Guilty Pleasure

Okay, I admit it...

I'm totally hooked on

"The Bachelorette."

I know, I know...

Yum...summer!

I have to admit, I used to look forward to family reunions for the food. Don't get me wrong...the food is still awesome, and I still eat more than I should, but I was soooooooooooo looking forward to coming home so we could get back to our summer menu. Here's today's lunch:

and yes, it was really that good. Yum! Have I mentioned a million times that I love summer and all of the fresh food that comes with it????

James has requested black bean burgers this week...anyone have any tips, or a favorite recipe?

Orange You Glad...

Kayci's birthday was last week, so that means she FINALLY got her Dick & Jane quilt! A new quilt meant new sheets, new curtains, etc...and that has been more of a headache than I ever anticipated. There's the final product...that's sheet set #3 and curtains #2, by the way. The reason I'm posting about this here is that I let Kayci guide the way, and while we did detour into the pink polka dot sheets briefly before we got them home and she realized they didn't match, it worked out that her room is exactly as I'd hoped it would be. Orange is the "pop" color both in his crib bedding and her quilt, and I really wanted orange sheets. The orange curtains were totally a bonus find at Wal-Mart yesterday, and I love, love them against the blue and white! The point is, I could have bought orange stuff and just told her that's that. But she came to that conclusion on her own, and we both win. So, so much more satisfying, doncha think?

Why do people ask...

...questions they REALLY don't want to know the answers to?

I'm having a bit of a crisis right now because I need to have a really hard conversation with someone, and I hate tohurt anyone's feelings. Sigh. THIS is why I didn't finish my Master's, people...I don't WANT to be an administrator! Of course, I do want to do administrative things and have the perks of being an administrator...so I should just zip it and get on with the getting on and be grateful for the 99.9% of my job that rocks. See, I just needed a little pep talk.

Okay, I can do this. I can do this.

Um, later, I can do this.

Sigh.

I Never...

I remember that game from High School parties and even a few ill-advised college gatherings. It used to be pretty fun, but I won't tell you where I ranked. If you're reading this, you probably know, anyway. :) This morning was a little crazy as mornings tend to be right now...Noble poured an ENTIRE box of cheese crackers on the living room floor when I was in the potty for a few minutes. And yup, of course he rolled around in them so there was more cheesy goodness to spread around. Hmm...that was, of course, in addition to his normal morning messes. I did manage to get the 3 of us dressed and out the door on time, but the cheese crackers had to stay, unfortunately. Yes, this is going somewhere...

...I've been working on a baby gift for Noble's cousin, Shannon. This morning while I waited for Kayci to finish swim lessons, round 2, I started on the note to accompany our gift for Baby Avery. As I was writing, I kept thinking of all the things I said I'd never do as a parent, and then when we got home and I was confronted by this enormous mess, I thought of "I never" again...and how it relates to my parenting. Or lack thereof, it feels sometimes. :)

So, in honor of imperfect parents everywhere, here's the game of "I'll Never" I've been playing in my head today...

1. I'll never have kids sleep in my bed.
2. I'll never let my kids out of the highchair to wander around in a restaurant.
3. I'll never let my kids snack before dinner.
4. I'll never let one of my kids hit/bite/scratch/sass me.
5. I'll never leave my kids unattended to make huge messes.
6. I'll never reuse a diaper.
7. I'll never judge other parents.
8. I'll never compare my kids to other kids.
9. I'll never yell at my kids.
10. I'll never spank my kids when I'm angry.
11. I'll never let my kids walk around in a onesie and nothing else.
12. I'll never let my kids out of the house without brushing their teeth.
13. I'll never forget my kids' lunch money.
14. I'll never forget my kids' homework.
15. I'll never call my kid a dork.
16. I'll never force my kids to do anything they don't want to do.
17. I'll never let my kids go to bed late.
18. I'll never let my kids wake up early.
19. I'll never give my kids everything they want.
20. I'll never spoil my kids.

Oh, the list could go on and on. How about I'll never let my kids eat in the living room while watching tv? Well, that one's out as we're lunching on the couch today since the dining room table is full of a baby gift and stuff I haven't yet put away from the weekend.

Looks like I forgot to post this...oops. I'm so tired today!

Time Shock

As part of Aunt Peggy's birthday gift for Kayci, I got to tag along for a spa mani/pedi. And let me tell you, it was spa-fabulous! We realized today that I haven't had a pedicure since right before Noble's baptism--last July. That's so sad on so many levels.

Looking down now, I feel like myself again. :)

Biggest Fear

I think sometimes that it must be really, really hard to be married to me and all of my...let's call them quirks. Yesterday was a pretty stressful day, probably more than I was even aware of at the time.

Today I woke up really freaked out because I had the mother of all bad dreams early this morning. After I'd had some coffee and settled down a bit, I told James about my dream and I could see that he was having a hard time keeping a straight face as I told him about facing my biggest fear. Because my biggest fear is zombies. Flesh-eating, brain-guzzling zombies. To the point where I've considered, in our dream house, building a zombie room kind of like a panic room. I know, I know, I heard it. (And no, Keely, you aren't allowed to use that against me.) I understand that it seems comical, but seriously, big big fear. I think it's a good argument for NOT letting your kid watch every zombie movie ever made at an impressionable age.

So there you have it, my biggest fear. What's yours?