Rock Chalk Bill Self

The girls and I went to Dillons this morning to buy Bill Self's new book-and to get his autograph. We got in line around 9:30. He came in at 10. He drinks Diet Coke. He looks normal, and he was really nice. There was a LONG line of people. We make it up to see him around 10:50. The girls were sooooo good for me. They were excited to see him, too. He signed our books, and posed for a quick picture. He commented on how cute the girls were. I was very impressed with the way Dillons handled this event-free starbucks coffee, cookies, customer service was great. And, KWCH-ch. 12- got footage of us in line and while we were talking to him. Watch for us on the evening news.

Afterwards, we looked around and , since the girls were behaving, I decided to go ahead and do some shopping. They got their carts and we were off. I almost never shop with the girls. I always do it on Sundays when Kevin is home. I must say, again, they were so good. I bought a couple of things that weren't on the list-cherries, yogurt, and pistachios to be exact. But it was a pleasant experience. Presley fell asleep at the very end!Shhhhhhhhhh-don't tell my Dad about this. The book is for him :)

Would you rather...

I was visiting with a friend last week about Project Basement and was asking her opinion on how we should do the layout. In our conversation, she mentioned that she would rather have an old couch for the rest of her life, if that meant she could eat out whenever she wants (which, in her case, is everyday). She about died when I told her that we've only eatin' out once this month.

So, here's the question...Would you rather eat out whenever you want and live with home furnishings you acquired in college or would you sacrifice eating out in order to have nice home decor? And when I mean nice, I'm talking Ashley furniture, not Ethan Allen :)

Let me know...

Menu Plan Monday

Breakfast-cereal, pancakes (Avery's last day of school, sometime this week), toast and smoothies, blueberry muffins

Lunch-leftovers, chef salad, sandwiches, leftovers, leftovers

Supper-Monday-Homemade Gourmet Sunday Roast, garlic mashed potatoes, broccoli
Tuesday-Homemade Gourmet Creamy Italian chicken, bow tie pasta, salad
Wednesday-breakfast for supper-waffles, fruit, sausage
Thursday-Homemade Gourmet Asian pork loin, rice, corn
Friday-I don't know yet...maybe date night?
Saturday-pizza at church
Sunday-spending the holiday with family in Liberal

Thursday Thoughts

It's been a good week so far. I'm officially done teaching at Friends for summer break and Avery is sooooo close to being done with her Kindergarten year.

• We've finished Math, Language Arts, and Art. We just need to finish a couple of lessons in science and history and take one more phonics assessment. Then we're done! yea!!!! I think McKenna will be the most excited. She hasn't enjoyed "school" as much these last few weeks.
• What do I do with the piles and piles of paper and artwork we've accumulated throughout the year? I can't just throw it all away, or can I...
  
• so, this post blew me away. Dave and his wife were our best friends in KY and we really miss them. And I can't believe Anna is 8 already. Anyway, the post is a good lesson in the importance of personal and thorough bible study, to say the least...
• We completed our project master bedroom over Christmas break. Now we're starting Project Basement. I need to take pictures of the way it looks now. We've lived in this house 2 years and the only thing on the walls in the basement is Avery's artwork that she's taped to the wall. The walls are white, which is my least favorite color for a wall and the layout is tricky. The furniture is decent, but we've been using tv trays for end tables and even the tv trays are starting to fall apart.
  
• If you're a parent, you know the series of books, If you give a pig a pancake, If you give a moose a muffin, etc....I've been mentally writing a book like that in my head all week. If you give Michelle a project...I'll post the final writing later.
• We made new chore charts this week. I used this site to create them. Both Avery and McKenna have some of the same chores to do each day, like make the bed, pick up toys, etc...but I divided some chores into each week, so I don't have to hear McKenna screaming, "I always feed Abby!" And I don't have to respond by saying, "I always feed you!" So now we have pink week and purple week chores. For example, on pink weeks, Avery empties the dishwasher (silverware only) and Kenna feeds Abby. On purple weeks they trade chores. We haven't started doing allowances, yet, but I think it's time we start with Avery. Just don't really know how. Or how much.
• Only 9 more months until the LOST final season. What are we gonna do on Wednesday nights 'til then? I know one thing we won't be doing-fighting to get the girls in bed by 8!
• We're in the process of switching from Cox to U-verse. I'm not sure about it, but if our monthly payments are lower, it'll be worth it.
• Watched Slumdog Millionaire this week. What a messed up movie. Seriously.
  
