Wednesday, January 26, 2011

Just a little som'n som'n....

Li is quite the show off.  She likes to sing, dance, dress up & strut her stuff.

The other day she was just goofin around with her "mat" (read: baby quilt) on the floor and gettin her groove on.  She's been doing a lot of retro break dance moves.  She has been seeing a lot of kids shows on TV that have dancing & singing, and trying to mimic them.

I was sitting in the living room with her, watching her (she makes you, you know) & laughing & clapping. Then I got into a book & kinda tuned her out.  Then she started doin a little beat box, cause that's how she rolls.....fashizzle!

Here's a short clip....enjoy it, I may never get another video of her doing these kind of things!




She's quite the entertainer...I'm thinking in a few short years she'll be up for one of those great reality shows....like they'll still be around!?!?!

Do you have any cute/funny/embarrassing pic or vids of your cutie patooties?  Would you post them on the internet?


Author's Note:  Forgive the pile of crap in the background....I'm sorry to say that from the moment Li wakes up to the moment mommy goes postal & demands a cleanup....our living room looks like a tornado swept through it.  If you get a clue from the vid, Li is the "tornado"!

Tuesday, January 25, 2011

The thrill of the Thrift....

If you've never thrifted you won't have a clue what I'm talking about. The thrill you get when you find something useful, unique, or beautiful!

Breeana over @ A Brilliant Melody is giving away some great thrifted vintage items! She's done the thrifting for you, all you have to do is stop be her blog & leave her some comment love, post about her giveaway & link it up with her so others can find the giveaway & your blog! Kind of a "you rub my back, I'll rub yours". It's good for all!

http://www.abrilliantmelody.com/2011/01/giveaway.html

Wednesday, January 19, 2011

Dog Days of Thrifting....



I went out with the hubby the other day, we both happened to have a Friday off together.  He needed something warm to wear for a winter youth retreat he was going to be playing drums for.  So of course we hit the thrift stores to see what they had on hand.  He found a great long sleeved thermal for 3.00 and a nice thick pair of sweats for sleeping in, 3.29.

Enough about him, I found a few things for my etsy shop.  They were @ a local thrift store run by the Mel Trotter Mission in downtown Grand Rapids, MI.  The shop isn't too far from us, it is clean, it is fun & the prices are so right!

I did notice something while I was there though....it was really one of those things that just stood out to me as odd.  Of course there are many odd things in thrift stores, but to see so many pictures of one subject is really quite an anomaly!

So for your viewing pleasure.....The Dog Days of Thrifting!


a nice fuzzy 3-D effect!  if you like it that way


pip pip cheerio!  a hunting we will go!


a little wood laminate on wood laminate!

i almost bought this one but the frame was  pretty crappy!  cute tho'

this one just makes me sad, who would want to look @ these all day!

possibly a high schooler's art project?  hmmmm
this too makes me sad..."why must you be so sad little boy?"



Ah, it's all about what you will find when you are out thrift shopping huh?!  One never knows what they will come across in the thrill of the hunt!

Like these:



my mom had these in the 70's.  I remember it was really hard to see how full the glass was because of the black lining!  lots of spills!  she said she either got them with green stamps @ a gas station or a grocery store!




of course for .49 who could pass up getting their own little bluebird of happiness!!  homemade ceramic/painted bluebird.  it now hangs on my bedroom wall with many other vintage prints & pretties!


Thanks for stopping by today!  Leave me a link to your favorite/unusual/fun/off the wall finds!!  I'd love to see them!

I need a sexy wig....

cause I'm about to pull my hair out!

There are quite a few things that I can tolerate, quite a few people I can put up with & quite a few situations that don't get under my skin.

BUT!  There is one thing that drives me absolutely, unequivocally bonkers!  NEGATIVITY!

Sure, I know I can be sarcastic & a little grouchy about how things are going in my life or household.  For the most part I am pretty up & positive.  I just feel sarcastic & let it out on my blog!  hah

The problem is I have a 7 year old who acts like she's going through a HORRIBLE bout of PMS every freakin' day!!  There is no getting her over it either!

No joking, no talking about fun things, no nothing!!
She was so determined that they weren't going to have school again today because there was still a lot of snow on the ground that when she got up she asked Greg if there was no school.  When he told her there was school she screamed "NO!!!".  Did I say SCREAMED.....or you could say the demon inside her came out, spun her head around 5 times, made her eyes flash red and fire spit out of her nose as she screamed NO!!  Whatever you want to say....it was NOT a pretty sight or sound!

That starts our day....& she doesn't get out of the bad mood, disappointment, anger that surrounds her at having to go to school!

So, my question is.....Is there any hope that this is a phase & that life will be like cotton candy clouds & sugar drop rain all through the real PMS!?
Have any of you moms out there reading this dealt with a strong-willed, obstinate child?  What were some of the methods you may have used that helped them pull themselves out of the anger/disappointment/hateeverythingthatisintheirpathevenkittens&puppies stage?

 PLEASE, let me know my scalp thanks you!!

Thursday, January 13, 2011

You know it's because.....

