities of royally screwing up. And despite my flailing flops in life, this beautiful, productive woman managed to rise above all of my life lessons and shine like the star she is!!

Sarah is a beautiful lady. Not just like a Cadillac, all shiny and new. But graceful and elegant. Every move she makes has a purpose. And God bless her, she may be as clumsy as a blind koala, she does fall almost as am interpretive dance. 

Anything my sister sets her mind to, she succeeds! It's almost like a super power she has. (Mine is more competitive eating... Don't judge). She wanted to be a cheerleader in middle school. She never had prior gymnastics/tumbling training. And she made it. All the way to competitive cheer in college!

Sarah is an ah-mazing decorator and stylist. Albeit some things she wears can be a bit...modern....for us Oklahomans, she is always dressed to the nines and fabulous. Seriously, the girl makes sweat pants look red carpet ready! Ironically, the last time I saw her in sweats it was when she had her wisdom teeth cut out and she looked fabulous then! Sweet Sidder :)

Sidder is extremely smart. I still count on my fingers for some math problems. Listening to her math conversations with my dad are mind blowing...and mind numbing. Clearly out of my realm of thinking. But man oh man she makes me proud. 

Sidder and I are very different people. But we grew up tighter than peanut butter and jelly! I cannot tell you how many times we invented ridiculous games when we were dragged through art museums and mountain 'tours' growing up. We loved playing mermaids in the pool and Barbies at Grandmother's house or on Granddaddy's Hamm radio. (Sorry, Granddaddy!!) 

(Meeting Sidder for the first time!)

Sarah will tell you her best friend was our family cat, Sweetberry. He knew her every secret and helped her do college homework every night. Hell, that cat probably could have graduated with higher credits than me at OSU!

  

My sister is always professional and 'acts her age'. Until I'm around. I wonder how she will fare overseas... I tend to bring out the immature child in people...

Sidder is also an amazing Aunt! 

Sidder. You were the first person to ever laugh and 'get' my jokes. You were the first person to help me make some sort of sense out of how I dressed-- thank you for convincing me to toss the Sponge Bob pj pants I wore every day in 8th grade!

You were the one who always helped me when I was sick-- remember when I was so sick in high school you had to help me put on deodorant?? (Probably scarred you for life....)

I love you so much. You were my first friend and are my best friend. 

Please don't forget about little ol me. I love you so much. I am so proud of you. You are amazing. Successful. Hilarious. Generous. Smart. And my sister. 

I can't write anymore. I can't stop crying and Elmo thinks I'm having a seizure. 

XOXO

Your 'big' Sidder

Sweet Baby Turtle

I sat there and I watched you

I heard you breathing deep

There is just nothing more soothing

 Than listening to you sleep

I prayed over you and wept

How much I hope God heard

All the wishes and the dreams I have

For you my son, my world

The image of your Daddy

A heart made of pure gold

Your smile melts away a bad day

Into my arms you fold

I dread the day you are too cool

To say 'I love you, Mom'

I cherish every memory

As I sing you your favorite song

Please don't forget when you grow up

Your Mommy loved you first

So when a girl snatches you up

Remember this last verse

The first heart beat you ever heard was mine

Inside of me

Your first home and your first love,

Your mommy I'll always be

Save a horse...

Dear friends. Do you ever have a moment in your life where you just shake your head and ask God why??

Why do certain people have to share our oxygen?

Why do certain people think with only 1/132 of their brain?

Why do certain people bring out 'the best' in Oklahoma's smoldering image?

The land we belong to is grand,

Summer

Steamy!

Steam burgers. Weird name. Best thing I have ever eaten.  All you need honestly is quality ground beef, garlic powder, and velveeta. I add salt, pepper, and a dash of Worcester sauce.

Brown the beef with everything but the velveeta. Drain browned meat. Add cubed velveeta (I used about 1/3 of a regular loaf). When cheese is good and melted it's ready! We're cheap so we just use regular buns but pretzel buns REALLY make this dish!

XOXO

Summer 

Wordless Wednesday

 

PS- Bestie Aide's photo bomb is life changing. 

XOXO

Summer

Alligator, Alligator...

One of my all time favs in our Literacy Stations every day consists of a Cascade container repurposed as an alligator. 

I fill the alligator with alphabet flash cards and the students can do a variety of things with them. 

