Everyday is Blog-Worthy

And today was no exception. It was quite an adventure. Sit back, grab a cup of coffee and relax... this is going to take a while.

This morning we all got off to a late start. Today was pumpkin patch field trip day at school, so the first challenge was agreeing on something for e to wear. See, those of you familiar with my picky, picky girl, know that the ONLY thing that she will wear is dresses. And not just any dresses, they must be short sleeve dresses, and not just short sleeve dresses, but sundress dresses. And certainly not short sundresses... they must be long. God forbid that there is ever a mention of a shirt underneath a dress for added warmth. So, needless to say, it is quite a difficult task to outfit her in jeans and a t-shirt. Once we conquered that feat, we headed downstairs for the breakfast battle.

After deciding what she wanted to eat, she took the whole breakfast time to eat a whole two bites. Oh well. I had also forgotten to pack her lunch last night, so that added a couple extra minutes to our lateness.

KK has been feeling sick the past couple of days so I let her sleep as late as she could until I couldn't wait any longer. I finally got her up and dressed and downstairs. She whined and cried and had a fit when e was looking at her. Two off on the wrong foot. Super. I got her breakfast ready and some orange juice, which she downed like she had just walked through the desert. At this point, E came down to tell me to get my butt moving. KK cuddled up with him and her bagel, and then expelled it all over him. Ahhah! That's why she was so grumpy.

I grabbed everything that needed to go to school with us and ran out the door. Got e to school just in time and then ran back to drop Big E at school. You see, Tuesdays is uniform day and it's not too fun to ride your bike in your military uniform. I also happened to volunteer for e's field trip, so I needed to be back to school by 9. But I had one more small errand to run.

OK, so nothing is quite ever good enough. I love my new car, but decided that it needed leather and was able to get a good deal on a leather install. So, I headed back to the dealership that I have been at almost every day since I bought the car (too long of a story for this already long story). I was to drop off my new car and pick up my old car to drive for the three days that it takes to install the leather. Sounds easy enough, right? Wrong.

Of course, my old car was unavailable since it was given to someone else to drive. Something that i had to let slide off my back since that car is still not paid off... another story for another day, and I was in a hurry to get to the school. They told me that Enterprise would be there to pick me up in 10 minutes, and just like the commercial, they did. They brought KK and I (car seats, stroller, bags, etc.) to one location where we unloaded, went in and got the paperwork ready. Then we waited for another driver to pick us up and bring us to a different location to get the actual vehicle. Once there, I signed the paper and we were off to the pumpkin patch.

Not two minutes into the drive, the 'low gas' light dinged. Naturally, I was on a road void of gas stations. Thankfully, the fumes carried me to the patch within seconds of the buses pulling up.

But I have saved the best for the last. What did they put me in you ask? My absolute most hated car of all time...


The PT Cruiser.


Complete with nasty stains and that smell... uggh, that smell.

Needless to say, I do have yet another call into the dealership for them to get me out of this thing.

The Hummingbird, Jagman and Robb

Our life is crazy. Since we move every three years or so, it's hard to make good friends and more importantly, lasting friendships. So, when you find someone that is even remotely like you or your good friends, you dive right in and spend ridiculous amounts of time with them. Time is short, so you make the best of every minute that you have. And, you're lonely so every minute that you are able to talk to some one is oh so nice. I have been fortunate enough to meet some great people throughout E's career, but few of those friendships last. That's where my friend The Hummingbird (HB) is different.

A little background for you. Her name is actually Jenn. E gave her the nickname, 'The Hummingbird' (for those of you that know him, that is no surprise to you). See, the first time that E experienced Jenn in all her glory, I was gone. She rang the doorbell and before he even got the door all the way open, she was in our kitchen. She's that fast and as frightening as a small bird is, as E would describe it. I still remember the phone call from him. 'Dude, what's wrong with your friend? I didn't even see her move. She scares me. Tell her never to come to our house again. I don't want to be alone with her... EVER!'

That's exactly what I love about her. She's fast and efficient and organized. I couldn't have found a more perfect friend.