• Looking forward to this weekend. Kevin gets Friday afternoons off in the summer and it starts tomorrow. Maybe an afternoon family bike ride?
  

Someday...

Someday, I'd really like to go on one of those Christian rock band cruises.  I think it would be so much fun to 1) go on a cruise, period and 2) get to see cool bands(especially Toby Mac) play on it.  Since our vacation fund is now our basement home theater fund, I'll have to wait awhile :)  Here is my favorite DJ, Wally, giving a talk about how to approach someone as cool as Toby Mac.  They're on a cruise, that's what started this whole thought, in case you were wondering...

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Success!

McKenna and I made a trip to Dillons tonight since I didn't get to do my weekly grocery trip on Mother's day. I didn't need much, our freezer is overflowing and I already had fresh veggies and fruit, but I had some coupons that matched up to the sales this week. I stuck to the list, with one minor exception, which included-

• 4 boxes of cereal
• fr. pizza
• 2 bags fr. veggies
• 2 bottles of salad dressing
• 2 boxes of strawberries
• 1 bag of fresh spinach
• bag of salad finishers, bag of potato finishers
• deodorant*
• 2 toothbrushes
• pasta
• TruLemon-something that makes your H20 taste a little better than just drinking water
  
• 2 finger cereal for Presley
• 14 jars of baby food
• bag of m&ms-NOT on the list, but Kevin got a free redbox movie tonight, so I got them to go with the popcorn we already have :)
  

My total before coupons was $73.72. After coupons and a Rx transfer (Kevin's allergy medicine) my bill was $13.94!!!!!! Here are Avery and Presley posing with the groceries.
*I should have added deodorant to this post earlier today. I found deodorant on closeout a few weeks ago and bought several, thinking it was the same brand and scent Kevin usually wears. After a few days, he tells me that it's just deodorant, NOT deodorant and anti-perspirant. Ugh. So, I paid full price for the real thing. Apparently, anti-perspirant is a good thing to have this time of year.

I know you're trying...

Yesterday, Kevin says, "Honey, I know you're trying to save us money, but these Q-tips are horrible!" Yeah, I know. In an attempt to save money, I have bought cheaper products, only to regret it later.

• generic Q-tips-they're flimsy, and, well Kevin through them out
• toilet paper-I thought I had gotten used to the crappy brand I bought, until we went to my Mom's house for Easter. Her toilet paper was so soft and smooth, I realized how much I missed my Charmin
• Coffee-I bought Kroger brand because it was on sale and I had a coupon. After 2 days, I threw the 50 oz canister in the trash.
• wheat crackers-Avery threw a fit the last time I bought generic crackers. She only likes the wheat thins. Luckily, I just printed off several coupons for them
• diapers/wipes-lesson learned the hard way. From now on, it's Pampers diapers and Huggies wipes.

Have you ever bought something, thinking you saved money, only to regret it later? Do share...

Mom thoughts

I love being a mom. Every. single. minute. I really do. I enjoy making crafts with them, cooking for them, doing their laundry, making them clean their room :) The minute I held Avery in my arms for the first time, it was like I knew what my calling was. Actually, I knew that being a mom was my calling before then, that's why my heart ached so much when we were having trouble getting pregnant. But when I held Avery as a baby, the experience of being a mom was almost overwhelming. It was like a drug I couldn't get enough of. I am so blessed to be Mom to three of the greatest kids in the world.

I also love having a mom. My mom is awesome. She is the best cook and baker I know. She is passionate about her home, her husband and the church. She loves to entertain and always has a clean home (unless my kids are there). She is the Proverbs 31 woman. I'm so thankful that we live close enough to see each other often. She is a wonderful grandma to my girls. She loves cooking and doing projects with them.

I hope to be like her someday.

Happy Mother's day, Mom. I love you-

Mother's Day memories

I haven't gotten to be on the receiving end of many mother's days. Only 6 to be exact. But I already have a favorite. It was my 2nd mother's day. Just Kevin, Avery and me. We lived in Ky and when we got up, we went to Lexington and ate breakfast at Panera. I think I got a pumpkin muffie and Iced mocha. Then we headed to the Red River Gorge and Natural Bridge. I packed us lunches and we spent the day hiking. It was awesome!
We made a trip to Target on the way home and I got some shoes and a purse. The perfect Mother's Day.