1.  First they say the chant: "Alligator, alligator down by the lake.  I'm gonna reach in and see whatcha ate!". 

Then they reach in and pull out a card. 

From there we do a multitude of activities...This week we are matching the letter card to their letter magnet mates and they are placing them on magnet boards.  (In our new reading series this year we got amazing magnet boards but in the past I have used Dollar Tree cookie sheets for magnet/dry erase boards).

Last week we just pulled out the letters and copied them off of the cards.  Next week we will integrate the writing into what we are doing this week.  You can also do this with numbers, shapes, colors......anything!  :)

How did you survive your Tuesday?

XOXO Summer

An apple a day...

Sick days.  In the real world, most people cling to them when they cannot get out of bed like a fat kid eating the last chocolate donut.  

Ironically, I took a sick day today.  But I was out of school due to MLK Day.  Mommy duty still calls.  (All of you stay at home mommies out there-- I can hear you raising your coffee cup up in the air, saluting and agreeing with me!)  So who does a mommy call in sick to?  I chose the hamster.  He seemed not amused.  Probably because Bee was cramming her second poptart of the day into his cage and he was huddled in the corner of his cage, terrified.  No one cares when Mommy is sick.  Time does not stop.  Children still have to be fed.  Clothes washed.  Diapers changed.  Trying to explain "Mommy does not feel good" to a 2 1/2 and a 1 1/2 yr old was something I gave up quickly this morning...

Shuffling into the kitchen to see what I can shove in their angelic faces to keep them quiet for a moment while I gather my bearings this morning was daunting.  All I heard Turtle scream was 'POP TART!'.  So that's what he got.  Bee could not make up her blasted mind and ended up with 1/2 a can of peaches, 1/2 a pop tart, and a slice of cheese-- who IS this kid?!

The children, sensing my weakness, preyed on the fact that I moved slower than normal.  All day.  Would you like an example?  I knew you would!  I took a 1 1/2 minute potty break.  When I walked back into the once freshly mopped kitchen from this weekend, I stop and stare bleakly at Bee making snow out of the Bisquick she discovered in the fridge.  Turtle is doing his best to roll around and make 'biscuit angels'.  And the dog just lays there and watches.  I swear to you, I could hear Elmo snicker at me from the window outside.

Bee refused to nap this morning, Turtle gave in.  I tried to relax for a bit on the couch-- I barricaded Bee in her room so I could rest.  She escaped and retaliated...ten minutes into my laying down I found myself cleaning up the 'tinkle deposit' on Husby's side of the bedroom floor. 

Turtle, once awake, drank out of the toilet....don't ask me how he managed.  Just know rinsing out a toddler's mouth is near impossible.

Bestie Aide was an angel and brought me supplies for lunch!  It was a much needed break from the monotony of telling two littles "NO!".

Once I attempted a load of laundry, I headed to our bedroom laundry basket to retrieve dirty clothes.  I had just started the dryer.  I come back to find every. single. wet. thing. out of the dryer and scattered across the laundry area's floor.  And Turtle decided he needed to dry himself so he climbed into the dryer! A prompt spanking and Mommy flip out occurred.  About this time I am wondering what life would be like as a stay at home mom all the time.  And I shudder.

God blessed me with a good Husby and when he came home he helped me wrangle the kiddos and we sat down to a surprisingly easy, delish dinner and he even bathed the kids.  

As I am typing this, I am decked out in my third Breathe Right nasal strip of the day and faithful Smelly Cat by my side.  Hopefully I will get to go to school tomorrow and relax.  Ha!

How was your Monday?
XOXO Summer

Wordless Wednesday

7X3

Y'all I'm still here alive and decently well. You can sigh with relief!  My media fast will be lifted January 21!! 

Surprisingly to me, my husband, and many others I'm sure, I have only been tempted a few times by Facebook's snarky head. But I just walked away! Isn't that nuts? In fact, a few days ago, Facebook sent me not one  but TWO emails asking me 'where did you go?' I apparently have over 100 notifications and several messages. I actually chuckled and went back to reading my Beth Moore book. 

That being said, I have had an unnerving desire to get back on Pinterest. I feel like we broke up and never had our closure. I miss the craftyness. The hilarious pictures. The ambitious recipes I eventually force my poor family to consume.  I actually had to GOOGLE a Valentine's day door idea for our classroom and use a cookbook for dinner the past three weeks! Isn't that strange??