She's also the best gosh darn hairdresser that I've ever had. She had a salon in her house, two doors down from us. I could call on a weekend and walk over a couple minutes later. She cut both of our kids' hair and gave kk her first haircut. When will I ever find that again?

Then there's Jagman, her son. e and Jagman became fast friends too. They both were off of school on the same days so they would run back and forth between our two houses and we took turns watching the kids. I had Tuesdays, and she had Thursdays and then lots of other days back and forth. The two of them were inseparable. Neither of them could function without the other... 'I'm bored, when's he going to be home?'.

And then there's Robb. Just about one of the nicest guys that I have met. He is fabulous with kids and was so good to ours. He's in the Airforce, so the likelihood that we will all be stationed together again is fairly slim.

They moved at the end of August and things just haven't quite been the same. e has made another really good friend at school, but they don't live nearly as close. My hair couldn't be in worse condition and now I have to wait until December for our drive across country... we are stopping in NE for a family hair cutting session. Strange, I know. But it's hard to trust just anyone with your hair. Ladies, I know you know.

Anyway, we miss them and wish them all the best in their new adventure

Obession Can Be Dangerous and Oh So Rewarding

I got a brand new car in 2006. I bought it when we were in Guam. I did the Military Overseas Car thing, which is supposed to get you a better deal... you don't pay for tax, you don't negotiate on the price, and they give you a 100% price satisfaction guarantee. What could be better? Except for if you don't like what you purchased. From the moment we picked up our new car in San Jose, I wasn't happy. One could blame it on the 24 hours of travel with two kids. I am going to go with poor research and a very week V6 engine. Try traveling through the mountains with that crappy of an engine.

When we went to AZ to visit my inlaws, they had bought a new car... a 2006 Nissan Armada. From the minute that I saw it, I absolutely fell in love with it. I loved that there was so much room in it. After seeing their new car, I thought I would look into trading my way too small vehicle in. I'm sure all of you know, that doesn't make any sense to do that. I quickly figured that out. It was not to be.

Then, my newest friend, S, recently purchased an Armada which got my obsessive juices flowing. She got a great deal, which made me think that I could do the same. So, I decided to go have fun and deal. Usually, not a fun proccess, but when you aren't really in the market for a new car, it ends up being fun. I didn't need a new car... I wanted a new car. I was able to make it so that they made me need a new car. I love feeling like I had an advantage. My years in retail helped me out a lot when they neglected to list the headrest DVD system on the invoice. Oops. $3K advantage K.

Alright, enough about that. I got a new car, I love it and I think I got a great deal on it. Here is my monstrosity.


And before all the smart ass comments come, refer to the post below.

Poka-Yoke and How I Proved It Wrong

For those of you not familiar with Poka-Yoke, take a gander at this this explanation. Or, if you don't want to click away from this wonderful blog, I shall explain: "A poka-yoke device is any mechanism that either prevents a mistake from being made or makes the mistake obvious at a glance." Not to be cited for plagiarism, I should properly state that the aforementioned quote was taken from this website . There are many examples of this found in everyday life; the 'you must be this tall' sign at the amusement park, most gas caps are connected so that they aren't left behind, and the best example is... wait, I need to give you background first.

Alright, it was 2006... the year that we returned back to civilization from Guam. OK, that's not fair to Guam, but we were really excited to be back stateside. I was really excited to be back stateside, which meant that I was able to head to MN in July. If you've never been to MN in the summer, you definitely need to go. I am getting off track...

So, I hopped on a plane with the girls (E couldn't come since he was just starting his course load at NPS) and landed in good ol' MSP. My sister was there to pick us up and the next day, we all headed up north to E's parents' lake home. The girls and I were going to spend some time with the Grandparents enjoying Northern MN lake country. Another side note, I have the best inlaws ever... I can spend numerous days with them and feel so completely at home.

I was staying in MN for a couple of weeks, so I had made plans to head back down to the Twin Cities to visit with my friends. When you only get back once per year, you have to pack in as much as you can. E's Aunt was kind enough to loan me her Jeep for the voyage. This is where everything went awry. My wonderful Mother-in-Law starting thinking that an older Jeep wasn't the best thing to send her precious grandchildren on a road trip in. (And by no means am I implying that she was at fault for what was about to happen). She worked her magic on LB (Grandpa) and he agreed that it would be best that I take the brand new Armada down to the Cities. So, AAA number in hand, I was off.

