bigga, bigga boy!

Mr. Stink-E Pants,

Well, we made it through our first day without our Van.  That wasn't so bad, right?  I think it is going to get old real quick...we just love her that much.

We really need to think about getting some baby friends to keep you company, because Van is really good at playing with you.

I had forgotten how much easier life is with one baby.  You are so well behaved without Van teaching you all the fun "tricks".  You love our alone time, and the quiet house to take long naps!

Thank you for keeping me company.  Since Van said she didn't miss us at all while she was at school...I guess it is safe for us to go have some fun without her.

Love you my Dev-a-rooni.

Momma

my dear 1st grader.

{365 photo challenge...August 25th, 2011}

Dear Savannah,

Didn't we just have the Kindergarten flutters, and now you are headed in to the 1st grade...which just sounds so much more grown up.

Man, we had a fun summer.  Wanna do it again May 2012?  Lets.  It was the best summer I can remember!  We worked hard, and played even harder.  It is going to be an adjustment doing your hair every day, you are not going to like me for awhile.  I will make a deal with you...no doing your hair, and you can hang in your cozy clothes on the weekends.  Deal?

I am going to miss you, a. lot.  I can't promise you I am not gonna cry...you will always be my baby girl. {Even if you are going to be 7, seven!! whoa!} 

I am proud to be your Mommy.  I am your #1 cheerleader.  I know you will totally rock out this 1st grade business.  AND as my good friend Girardo always says "Remember who you are, and what you stand for!"

Thanks for being you, my little sassy pants.

I love you,

Mom

box tops...hoooray!

It is true...I am obsessed with Box Tops.  I already admitted that I buy products just because they have Box Tops on them.  Just because school has been out since May, it has not stopped us from collecting like crazy.  Our school is gonna love us when we come to the first day of school with a whole baggie full!  We also have the coolest Grandma Sell and Grandma Lynda who help us collect even more.

Sam's Club has made it even easier for us!

On certain products {to be read General Mills} in the month of August, they will not have one, or two Box Tops...BUT 6.  Cha-ching!

Who is going to shop at Sam's Club with me so that we can haul in the Box Tops?

Disclosure: I was given a Sam's Club gift card for my participation through MyBlogSpark, but only speak the truth.

best darn: street tacos edition

It is no secret, I love Mexican food.  If I were to request a last meal, it would be something in the Mexican variety.  Those sketchy street vendors don't scare me, and usually have the best food.

If you didn't already know, my favorite Mexican restaurant is El Paisa Grill.  I have been singing their praises for years.  I always order the Molcajete Supreme, until recently. They started having all-you-can-eat street tacos.

Guess what?

They have the BEST DARN street tacos eva!

Holy smokes, I am in love.  What makes me love their set up is they cook up your meat and tortillas...and you get to put on your toppings.  {In case you didn't know...when you order street tacos they come with the onions, cilantro, and salsa already on them.}  They usually have 6+ different kinds of meat to choose from, 3+ salsas to choose from, and veggies...if you are in to that type of stuff. ;)

mmmm.

Where do you go for Mexican food, and who has the best street tacos?

does it get better than this?

My thoughts have kind of been all of the place lately.  Even as I sit here I can't complete a single sentence without hitting the backspace.  That is probably why this past week I have only been able to publish a giveaway, a food review, and a sponsored post.

When all hope was lost, Humana One went ahead and gave me the best gift ever! 

A year ago when I called insurance companies to see if we could qualify for our own policy, I was given a heck-to-the-no right off the bat...because of the medication Paul was taking.

{side note: remember Paul is self employed}

I wrote this post almost 2 years ago, even reading it now makes me weapy.  After a long struggle of planning, phone calls, and a change of meds...we are now proud owners of our very own health insurance plan, because of Humana One!

What does that mean? 

It means I will be working less, being a Wife and Mommy more.  It means that if we decided I should stay home, I could.  It means that I am one happy girl.  It means that good things come to those who wait...even if I didn't do it so patiently.

my new space.

I don't even own that much jewelry, but I decided that it was time to stop hanging all of my necklaces from the towel ring in the bathroom.

