Insta-Friday

Once again, I’m linking up with Jeanette over at Life Rearranged. 

Here goes.

We went to the zoo this week. 
Guess what we found in the gift shop? 
A horse necklace.  
Oh, yes we did. 
But we didn’t buy this one.  The one we have is plenty.

I made this yummy crock pot BBQ for dinner.  It was a big hit.

I also did a lot of ironing this week.
Do you like my new ironing board cover?
I made it. 
Tutorial here.

 
Little Miss and I had dentist appointments this week.  
To the hygienist at the office: 
I can think of much better tactics for getting a three year old to cooperate than telling her,  “sometimes we have to do things we don’t want to do.”
Let’s work on that chair side manner, mmkay?

My sister lives in sunny California.
Sometimes she surprises us with little things in the mail.
Thanks for the post card, Aunt Traci.
But, ya know what’s better than a post card?

Having you here for real!

Insta-Friday

Little Miss had VBS this week.  This gave me two hours each morning to be an administrative assistant to my husband.  
He’s a pretty cool boss.  
He even brought me iced tea.

I also did some grocery shopping.

I’ve always had a natural tendency toward cleanliness.  It doesn’t help that I worked for a company that makes hand sanitizer.  I probably know more about bacteria and other such infectious agents than the average person. 

Germ-a-phobe much? 

Well, you just never know who or what has come in contact with the produce at the grocery store.  Here’s my little antibacterial solution for fruits and veggies.  (You’re welcome.)
As soon as I get home from the grocery store, I mix 3 cups of water and 1 cup of white vinegar.  I soak all my produce for a few minutes and then rinse in cold water.  I promise you won’t taste a trace of vinegar and you’ll kill nearly every Germy McNasty in the bunch.  Plus, your goodies will last longer in the fridge and vinegar is way cheaper than those washes you can buy in the store.

This little pool-haired lady got her first passport this week, along with a pamphlet titled:
“With Your US Passport, The World Is Yours.” 
Indeed, the world is hers. 

If you ride in my car during the summer months, I hope you don’t mind wind-blown hair.  And, yes, sometimes I also have the air conditioning on.  Relax.  I only do it once in a while.

We went to a Mommy & Me horse back riding class this week.  We started out on a pony.
We groomed and fed.  We saddled up, cowgirl style. 
We trotted and turned.
The instructor told me that Hannah would have taken the pony to a full out gallop if she would have let her.
She also asked if she and the pony could attempt some jumps. 
The girl has no fear.

I generally don’t snap cell phone pics while driving. 
But this little treasure? 
Well, I couldn’t pass it up. 
If you look closely, the sign on the back of the truck reads:

LADYS
I LOVE
BEING
FLASHED 

I couldn’t make this stuff up if I tried.
I’d have been far more entertained by the attempt at a double entendre, but I was totally distracted by the misspelling of the plural form of “lady.” 

 

I’m linked up with Jeannette over at life rearranged.  Go visit her!

I Very Well May Never Windex This Mirror

On Saturday mornings, Shawn always gets up with Hannah and lets me sleep in.  Yep, he’s awesome like that.  They usually watch cartoons, drink chocolate milk and build forts out of blankets while I get an extra hour and a half of rest. 

Two Saturdays ago, I had an early appointment, and as I was about to sneak down the stairs, Hannah woke up, tip toed into our room and crawled into my spot in the bed.  I returned a few hours later and asked Shawn what they did when I left.

“Well, I was hoping she’d fall back asleep but she kept running into the bathroom, then back into our room.  Then she would stand on the pillows and run back to the bathroom,” he told me.

Turns out, this is what she was doing. 

My lip gloss + mirror + sweet little kisses = priceless art.
And I’m keeping it forever. 

Insta-Friday

Sharing a little peek into what we’ve been up to…

Doing what cousins do – sitting on the same chair for a game of Barbie Fashionista while waiting for ice cream.

 
What’s a girl to do with a herd of horses that don’t have  saddles?  She fashions some out of Hello Kitty Band-Aids, that’s what. Creative and resourceful, no?

 
We are slowly and cautiously dipping our toes into some home schooling activities.  This week we worked on some letters and numbers for preschoolers.  (I think she’s gonna be a great student!)

My favorite thing about school was field trips, so we took one of our own. We went to the pet store where we counted fish and birds.