After spending the night at my sister's, I headed over to visit with one of my great girlfriends, 'The Dancer' (a story for another day) and her little boy. On my way back to my sister's house, the 'bitch' (navigation system) got me lost. I was on the phone with my brother-in-law when I got rear-ended by someone. What's worse than getting rear ended in not your own car? Oh believe me... lots... we'll get there. Thankfully, the car that rear-ended me was no match for the Armada. All that was damaged was part of the trailer hitch. I went to Nissan the next day and got an estimate and contacted the lady who was supposed to send my inlaws a check. I wanted to make sure my bases were covered, because man, that sucked. I had to call them and let them know that I was in an accident but everything and everyone was OK.

The next day, I had plans to have dinner with another of my girlfriends. This was a flawlessly laid out plan. We ate dinner and had a great time. After dinner, I bathed the girls and put them into their pajamas and we were off to head back up North. e had a movie to watch and k would surely fall asleep. About an hour into the 3 hour drive, I decided to stop for gas. I pulled into a BP gas station (for those of you that aren't familiar, the BP color is green). e was still awake and KK was asleep, so I figured I should hurry so I wouldn't wake her up. I grabbed the farthest pump handle on the left, which was also the cheapest gas price per gallon. Most of us do the same thing, correct?? Anyway, it didn't fit. I thought that it was weird, so I looked at the gas tank and noticed that there were lots of scrapes around the tank and figured, 'it's a new car, maybe there is something weird with it'. So I proceeded to fill up the tank, while holding the nozzle the entire time. 17 gallons later, we were off.

About 5 miles down the road, when I was ready to turn the cruise on, the car started acting funny. It felt like I was putting the brake on when I was trying to accelerate. What the heck was going on? I pulled over and decided to call my inlaws. I used my best 'nothing's wrong' voice to say, "Everything is OK, I wasn't in an accident, but I just stopped for gas and the car is acting funny". I explain to my father-in-law what was happening and he immediately says, "You didn't put diesel in it did you?" I say, "I don't know, how would I know?"

I pulled out my receipt, and sure enough it said DSL on the receipt... which I proceed to tell him. And then I hear him say, 'She put f*%$ing diesel in it' to my mother-in-law. A proud moment in my life. Worse than messing up for your own parents, is messing up for your inlaws. I thought the world would end. I now knew how E felt everytime that he dissapointed his parents. It was awful.

So, I am stopped on the side of the road, 2 miles away from MN state prison on the phone with AAA and LB trying to figure out how to get me out of this situation. They decided to send a tow truck and the inlaws got out of bed and headed down south to pick us up. Thankfully, the tow truck that came was equipped with 2 young boys that were great entertainement for e while the grandparents were on their long journey.

L&L finally arrived a little after 1 AM and e pushed me towards my father-in-law and said, 'say you're sorry mommy'. Which I did and I don't think I will EVER live this down in my lifetime.

So, the most obvious Poka-Yoke control is that gas nozzles are made so that they do not fit in the wrong tank, but, when you have the right tank, you can put any gas grade into it. Idiot-proof... my a@#!!

The Dryer Ate My Sock

Don't you hate that when that happens? It's inevitable... the dryer will always get a sock. You never know when it's going to happen, it just will.

Even more hateful, is when your house develops a black hole. Things go missing with no trace. To date, we are missing a shoe, an entire box of markers and a cordless telephone. Yep, that's right... an entire hand set is missing. How the heck does that happen? And where could it possibly be? I do have an idea of who might be responsible though.

Saving the World, One Plastic Bag at a Time

OK, so they got me at the grocery store. Who can guess why? Yep, it was the 'organize up to 60 bags!'. I love to organize. This was one of those random in the middle of the aisle hanging things. Those things that you never need, but somehow find a way to justify.

Here is a look at all of my plasic bags that I have. Why I have that many... I cannot know. That's way too many for poop scooping. Maybe I'll use them when we have a garage sale.


Then I downsized so that I didn't have to have so many bags, but it just wasn't working. Way too messy.