A few months ago I got this crazy idea for my bathroom wall, and then the hunt for hooks began.  I wanted them to all be different, and this was harder than it sounds.  Paul was a good sport looking far and wide for something as funky as I am.  I have to say we only got successful a couple of times, and then the rest of the hooks are pretty plain.  It all worked out, and I might end up switching some out...or maybe even adding more.

Of course, you probably already know which one is my favorite...the big ol' flower.  It was purchased at my favorite store eva, Down to Earth.  I love going to that place to accessorize, and I may have even found a few more things I wasn't planning for...so, I will be changing up a few more spaces.

Oh, and I will buying more jewelry now that I have somewhere to put it all.

back to school.

This summer has been unforgettable.  We made our list of fun stuff to accomplish, and even though we haven't crossed everything off that list...it was fun {mostly}.  Like they always say, all good things must come to an end.

I think what made this summer different from all the others is knowing that when it ended our Van will be in school All. Day. Long.  She is very much ready to go, I am not.  It will be a lot of change for all of us, and that is something that I struggle with. 

School uniforms have been purchased, shoes are still being decided, and the list will be sent out shortly of all the school supplies that will be needed.  Pretty soon I will setting an alarm to wake up, packing sack lunches, and driving car pool every day.  As much as I dread it, I am trying to not show it.

Since the list for summer worked so well, I have made a list of fun things to do to keep 1st grade fun!  Here are some of my ideas so far...

• Sack lunches can get boring.  I have searched the internet for some of the cutest ideas.  People are seriously creative when it comes to food.  I am hoping that we can always keep Van's lunch not only fun, but something that she won't end up trashing after a bite or two.
• We planned a play date or two last year with her classmates.  She got to ride home from school in their car, and she thought that was pretty cool.  We will be planning more play dates that are dependent on grades and attitude.
• Last year we did pay her for grades, and I think we will do something similar this year.  Maybe a gift instead of money, but I think when you work hard...you should get a little something to say a job well done.
• We will be doing some of the same projects from last year for her new teacher.  I think teachers should be rewarded with lots of gifts, because being a teacher is pretty darn important.  I have new found inspiration from Tiny Prints, and will be ordering some personalized stuff this year.
• AND of course we have another Disneyland trip planned for the end of the school year.  Maybe that will keep her motivated to get through the 1st grade! :)

How do you keep school fun all year long?

Disclosure: I was compensated by Tiny Prints for this post, but all opinions are my own. 

The Help {Giveaway}

Truth is when I said I would go to the screening of The Help, I had no idea what I was even seeing.  I had never heard of the book either {obviously}. 

If you are living under a rock like I was, here is The Help snip-it...

Take your Kleenex, your best girlfriend, and I hope you enjoy this movie as much as I did.  It comes out on Wednesday, August 10th!

AND because I am such a fan...I am giving one lucky reader a box of fun The Help goodies. Want to know what goodies will be in the box?

THE HELP t-shirt
THE HELP pocket jotter & pen
THE HELP fan
THE HELP nail file/mirror


Just comment.
and go and see this phenomenal movie!  please.

best darn: sugar cookie edition

I have been wanting to bring back food reviews.  Paul and I have been taking our Party of 4 to new places, and trying new things.  Truth is, I don't know if I love writing reviews...so I am gonna try something a little bit different, and see if you like it.  Maybe it will be something we can all have fun with.

If you are a food junkie like me, and watch Food Network...you have probably seen the show Best Thing I Ever Ate.  If not brush up on some episodes on youtube.

I will come up with a topic every week.

This week is the sugar cookie edition.

I am going to tell you where I think you can find the best darn sugar cookie ever.  You can either agree, tell me where to find the one you think is better, or not play along. {I hope you choose one of the first two!}

Here is where I tell you where to get the best sugar cookie you will ever eat...

Drum roll...

{365 photo challenge...August 2nd}

Great Harvest hands down has the best sugar cookie I have ever eaten.  If you don't go early enough, they will be sold out.  Make sure you take an arm and a leg with you, because they are $2.50 a piece...which makes me cringe.  Trust me, it is worth it though.

