Tuesday Brain Dump

Can you guys get over the weather today? Well those of you who live near me, haha. Around here it is sunny and in the 60's. I don't know what is up with this weather lately, warm one day and freezing the next. It is no fun. But I have to take advantage of the days we do get! The kids and I will be outside later! :)

Arnold and I found ourselves up until midnight the other night, stuck again on watching Grey's. We are mid-way thru season 3 and it started getting really good, so we weren't able to turn it off and go to bed, we had to keep watching more! I won't spoil it in case there are still others who haven't watched but we got to the episode with the Ferryboat accident. All I can say is WOW!!!!!!!!!!!

This is a pic of my new haircut. Not the best pic, but as you can see, it's a lot shorter! I love it shorter because it has more body and is much easier to deal with. 

Was able to have a girls' night on Saturday with some of my friends. We went to dinner at Chili's. It being a Saturday night we had to wait FOREVER and didn't get the greatest service. But the food was good (I got chicken tacos and rice) and the company was great, of course ;) These are my friends Tiffany and Erika, we all went to school together. Chasity and Jennifer were also there, they left before we took this pic. Their daughters are both in Brooke's class, and they are all friends, too :)

This is Arnold this week, has has almost lost 10 pounds now, and I am very proud of him! I am starting to see it! He is very hairy right now, he needs to shave, haha! He is wearing his new shirt he got on our trip the other day-- he loves his button ups. He got called Bo from Dukes of Hazzard the other day, lol. He also wore his new tacky shoes to work, but they aren't showing in the pic ;)

Arnold made us some chocolate chip cookies the other night after the kids went to bed. He makes the BEST cookies.. he always times them just right and they are done, and soft, and not burned in the slightest. I mess everything up! Thank goodness for a husband who is pretty decent at cooking! ;)

I recently finished this book. It is based on the Brown family in that new TLC show called "Sister Wives." I started watching the show because I was curious. Not that I agree with it or would ever do this, but how others live fascinates me. I am a nosy person ;) So i wanted to watch, and then read this book. I read just about anything I can get my hands on, anyway. It was a quick read. I will probably sell it now.. I usually don't keep many books I read because I want to make room for more!

My dad got my mom a pasta maker machine for Christmas. They used to have one a long time ago and used to make me and my brother homeade pasta, but it broke and they never replaced it. When I saw it I was excited and told them I wanted some! So my dad made us some the other night, and mom added her homeade sauce. It was so yummy! Both my parents love to cook, and are awesome cooks, by the way. No, they did not pass that trait onto their daughter ;)

~We ended up selling the girls' Furby to a girl that works with Arnold. The kids never played with it, it was annoying as hell (sorry, but it was) and we paid way too much to let it just sit there on the shelf. So we have some extra money now and got rid of that thing! Oh well, sometimes Christmas gifts aren't that big of a hit. Also-- we did not tell the girls. You know how kids are, they start a fuss when they find out their stuff is missing. But they haven't even noticed yet! I wonder how long it will take??

~Tomorrow morning I have my mid-year conference with Caleb's teacher. I hope he is doing well, last time he was having some struggle with his sight words and reading, and staying on task. I hope to hear good new this time around!

~We got a note in Brooke's planner saying she is getting an award Thurs. morning at their award ceremony. So Arnold and I are going to go see her, and take pictures. I don't know what it is for.. but I am proud of her for getting one!

~Arnold is taking Brooke to the Girl Scout father/daughter dance Friday evening. They went last year and had a blast. I need to figure out what in the world Brooke is going to wear. And what the little kids and I are going to do that night while they are gone.

~The band Arnold is in just booked a ton of gigs, from soon thru the end of March. I am surprised at how many times they are going to be playing out. I am excited about the extra money for our family, and of course Arnold loves playing music, so that is good. I know I will miss him though! It is hard to go to the shows since we don't always have sitters! My friend told me I am now a "band widow" haha. I am now starting to see what she means!! ;)

~And I'm leaving this post with a request-- can everyone say a prayer for my mother-in-law? She is having surgery tomorrow. Around lunchtime to be exact. We are sure she will be fine, but prayers always help! Thank you all, and have a great day! :D

Anniversary Celebration

So it is every unlike me, but I completely forgot to charge my camera before we went out, so I don't have actual pics of our day, I had to rely on internet pics! Ha! But at least there is something to go by.

Arnold and I had planned a day trip out to Charlotte, to celebrate our anniversary. Originally it was going to be on Friday, then we had ice around here, the schools were called off, and we all stayed around here. Then on Saturday we lost one of our sitters because her daughter had the stomach bug. So we really thought we weren't supposed to go anywhere! It was bumming me out. Plus, it was still a little icy around here. So we just decided to stay around the area and do whatever we wanted, a crazy day of fun, wreckless spending, eating and just WHATEVER! We had saved up some money from Arnold's recent band gigs, to use. And mom and dad graciously said they would watch all 3 kids for us! (thanks guys!)