I have really enjoyed my quiet time in the evenings, however, and for some blasted reason, my body wakes up bright eyed and bushy tailed at FIVE AM and I find myself reading Whispers of Hope and actually enjoying myself. Wow. What happened to the bear of a chick who practically snarled at anyone who even smiled at me before 8 am?? 

I have enjoyed playing more with my kiddos. I never realized how much time I wasted updating my status or pinning garden plans which will more than likely result in this:

(Poinsettia is 'thriving')...

I have learned Turtle's vocabulary has trumped sisters by a long shot. Both my children are obsessed with poptarts. And Bee has really picked up singing. Like a deaf Britney Spears. 

I will reinstall my Pinterest (gleefully) and update my Facebook statuses so the cyber world knows I do exist. Ironically Husby's birthday is on the 21st. I don't know if I'll have time to find the perfect cake on my favorite online pinboard. I hope he can settle for Duncan Hines! Ha!

What would you give up for 21 days to honor someone who gave up everything for you? (Diet coke? Chocolate? TiVo?-- I think I would perish!)

XOXO Summer

Lunges and Burpees

When someone mentions working out, I always crinkle up my nose and make a dying squirrel noise. 

That being said, to prove to Bestie Aide just how much she means to me, I agreed to work out with her 3-4 times a week. (Honestly I'm glad because I've sadly gained FIFTEEN POUNDS since August). 

So far I have learned these things: 

-just because the workout claims to be '10 quick minutes' does not mean it is easy. I'd rather push out another 8 pound baby than do some of those scary moves again!

-muscles exist right below our arm pits. We did not learn this until the 'booty boosting' session we discovered on YouTube. I take that back. I did not discover this until dressing, eating, doing laundry, shaving my under arms--that one made me cry-- or breathing. So much pain. 

-Piloxing is Pilates and kickboxing combined. And it. is. brutal. Yet deceiving. You don't realize the pain until you collapse when you try to get out of bed the next day.

-80's style workout gear is something we are definitely trying to bring back. Desperately. (Hoping skin tight leotards and socks to our chins will up our motivation). 

Most days are good and we are able to laugh (or cry) with each other. Hopefully this will be one resolution I can stick with. 

How did you spend your Friday?

XOXO Summer

Wordless Wednesday- Piloxing

Did we survive?

XOXO Summer

Sticky Situation

This, my friends, is what is wrong with America. Oh, you want to be all environmentally friendly with your dog's toys? Don't use a FREE stick on the ground. Here's a highly overpriced recycled rubber fake stick. 

After you fork over the $2.98 for it, hand me the blasted thing so I can whack you over the head with it. 

Idiots. 

What gets your goat on this chilly Tuesday?

XOXO Summer

Man on a Mission

Husby went on a self guided mission this weekend to find a TV for his man-cave. This is what he came back with.  My only question. Does it this model come with a remote??

Bless his heart. 

XOXO Summer

Friday Five

1.  This miracle lotion!! 

I know it looks ridiculous but it really does spray on a good amount and my skin soaks it up pretty fast. Worth the moolah!!!

2.  Husby finally bought me new pots and pans! I have never used a Rachel Ray product before but these are lovely!

3.  Trains. I never thought much about them before children. Now it's ALL they talk about. That and poptarts....what one year old will have a discussion with you about poptarts?! I suppose Turtle is a young foodie...

Obsessed!!

4.  I hesitated reading this book for a while. 

 

 A dear friend gave it to me to read one summer and about the time I settled down to read it, my Grandmother passed away and I just couldn't bring myself to read it.

I picked it up the other night and I was hooked! I read it in two and a half hours!!!! Y'all, this book is so inspirational and amazing! And I didn't even cry! Just awe inspired!

5.  iPhone 5c! Of course I snatched up a pink one! And I qualified for an upgrade so the lovely little gem was FREE! 

Happy Friday, y'all!

XOXO Summer

Meatballs Southern Style

This was the easiest, most delicious thing to ever come from my crock pot! Just dump (gracefully) everything in, set on low (6-8 hrs) or high (3-4 hrs). I also made buttered noodles and broccoli and cheese to go with them. YUMMY!

PS- I only used about 2/3 of the grape jelly. If I had used the whole thing it would have been too much I'm afraid. Even my picky 2 yr old scarfed these bad boys down!

Happy Eats!

XOXO Summer