The cookie to sugary icing ratio is fantastic.  Paul doesn't like icing as much as I do...so he scraps some of it off {crazy}.  There has only been 1 or maybe 2 times that I can remember that the cookie wasn't super fresh.  I should mention we go a.lot. so 1 or 2 times isn't bad.

Have you had a sugar cookie from Great Harvest?  Tell me your favorite place to buy a sugar cookie...or just tell me I am right. :)

PS Do you have a food you want me to feature?  Leave a little ditty in the comments.  I would love to share where I think you should go to get the best darn [blank] at. 

not every plan is perfect.

I took Friday off of work to play.  Vanessa and I had big plans of taking the girls to The Rooftop Concert Series in Provo...

We met up, started the drive...and I lost one of my contacts on the hour drive to the concert.

{side note: I am really, really blind.  So, when I lose half my vision...it is no beuno.}

{heya, I am having the time of my life!}

We arrive at the concert with 4 little girls in tow. 

Parking was fairly easy, finding a spot to spread our blankets was just as easy {looking back the front row probably wasn't a good choice, because we couldn't blend!}...and even though the music isn't what I normally listen to, it is easy to listen to.

{telling secrets, and probably making Cameron feel left out}

Then things got interesting just as the first band was getting off the stage, and CJane was coming up to introduce the second band.  Van recognized her, jumped up, pointed, and screamed "Mom, it's your friend from your blog!"  Um yeah, I have never met CJane, and I am sure she wouldn't consider a blog stalker "a friend". Hello...embarassing!  CJane was lovely and smiled and said hi to Van, while I was trying to hide behind something.

Oh, and that is just what started the slippery slope of disaster.

Baby Shae didn't want to sit.  The little girls decided it would be funny to pretend to be dogs, and this included lifting their legs to use the bathroom.  The girls weren't sharing blankets, Cameron was getting left out, and Van asked when Selena Gomez was coming on stage.

Vanessa and I looked at each other and laughed so we wouldn't cry.

Our plan was flopping, and all we could do was pick up our blankets 33 minutes into the concert...and speed to the nearest Sonic for a large Coke and try to recover!

The girls rawked out to Selena Gomez most of the way home, while I tried to figure out if my contact was still stuck in my eye...or lost in Vanessa big ol' purse.

Not every plan turns out perfect, but I think Vanessa said it best on her status update...

So tonight was a disaster but at least it was a disaster with a friend.

Next time we try to go to the Rooftop Concert Series, we will remember to go without children!

best kind of news.

In the middle of feeling sorry for myself, my Dr. appointment, and the over all black cloud I had been dragging around with me...my BFF has been lovely.  Not shocking because she is my BFF, right!?

She has left me little notes on my Facebook, comments on my blog, and numerous calls...all the while she had been keeping a secret.

My BFF had been sick...you know why?  She has been busy baking a baby!!  EXCITING huh!?

Congrats BFF on your Baby Parry-Woods.  I couldn't be more excited!  You are gonna be an awesome Mommy, I know this because my kiddies LOVE YOU SO MUCH...and Paul and I love you too!

{BFF holding Vin when he was minutes old}

to pin or not to pin.

It has been the past couple of months that I have noticed around blog land everyone is posting about Pinterest!  It has mostly been craft bloggers...so I just assumed it would be a bunch of people sharing crafts.  I like to craft, but I didn't need another time suck looking at crafts I will never get around to doing.

Not too long ago, I got sucked into Pinterest {and I am glad I did}.  It is so much more than crafts.

I have been doing a 365 photo challenge.  I have found some really great ideas from people pinning.   Go here, scroll down to the
a-dor-able picture of baby Jack inside his name done in sidewalk chalk!  Oh man, I have been freshening up on my sidewalk chalk skillz just to try to recreate such a delicious picture!

This was my first attempt, and I realized "Savannah" is not going to work.  I will try Devin another day.

{365 photo challenge - August 1, 2011}

There is recipes that I WILL try.

There is decorating ideas that are right up my alley.

There is fashion...heaven knows I need help with that.

So, do you use Pinterest?  Are you addicted? 

I think it might just get bigger than Facebook. ;)