So the day started with us dropping the kids off with their Grandparents around 10am. We had wanted to get out earlier, but we were waiting on the roads to start and thaw. It was still tricky getting into their neighborhood, and as soon as Brooke stepped out of the van, she spilled and fell right on her butt! Haha, but she is ok and we were ok after that. Then Arnold and I left and since it was too early for lunch we decided to do a little shopping. I wanted to look for some shoes, so we went to Ross. 

I couldn't find an exact pic of the shoes I got, but they were brown flats, with a buckle, kindof like these. They are cute, and will go with just about anything!!

Then Arnold called me over to the men's shoe section and informed me he was going to buy these!! These crazy tacky shoes, but he fell in love. They were Merrells, and actually a good brand and a good price, so I guess whatever he wants ;) But yeah, they are tacky. What do yall think???

Then we went to lunch at Red Lobster! We were actually the very first customers in there, since we got there right after 11am, when they opened. I love that place, but it is pretty expensive, and we only go on special occasions. I got the garlic shrimp scampi for lunch, and a side of mashed potatoes, and a salad. Arnold got a plate with an assortment of seafood specials. And they of course brought out their famous buttery biscuits that melt in your mouth! They are sooo good and I was tempted to eat two baskets full, but I cut myself off before I got sick ;) Arnold and I had a good time chatting and hanging out, without kids. We were instantly in a more calm mood, without kids yelling our ears and making a mess!

After we finished eating, Arnold said he'd like to get a piece of strawberry cheesecake for dessert. I said ok, and asked him if I could share some of it. He hesitated, then said that he guessed I could. I got all upset, because I thought he was being selfish. I know it is stupid, but I get upset over silly things. I get my feelings hurt easily. He said later that he was just hestitating because he didn't know why I wouldn't just order my own piece of cake. But I didn't want to pay $13 on dessert (seriously 6.50 for one piece of cake!) and I only wanted a few bites! So when it came out he offered me some, but I said I didn't want it now. He left the last few bites for me but I said no, let's leave. So he got up and walked out! I was like whaaaat?! But I did end up sitting there, eating the last few bites. So yes people, we had a fight. Over cheesecake. On our special day. But to be fair, it was DEEPER than cheesecake you know ;) What can I say, I am a woman. I am crazy :)

After lunch (and after we had calmed down after the Red Lobser fiasco) we went to the mall. They opened a Crazy 8 Store in our mall, they are a sister-store to Gymboree, and their clothes are cheaper and sooo cute! They were having some good sales going on. They recently had a Strawberry line for girls come out and I fell in love. I usually don't buy full outfits, but I got this one for Rachel. Maybe for Valentines' Day? It was just too cute. I know Arnold thought I was crazy-- and he asked the lady working how we ended up in a kids' store when we were supposed to be celebrating OUR anniversary! Ha! Isn't that how it goes?! But look at the cute shirt! And the little worm!!!!

And these are the leggings to go with it! Seriously? The strawberries are precious! I love this outfit! I can't wait for Rachel to wear it, and she will look so cute! 

They also had a lot of their shoes on sale, so I got Caleb these Pirate slip-ons. He actually got upset with me, because the last time I was at Target I got the girls each a new pair of shoes, but not him. To be fair, they didn't have any cute ones in his size! But I liked these, and knew he would. And yes, he forgave me ;)

This is completely random. But that is the kind of person I am! I have a hard time sleeping at night in complete silence. It makes my anxiety come out worse. Is anyone else like that? I usually run the dryer at night, so there is some sound as I go to sleep. So we found this while we were out, a sound machine. It has 4 sounds, "white noise," "rain", "ocean," and "heartbeat." It also has a timer and a little light. It is really neat. Ok so I did try it out last night, and I hated the other settings.. the raindrops pattern bugged me, the ocean sounded totally cheesy with seagulls, and the heartbeat sounded more like a horse trotting around. But I liked the white noise, so I set it on that, and fell asleep. It worked! And much cheaper than running the dryer all the time. Good investment, if I say so :)