I don’t know about other guys, but my husband is downright rough on his dress pants.  The hems on the pants he wears to work somehow end up a tattered mess. I finally took the time to repair  seven pairs and now they’re good as new. 

If you were impressed by all this mending, well, don’t be fooled.  This is what my kitchen sink looks like.

Because I’m only one woman.

Happy Friday! 
I’m linking up with Jeannette at life rearranged.

Career Change

I’ve been working in Human Resources since I graduated from college.  I worked full time until Hannah was born and when my maternity leave was coming to an end, I was given a great opportunity to work on a part time basis. I’ve been doing this for the last three and a half years.  My typical schedule has been to work in the mornings and then be home after lunch.  We have been blessed to have my parents take care of Hannah while I worked.  I couldn’t have asked for a better deal, really.

With some changes coming soon for our family, Shawn and I have decided that it’s time for me to take an “extended leave” from corporate America and start a new job.  So, last Friday I cleaned out my desk and turned in my laptop and company credit card. 

This new job will be different.  Quite different.
There is no paycheck.
No annual performance review.
And certainly no raises.
My bonuses will be paid in the form of hugs and kisses.
I’ll have no sick days.
No paid vacation.
And no personal days.

Oh, and the hours?  I’ll pretty much be on call 24/7.
But really, I can’t think of a job I’d rather have.

Today is my first day as a full time stay at home mom.

I think this little girl is pretty excited about it. 
And so am I.

Insta-Friday

Once again, I’m linking up with Jeanette over at life rearranged for Insta-Friday to document my week by way of goofy pictures snapped on my cell phone.

One day last month I was driving and heard the most awful racket.  I thought it was the muffler. (Because that’s about the only mechanical part I can identify on the underbelly of a car.)  Turns out, I had a flat tire.  After a small ordeal and the kindness of a stranger at a gas station, I was on my way with the spare tire in place of the flat one.

This is what my dashboard told me this week.  Yep, the brand new tire that replaced the spare tire that replaced the flat tire now has low pressure.  Sigh.

We made the most of a rainy day and did some puddle jumping.

I got my first pedi two years ago when I visited my sister in LA.  I may or may not have become addicted.

Zhu-Zhu Pets.  Cute at first, but they quickly become the most annoying toy known to man.   Why didn’t anyone warn me?

  
I ran into some old friends and the next thing I knew, we were reliving some childhood memories with New Kids on the Block.  Free tickets, free parking and seats in a suite.  I don’t think I would have paid money to see them, but they do put on a good show.  Don’t believe me?  Just ask anyone who was there.  And by anyone, I mean the 20,000 women in the 30-35 year age range.  Oh yea, and like one guy.  And he was on a laptop.  I kid you not.  Dude probably lost a bet or something.

What did you do this week?

Not Even Flava Flav Would Wear This

So, two weekends ago we took Hannah to a small town fair.  We had driven by earlier in the day and saw that they had pony rides for the kiddos.  I may have mentioned a time or two that my little girl, well, she loves the ponies.
We made our way over to the ticket booth. Hannah and I got in line and chose a nice one named Carlos.  I lifted her so that she could put one foot in the stirrup.  Like a true cowgirl, she grabbed the horn, swung her other leg over and got situated in the saddle.  Shawn stood on the sidelines to take pictures.  We circled around the carousel a few times, waving to him as we passed.

“Mommy, will you get me a horse necklace?”

“Sure! I think that’s a great idea,” I said, picturing a dainty, elegant silhouette of a filly.  Perhaps in silver, with Hannah’s monogram engraved on one side.  It would be a keepsake.  She would wrap it up in tissue paper and slide it into her suitcase when she goes off to college.  And maybe even tuck it to her bouquet on her wedding day.

When our turn was over, I lifted her out of the saddle and we petted Carlos on his mane.  As we were exiting the live animal area, Hannah ran over to a table displaying all kinds of chotchkies and said, “Here’s my horse necklace!” 

Oh, dear.  This was not the monogrammed keepsake I had envisioned.  And since I had already told her I would get her a horse necklace, well, there was no turning back. This is what we came home with.

And to make it even better, the necklace and the horse itself light up in all colors of the rainbow and flash around like a strobe light. 

When Mardi Gras rolls around, I guess we’ll be all set.