What's your favorite Mother's Day memory? Let me know...

Jury thoughts

On Tuesday and Wednesday, I judged vocal juries at Friends U. This is basically a final for each student enrolled in private voice during the semester. If you're a non music major, you go into a room with 2 songs prepared, one of the voice faculty chooses one song, you sing it (hopefully well) and you're done. If you're a music major, you prepare 3 and sing 2, if you're a performance major, you prepare 5 and sing 3. We have some great singers here at Friends and overall, they did a great job. However I found myself thinking some crazy things over the last couple of days...

• Students, this is an opportunity for you to show off. To show what you've learned this semester. We (voice faculty) are not here with claws out, ready and waiting for you to mess up. We want to hear how much you've progressed from semester to semester.
  
• Students, please wear appropriate attire when performing. Jeans, flip flops, t-shirts, and mini-skirts are not appropriate. You should know this by now. Yes, we're judging your singing skills, but we have to look at you, too. Wear something nice, for pete's sake.
• Why does maintenance insist upon mowing right outside the window? Both days? Seriously...
  
• Attitude is everything, and we can see your attitude on your face, most of the time.
• Is their a hidden camera in here? Some student just came in and wants to sing a song he wrote for his band and has some guy to play guitar for him. We don't do this at Friends University. Or do we?
• Performance majors are always fun to hear. They take their craft seriously and it's enjoyable to listen to.
  
• I sometimes find myself writing the same thing over and over. Usually has to do with engaging the breath and posture.
• I miss my girls, I hope they're behaving for their grandparents.
  
• Posture. Posture. Posture.
• Don't tell me you've practiced 5 hours a week throughout the semester and then totally forget your words in a performance. Well, you can tell me, but don't expect me to believe you.
  
• ok, you've sung and you're done. Please don't forget everything you've learned these last few months, or years. Don't go back to shallow breaths and lowered soft pallets. To belting and screaming and (probably) smoking. Remember what you've learned and how you've grown as a singer and person.
  
• Next semester, I want to hear/see an improvement.
• How much longer until break time? Weber brought donuts from Lamar...
  
• Great job! I can't wait to hear you again.
• You've got to be kidding me.
  
• What a lovely tone, wish she was a music major.
  
• If I hear Caro mio ben one more time, I'm going to explode.
  

Are we married?

Last week in phonics, I asked Avery to write 5 sentences. Here is what she wrote.

1. Is Dad married?
2. Is Mom married?
3. Is Dad married to Mom?
4. Is Mom married to Dad?
5. Are Dad and Mom married?

Can you tell we've been talking about marriage lately? At least she got the punctuation correct. I found this on the table recently. She likes drawing family portraits and writing love notes.

Accident waiting to happen

We got home from church Saturday night, and our neighbor brought over some rollerskates for McKenna. She's been wearing them ever since.

Dream come true

Ever since Avery started riding a bike, I've had a dream of going on bike rides together as a family. I was the last one in the family to get a bike, got one for my b-day. This weekend, we put a seat (thanks, Aunt Shawna!) on the back of Kevin's bike for Presley. And we found an infant helmet, that cost twice as much as all of our helmets. None the less, my dream came true last night.

What I'll miss most

I think I'll miss this the most next year...
I pray they will ALWAYS be this close

Once a Month

I found this blog a few weeks ago. Today, they put out the OAM May menu, recipes, and shopping list. I'm very intrigued by this concept. Tuesday night, I went to Sally's, and brought home 8 meals for the freezer, one of which we're having tomorrow night (Cilantro Citrus pork chops). I started making freezer meals when I found out Presley was breech and that I had to have a c-section. And this is my new favorite cookbook (beating out the Junior League Plano and Wichita books by a hair) For some crazy reason, I find comfort in knowing there's a meal in the freezer, especially on the days when there's nothing in the fridge. I try to make one or 2 freezer meals a week. Usually I just double whatever I'm making for a meal and stick the extra in the freezer. But I'm thinking about planning a OAM weekend to stock up.
What do you think? Do you make freezer meals?