Next up we went to the piercing place in the mall. I had been thinking about getting my cartilidge peirced for a long time, I used to have it done and let it close up. But I had been chicken because it hurts a bit. Arnold finally convinced me to go by and get it done. I picked the earrings, signed the paperwork, and got in the chair. Arnold and the lady were making fun of me because I was nervous, and they said if I was brave I would get a lollipop afterwards, haha! As she was doing it I heard Arnold taking pictures with our cellphone, since I had forgotten the camera. It didn't hurt that bad, but it was sore afterwards. I had a hard time sleeping last night because I couldn't lay on that side at all. But I like the way it looks, it is cute :) I also got a haircut. I get tired of my hair after it gets a little long, because it is STRAIGHT. It looks lifeless and horrible. So i got it short and with layers and now it is bouncy and has life again :) So this is my new look, at least for now :)

We went into TJ Maxx and I found some little board books for babies, and picked them up for a friend who is having a baby in March. I found these adorable books, and a few others. I love giving babies books, because babies need a collection right from the start, and need to learn to love reading! ;)

We also went to OldNavy, as our very last trip. And bought ourselves a few new clothing items. I got a pretty top that I ended up wearing to Girls' Night Out last night, but I couldn't find a picture of it online :( And a few other tops, that I needed badly, because I hardly every buy myself new clothes!! It was fun!

So that was our day! The money went fast, but that was expected. It was fun to be "selfish" and spend money and time on ourselves, when we are used to buying so much and doing so much for the kids. Except for the argument over the "cheesecake" we had a great day together. I can't wait until our next day we can spend together :)

Made me Laugh

They are ;) Peeta, Jacob, and all those sweet boys ;)

This is only funny if you are a grammar nerd, like me. 

I always nearly kill myself trying to get into the house on grocery day. Because I look like this. I HATE going back to the car for more things!

I love Beaker from the Muppets. Brooke loves Justin Bieber. So this was appropriate :)

This made me cringe! I have to eat Kit Kats by breaking each one off and eating them separately. I thought everyone did that?!

How true is this statement? Plus, Arnold is just like the stereotypical husband by leaving his socks everywhere for me to find and pick up.

This is just like Molly. You never know where that cat is. And then she will pounce on you! It scares the living daylights out of the kids ;)

If it has several steps, I start to get nervous. And doubt my abilities ;)

It is not easy! Promise me! Do you see how stressed I am on a regular basis? Do you know I take anxiety pills? Do you see that I am not well-rested, or fashionable? That all comes from being a mom. But yeah, it is worth it ;)

This is me all the time. I always get excited to try out new stuff, or need more because we ran out. Then I am already in the shower, dripping wet, and don't want to get back out!

It really is. It sucks you in. You can never get out of there without spending money. And usually lots of money. I was just in there last night!

I have only done Zumba a few times. And this is why. Most people look silly doing this ;)

That's Pinteresting!

Here are some ideas from Pinterest that I am loving this week!

Frame and hangup your kid's artwork. You can switch out every so often.

Dry strawberries in the oven. Gives it a really sweet taste "like candy." That is what they say, anyway! Might be worth a try.

A little Get Well gift for someone. Throwing in stuff like kleenex, honey, chapstick, etc.

Decorating glass containers with scrapbook stickers to make them pretty

Doing the family's handprints and framing it. So sweet.

Happy toast! My kids would love this. I will have to do this soon for them, maybe on the morning before the big spelling test?? :)

Organize your medicines. In one of those organizers with drawers. And you label them by TYPES of meds to make it easier and quicker to find when you need it.

Loved this beautiful necklace. Great for a Mother-in-law. 

Love this shade of nail polish. I want Spring to hurry up and get here!

Oreo truffles, that are supposedly easy to make. Yum!

Have a Pinterest party! Everyone brings a recipe, craft, or something they found on there and want to try. this actually sounds really fun!

I love this Bible verse. Good to remember during the tough times.

Use spice racks in the bathroom to hold all your bottles. Get them off the counter and out of the way! Great way to organize.

I love this tattoo! Great reminder to have with you at all times. 

Weekend In Review

We had a long weekend this time around. Because of Martin Luther King day, the kids had the day off from school. It also happened to be our anniversary, so Arnold took the day off :)

Friday morning we woke up to some light, light snow outside. It snowed Thursday night, but it had been raining all day and never even got that cold outside, so none of it stuck. The kids were really disappointed, they had wanted to play outside in it. Even before it had started snowing, the schools called for 3-hr delays. That is what happens here in the South, no one thinks you can function when it snows! Some of the schools in the area went ahead and called the whole day off, but Brooke and Caleb's school stayed in, so I took them at 10:30. It was nice to have all that time that morning to get ready, and not have to rush! Then Rachel and I went to do the grocery shopping. I was surprised, but there was still some bread and milk left on the shelves ;) I didn't do our shopping until AFTER the "Winter Storm" so I was living in the edge ;) haha! 