Here are the bags now. Very nice.


And now, Buddy's food no longer has to share it's shelf. Everything is right in the world.


Yes, I am well aware that I do have several issues. Life just wouldn't be as fun if I didn't.

#2s Really ARE Trouble!

When I was a kid, my Mom changed my middle name to 'T' for trouble. And I don't blame her. I was always doing something I wasn't supposed to be doing. But that's the nature of #2's. It has all become apparent to me now. Funny how things work out. Lord help us when the girls become teenagers, because I have some serious payback coming my way! I love you Mom! Thanks for sticking with me.


Don't let the sweet picture fool you... take a look at the shirt. She is 'T2'.

Red Beans and Rice

I promised you all a new recipe, so here you go. I got this recipe from someone that I met when we lived in Guam. She was originally from New Orleans where they make this type of meal. I am originally from Minnesota, land of the hotdish and bland, bland food. So to say that this is a bit of a departure from what I was used to is a bit of an understatement. I love this meal!

Ingredients

Dry Red Beans
Turkey Sausage, sliced into fun moon shapes (see picture)
1/2 red onion, chopped
1/2 white onion, chopped
1/3 - 1/2 bag of baby carrots, chopped
2 stalks of celery, chopped
Lawry's Season Salt
Dried Oregano
Dried Parsley
Rice
Crock pot

Soak the beans overnight in water with a tablespoon of baking powder, or is it baking soda? Does it matter? I'm not sure. I have soaked without either. In the morning, rinse and pick out the bad beans... those are the floaters. Place in crock pot. Cover the beans with water to about 1 inch above the beans. Add onions, carrots, and celery. Here's where it gets technical, so pay attention. Sprinkle the Lawry's over the water so that it is covered with a layer and you can't see what's in the water. Then shake the oregano and parsley a whole bunch of times so it looks like you have enough (probably about a couple of teaspoons of each). Turn crockpot on low and cook for 6-8 hours. When you have about 2 hours left, start mashing the mixture against the crock pot. This helps to thicken it up. Do this every 15 minutes or so or until it looks good. Brown the sausage and add to the beans. Serve with rice. It makes a bunch, so have friends over or plan on eating leftovers for a couple of days.

Enjoy!

What's More Annoying Than Spilled Milk?

OK, let's be honest... spilled milk IS annoying. We do our best to teach our kids that there is really 'no use crying over spilled milk,' because for them, really there is no use. The person who should be crying is the one that has to clean it up. You have to drop whatever you are doing and make a mad dash to get something to stop the milkfall which will inevitably land in every unreachable nook. And God forbid you don't find it all and it starts to smell up your whole house. So really, spilled milk is annoying.

But what's more annoying? When you spill it. And not just a glass... a whole entire gallon... which you spilled because you were trying to carry too many things into the house so that you could get the kids fed and the little one put down for a nap at a decent hour. Even more annoying, you spilled one of the two gallons that you bought on the way home, because if you had bought just one, it would have cost you $4.56, but now the one you are left with was $6.30 (darn club cards). And worse yet, while you are trying to clean up the disaster you call home, your 4 year old reminds you that the gallon of milk that you spilled outside and forgot about is now dry. So you have to roll up your pants and try to pressure wash it off the cement with the freezing cold water from the hose that sprays all over your pants anyway.

I'm sure there are more annoying things than spilled milk, but for me, right now, there really isn't anything more annoying than spilled milk.

Beauty Can Be Found Everywhere

Since I had a request to post since good ol' Mark was getting to one of my friends, I decided to post some of my favortie pictures. I'm taking the easy way out since I don't have a ton of time today, but hopefully you'll enjoy anyway.


Amazing Fall sunset in Minnesota.


One of many scenic spots on Guam.


Sunsets in Minnesota are really beautiful, especially when you capture a couple of loons with it.


Waves crashing along the coast in California.

Stay tuned, a new recipe coming soon. I know you all are starving for my fabulous cuisine. It's been a while.

Have a great day!

