Jack Bauer Training Camp:

You all know we’re big 24 fans. Jack Bauer is sort of a big deal around our house. And since 24 isn’t currently on TV and we’re stuck watching TV that makes you laugh (aka GLEE) instead of makes you want to own a gun {who knew!?} we have to fill the void somehow…

Recently we’ve been doing that by visiting what I like to call…

“CTU: Toddler Boot Camp”

Training begins with a few (and by few I mean 50) one handed pushups.

Which is then followed by both rappelling and scaling walls with nothing but your BARE HANDS and a conveniently placed rope. {LOOK! How handy!}

“I don’t know about this Mom.”

“You will climb this and you WILL LIKE IT.”

As you can see, the drill sergeant tone pays off. Scaling “walls” with a smile.

After that we do a little “one-on-one” combat training with Dad…
“Stay low.”

“Go after the legs.”

“If all else fails a roundhouse kick to the face will ALWAYS work.”

Which is then followed by an introduction to torture techniques….

“Hey… this isn’t so bad.”

“Oh, Just you wait son…”

(Please note Jake’s face: Proof that as parents we really do enjoy torturing our kids)

“Okay, Okay, I’ll do whatever you want. Just please, STOP THE SPINNING!!!!!!”

 

 

***No  children were harmed during this training session. If you want to get all technical you can ACTUALLY call it “playing at grandma’s house,” but I don’t think that’s nearly as clever, so whatev!

Pedicure: FAIL

I know the picture is pretty horrible. I took it from my phone, and it’s of FEET after all. (shudder. AND you can see the horrible 1990′s linoleum in our basement) But that’s kind of the point…

Last night me and my besties had our monthly Girl’s Night (if you don’t do this… I HIGHLY recommend it.) and we went to get pedicures. We went to this great place where we got full spa pedicure treatments. All my pals seemed to have wonderfully nice people taking care of them, who laughed along with us and knew that we were out to have fun. But the woman who was taking care of me was SO rude. Every time I moved even slightly (from laughter, to turn my head to look at my friends, or to choose my nail art), she’d lightly tap my foot, scowl and say “No movingl.” And I’m thinking to myself, “You’re scrubbing my feet with a Pumice stone, I’m really messing up your pedi-vibes?”

There were times when I literally wasn’t moving anymore than the massage chair FORCED me to and she would do the same thing. Eventually I became so irritated with her that I turned off my massage chair and took myself out of our conversations. I convinced myself that she just didn’t want to mess up my toes…

So, finally we finish up and my bill is what?? $50. FIFTY DOLLARS. F-I-F-T-Y D-O-L-L-A-R-S!!! I feel robbed. If I had had a better experience I wouldn’t feel so crummy about dropping half a Benjamin…. but I feel like I could have gone to a cheap nail place, paid half what I did and had a better experience. Then, this morning I wake up and notice that there are smudges of white all along the front of my big toes. Do I complain?

What would you do? How much, if any, do you spend on your pedicures?

Dainty Lady:

I have an adorable pair of vintage yellow rose earrings, but mine are rather large. I’m totally swooning over this pair I found on etsy! They’re much smaller than mine and I think they’d look great with so many things. I love the feminine details that are found in such a TINY thing. This seller also has lots of other pretty things… which brought to mind something I’m anticipating for fall!

Since my hair is finally growing out to a more manageable length, I’m really looking forward to hair accessories this fall. And the things I’ve got my eye out for are fun pins and headbands and these are TOTALLY catching my eye. I can’t wait until the weather cools down and I can comfortably wear my hair down again. With nothing holding it back besides something like these pretty Coral Flower Hair Pins!!!

These don’t look like they’d disappoint either. But mostly… I’m looking forward to getting my hair back to a darker, richer shade. I went back to blonde earlier this summer and have had mixed emotions about it ever since. The conclusion that I’ve come to is that the blonde will stick around until fall. (Or maybe my birthday…which are “officially” one day apart) But then it’s back to something like this…. I probably can’t go quite as dark as this… but  I love that when she had her hair dark it still had depth to it and wasn’t just flat brown. Sooo…that’s what I’m aiming for.(Yes, in a way I’m aspiring to be Nicole Richie)

Do you have any plans for your hair this fall? Do you accesorize your hair?

In La-La-Love:

I am a HUGE fan of Jack’s Mannequin. Seeing Andrew McMahon play his music live for the first time (Back with Something Corporate) was seriously life changing for me, and I’ve seen A LOT of concerts. He is so raw and so…. OKAY with who he is and the music he writes. It is truly amazing and he’s an incredibly nice guy with an AMAZING story.