This weekend, the band Arnold is in played two shows, back to back, at the local country bar they play at often. I didn't have sitters for both nights, so I decided to wait and go Saturday and stayed at home Friday night with the kids. Arnold was able to stay at home and eat dinner with us, and left out around 6ish. The kids and I hung out and played and read books until it was time for them to go to bed. Then I rented a movie and stayed up watching it and eating cookies ;) I rented "Hope Springs" which I had been wanting to see forever. It was pretty good, but more "heartwarming" than "funny." So I am glad I watched it without Arnold, because I don't think he would have liked it very much! And it was so weird to see Steve Carrell being serious, I'm not used to that ;) After the movie I read some and then was asleep by 11:30pm. Yeah I am wild! ;) Arnold didn't get in until 3am, and of course he was exhausted.

Saturday morning we lounged around for awhile. Arnold slept as long as he could to make up for coming in so late. Then we went out to do some shopping. We went to Toys R Us to pick out a birthday present for one of my best friend's sons, who is turning 2. We picked a toy guitar.. mostly Arnold's doing of course ;) They also had some great deals on baby stuff, and I picked out some baby girl outfits for my friend Chrissy due in June. And even teeny, tiny sandals with flowers! I loooove baby clothes, especially baby girl stuff! I love being able to buy it again! :) Then we stopped by Krispy Kreme and bought a dozen glazed donuts to share. I can't believe we didn't go by Dunkin Donuts, I keep forgetting to try that place out! Then we went to a few more places and went back home to get the kids packed up and ready to leave.

That night Brooke went to a sleepover with her cousin, Bekah. My sister-in-law said that she would watch Brooke overnight while I went to the show to see Arnold. Brooke was soo thrilled, she is always begging me to go spend the night with people. They had a great time, watching movies, eating snacks, and playing Kirby on the Wii. Brooke stayed up really, really late. I know she loved that :) Anyway, Rachel and Caleb went to spend the night with their Grandparents. Since we were dropping them off around 5 and still had several hours until the show, Arnold and I went on a date. We wanted to go to Applebees, but it was PACKED, so we just went to Quizno's instead :) Then we walked around the mall for awhile, and surprisingly I didn't buy a single thing! (but I wanted to ;) Then we went by Sweet Frog so Arnold could try it out. This time I ventured out and got EIGHT cherries on my icecream (I love cherries, ok?!) and added some reese's cup crumbles. It was soo good. Arnold said it was good, but probably not worth it for the price. He always has to complain doesn't he ;) And we even ran into Jess and Stephen there too, having a date also. Sweet Frog is the "it place" to go now I guess ;)

We went home and Arnold was packing up his guitars to go to the show, and I started feeling some pain in my lower right back, right around my kidney. It came on sudden and made me feel horrible. I have had issues with it in the past, and had lots of recurrent kidney infections, so I figured that is what was going on. Perfect timing right? The night we had sitters and everything. So even though I hated it, I stayed at home and went to bed. I found out later that one of Arnold's friends in the band had planned to let him get off the stage and slow dance with me when they played "Wonderful Tonight" in dedication to our anniversary. I HATE I missed that.. that is so romantic :( Oh well, at least I got a lot of sleep. And I mean a LOT, I think I was in bed 13 hrs total. But I can tell I needed the rest. 

Sunday morning we slept in and no we didn't go to church (I know, we are bad!) but Arnold was so tired from the back to back gigs, and I was still feeling a little sore. We got up and ate bowls of fruit loops together and watched an episode of Grey's Anatomy, ha. Then we met the kids and their grandparents up at Bojangles after they went to church with them, and we all had lunch. I don't think the kids were ready to come home yet, they had had a blast. 

Monday we went out to lunch at the Snack Bar. We had to share our anniversary with the kids, and they weren't that well-behaved but oh well. We also went by the store to pick up some birthday cards for friends and some Valentine's Day goodies. We then rented the new "Diary of a Wimpy Kid" movie and we all set together and watched it, while eating sour gummy worms. Haha, don't we know how to have fun ;) And the rest of the afternoon we just lounged around. That night Arnold and I made chicken and some "cheesy bacon potatoes" for dinner. I had found the recipe on Pinterest. It didn't turn out as good as it looked on the computer, but nothing does! ;)

Hope everyone had a great weekend! :D

Arnold has been giving the kids guitar lessons lately. His dad even got them their own "kid-sized" guitar to practice with. They are doing pretty well, and seem interested so far :)

Rachel that skirt is awful short! haha!

At the store, checking out some books

Ready for our date Saturday night. Too bad it ended too quick :(

Arnold eating his icecream at Sweet Frog. 

Rachel trying on some Valentine's headbands at the store :)

Brooke is mixing the holidays, haha

Out to lunch at the Snack Bar

Arnold and his little look-alike

Arnold cutting up some chicken for dinner on Monday