Friends, Romans, Countrymen, Lend Me Your Comments! (and a Blog tour)

I love them, I want them... I NEED them. Pathetic, I know, but that's me. That's my personality type. I thrive on feedback, the atta boys and way to goes. I want to know that you are reading and hopefully enjoying, but if you're not, I want to know that too... I can handle it. And let me know what you want to hear more of... places we have been, what to and not to do when there, the kids, mine and E's childhoods, more of my craziness... anything goes.

To place a comment, look at the bottom of each individual post. There is a place titled 'comments'. :) Click on that and it will bring you to a new window, where you can type your comment. You can post anonymously, use your gmail or blogger ID, or type in whatever crazy name you would like to use. You can also click on that link to read the comments that others have written.

Now, let's take a look around...

On the right hand side of my blog you will find our profile... I haven't really done much with that. Below, you will find the 'Blog Archive'. This is where you will find all of my previous posts, in order by month. I didn't do this myself, blogger helped, but I love the organization. Can you say 'Freaky Weirdo?'.

Below that is a link to my super secret email address. Click on that and your email program will magically open a new mail message to send to me. I love technology!

And then, there are the labels. I try to place a label on each individual post I write... children, life, photography, you get the idea. So, say you are short on time and just want to know what's going on with Buddy the cat, click on 'Buddy' and that will bring you to all the posts about him. Fabulous, I know.

Last, but not least, there is a list of the blogs I cannot start my day without reading. Click on any one of those and it will bring you directly to their blogs.

And before I forget, anytime you see this (word written in blue ink), you are able to click on it and will be magically whisked away to a new window about any number of various topics, websites, etc. You just never know what you'll get. Just don't forget to come back and finish reading.

One more thing... if you scroll all the way down to the bottom of the screen, you will find a map with dots on it. Supposedly, this map lets me (and you) know who is reading and from where. I don't always believe it, but it's fun to look at the dots and see when someone from India looks at my blog.

A test to see if you are still with me...

Who is the man pictured above, who is also coincidentally qouted? And no fair googling... we are going on pure high school knowledge retention. The first person who gets it right will forever be know as the first person to get it right. The pure satisfaction that comes with that should be enough. Something to strive for.

Happy Saturday!

Seriously?? Is This Really Necessary??

As a military family, you become used to moving often and know what you can and can't take with you. So, when you move, you always pack up that random box that you can't bear to throw away and bring it to your friends or neighbors... lightbulbs, frozen sausage, a package of batteries, candles and cleaning supplies. Surely someone will be able to use them.

By now, you all know that I am all about organization and efficiency and finding an easier way to do things. But this? Come on. I recently acquired the 'Power Sprayer' when a good friend moved... it shoots a continuous spray of liquid so that you don't have to incesantly pull the trigger that comes with a bottle of cleaner.


That must have been one seriously tired cleaning person to come up with this invention.

Happy 2nd Birthday Bean!!

As most of you know, k turned 2 this past Sunday and she enjoyed every last minute of her 'happy, happy birthday'. We started out the day with presents from mom, dad, and e. She almost fell over when she saw her own doll furniture set with her very own baby stroller. She absolutely LOVES babies.


Then she found her car. Actually, we had to pull her away from the stroller to point out the car to her. She has been coveting every neighborhood childs car for the past year so we figured it was time for her own.


We moved on to a healthy breakfast of frosting... Dad's great idea. The girls thought so too.


We threw her a luau party later in the afternoon and celebrated with our friends. The look on her face when everybody sang happy birthday to her was priceless. She came a long way from not wanting to have anybody at her house for her birthday.

She received a lot of babies... I believe 5 total, and she screamed and jumped for joy as we opened each one. Her boyfriend from next door gave her a matching vacuum so they will able to keep a clean home together... always important. e's boyfriend and little brother brought her a backpack which she is able to store all of her baby accessories in. Our new KY friends brought wonderful bathtub paint for my tub to forever be a canvas... thank you! The Grandmas did a great job of picking out clothes for her. I apologize for the list, but this is serving double duty for me... my memory just isn't what it used to be and neither of the girls have any sort of scrapbook or baby book so I need to write it somewhere. :)

I cannot believe that this tiny, sleeping, innocent baby has turned into our crazy super k, kk, bean.


We love you!!!