While in college I made a point of collecting every random unpublished song of his I could find, which is NOT easy. I bought Everything In Transit the day it came out, eagerly anticipating the NEW Andrew. And I fell in love all over again. The same magic, but different.

With that being said… I completely dropped the ball when The Glass Passenger came out. I knew the day it came out, but I just didn’t buy it. Maybe because my music tastes had become limited to nursery rhymes and Baby Einstein classical pieces? Maybe I forgot just HOW MUCH I love this stuff. Either way… I failed. I finally picked it up yesterday and once again… it speaks to me.

Check some of their stuff HERE, HERE, and HERE.

Two of the links are of live/acoustic versions. I think live recordings showcase true talent. I hope you love it as much as I do!

Veggies:

My awesome SIL Natalie gave me a jumbo bag of fresh cucumbers.

I’ve been eating them up all day.

I think fresh garden veggies are the only thing I will REALLY miss about summer.

I’m such a fall lover.

I’ve also got fresh zucchini to prep for some yummy muffins this evening… Delish, I say!

At least I don’t get that “I’m gaining a pound as I chew this.” guilt when I’m muching on these!

Being an Aunt:

I think being an aunt is a lot like being a grandparent…

You get to play with your nieces & nephews, load them up with High-Fructose Corn Syrup and then send them home.

That’s what I’m doing today. How about you?

Comfy Stilettos you say?!

Have you all heard about Kenneth Cole’s new Silver Edition 925?!?!?!

Let me give you a run down ladies. (And gents too, if you’re into that kind of thing!)

You can get any of these pretties… Prepare yourselves, Eye Candy on the way!

They feature all kinds of new shoe technology that are rumored to make our precious tootsies look FABULOUS without causing us pain.

All I can think about for fall are those adorable booties to wear with my favorite jeans and the thought that I could still manage to carry around one of my children, 3 bags of groceries, my giant purse, and drag child #2 while walking in stylish perfection. The price points range from $135 to $195 which seems totally reasonable (If not INSANELY cheap!) to me for what they’re offering!

I read one review that described these beauties as a “tempurpedic bed… for your feet.” Check out more on them HERE.

Hallelujah! There is Heaven on Earth.

Sign. Me. Up.

Sunday, Sunday, SUNDAY:

Sundays are supposed to be days of rest, right? Apparently, my brain doesn’t understand that concept.

There was a time when my kids sort of understood that we SLEPT IN on weekends. There’s just no need to get up at 6:30 on a Satur/Sunday, EVER. The past month has been a busy one around here and even the kids are having a hard time figuring out how to slow down…  Here’s how my day went:

4:30 AM: Gid-Man wanders into our room, hoists himself into the bed and settles down between the Hub and I. I am so tired that I made the mistake of not carrying him back to his room.

6:00 AM: Gid begins tossing and turning.

6:30 AM: Gid climbs onto my head.

At this point Gideon starts his adorable little boy whispers. “heyyyy mommy.” and at some unknown point sneaks out of our room, across the hall and peaks into sissy’s door.

6:34 AM: Gid is back in our bed, where I never remember him leaving.

6:35 AM: Ashe starts yelling. Not crying. But yelling. “Maaaaaaaaa! MaMaMaMa!”

6:35 1/2 AM: Gideon forgets his inside voice and yells, “Sissy waking mommy! I hungy, wanna watch Wood Wold (Word World) I lub you Mommy.” and leaps down off the bed and runs to the kitchen for breakfast.

From this point on I stumbled into the kitchen. Made delicious Orange Rolls (thanks Pillsbury!) Went to check on my parents pets. Came home.Got into some ridiculous argument with #1Hub because we were both overtired and have a shared character flaw of being STUBBORN to the point of handicapped. Then we talked it out, felt much better. Snuggled up on the couch. Watched the rest of The Knowing (WTF? BTW!) Did adult things. Showered. Cleaned the kitchen. Remembered that we were supposed to be bringing a pan of enchiladas to a family party.  Threw ingredients into a bag, drove to the party. We ate yummy food. Laughed. #1Hub ordered parts for his motorcycle (Honda CT70 he’s custom restoring…VERY fun! Don’t hate us cuz we ebay on the Sabbath.) Then we came home and worked out some kinks on our screenprinter. Then I messed around on twitter and tried to finish getting this ol’ blog up to par.

It’s now 10:17 PM and Ladies & Gents, I’m spent.

Much Love, Me

Testing 1, 2, 3.

You look so cute when you’re givin’ lip.