I'm lazy.  I've already told you I'm pretty much a lazy mommy.  You shouldn't be surprised by now!

C'mon, I like to take as many shortcuts as I can when it comes to daily chores!  Somethings just beg to be done in 30 minutes or less!  Take meal prep for one thing...nah take it for three things!  3 meals a day!

Okay, I'll admit, I only "prepare" one meal a day....dinner meal.  Supper.  The last meal of the day.  The other meals are: Breakfast: grab what u want or wait for the weekend when momma has time to "prepare" something worthwhile.  Lunch: slap it on some bread & call it good or wait for Sunday dinner/lunch when momma pulls out the crock pot & has time to "prepare" a healthy spread!

Don't get me wrong.  I LOVE TO COOK!!  I just have 3 out of 5 very, VERY picky eaters.  They don't like anything "healfy" as they say (on a daily, 3x's daily basis).

I like to make things that are easy and some what healthy & tasty.  If they don't eat it, well they know how to spread p.butter on some w.w. bread & call it done!

It's so bad with the oldest girly that this year I told her if she would sit down at the dinner table, not say anything negative about the food in front of her, not whine or complain & would try new things....brace yourself mommas.....I would pay her a quarter for each new food!  A quarter!!

Do you know how much money she could make in one day!!  ONE DAY...seeing as most foods that I make she has never tried or tasted!! (I kid you not).

There is one catch to this tho'.  You know the above mentioned p.butter & bread.  Well, more often than not if the girly makes toast or sandwich for her dinner she leaves the mess all over the counter!  So, I told her that if she tried new foods= .25  If I had to clean up her messes= .25!!!  Ha!  Momma can get the new ZhuZhu pet she wants too!

Tally today......girly Lauryn = .25  mommy's total = .25  Even stevens!

Here's some pics that I took @ lunch the other day when I fixed soup & sandwiches for GP & myself.  Food for thought, easy & delicious.  My kind of meal!

Browned the onion in olive oil, poured in the boxed soup & canned tomatoes.  Seasoned w/ pepper & garlic salt.  Forgot the Italian seasoning, which is really yummy in this soup!


Finished lunch!!  Sandwich is rotisserie chicken w/ Miracle Whip, garlic lovers Hummus, mustard, provolone & fresh spinach.  Delish!!

Prep time for this meal 15 minutes!


What are some quick, easy & somewhat healthy meals that you fix for your family, when you are going crazy with busyness & don't want to set the house on fire forgetting what you had on the stove?

Wednesday, January 12, 2011

I just know....


that all you other mom's out there with daughters don't go through the fights every morning like I do!  The "go brush your hair, don't go out of the house looking like that, please, brush your hair, your hair looks like a rat's nest".....yea, that one!!

Well, I DO go through that every morning....w/ the oldest girly.  Are you surprised?  Didn't think so.

Liyah, well she is the princess and she could comb/brush her hair for hours.  All the thin, fine, 10" of it!!  She loves getting out the detangling spray, a brush & standing in front of the mirror, spraying---combing---spraying---brushing!!  Oh, yeah, it's gonna be hard getting her out the door when she gets older, cause her hair won't be perfect!

Lauryn on the other hand....could care less.  No, let me say, "she could care less than less"!  UUUGH!

The girly has got the MOST gorgeous thick, curly, blonde head of hair....and she doesn't give a rip!
Some mornings she leaves for school without it being brushed, and yes it does look like some mice snuggled in for the long haul.  I'm just too tired to fight, again.  Yep, I'm lazy like that!

So, I pull the old mother thing...if you aren't going to take care of it then we'll just cut it off!  Yep, I said it, I did (just like I say many other Mommy-phrases, I'm a little into the whole recycling craze).  Well, bless my big bottom, but the other night after her shower I was going to just trim up the bangs (want the kid to see @ school now don't we) & the little goober lovely says, "I want you to cut it short"

Huh?  How short?  Are you sure?  Yes, I've been telling her I was going to cut it short....but it's so pretty I'm not sure I really wanted to.  She assured me that she wanted it short, & being the mommy who cuts her own hair knowing it will grow back....said, "ok"

Here's how it went down....pulled it into a pony & chopped the pony off.  Then I just trimmed it up and made sure there weren't any weird strays.  6 minutes later & voila!  She was giggling in the mirror saying it was, "beautiful", it was "so cool" & the dreaded, "it looks like a teenagers hair".  The 7 yr. old is jonesing to be a teenager sooo bad it scares me!

her "model" pose!

the cute curls & waves!  *giggle*




This is the majority of what we cut off.  She named it "Mr. Chunky" & has it tucked into the drawer of her jewelry box!!  Crazy Kiddo...but I love her!


There's a new addition....

to the Frumpy House!  The Love/Hate post of this new year introduced you to a family icon.  Something that had been with the hubs & I for quite sometime.  It was our couch.

I bought the couch, matching loveseat, 2 end tables & coffee table with my "single" money....you know the money you have to spend before you get married & have kids.  The money that goes to diapers, shoes & food after you have kids!

Well, as I stated the couch has been a close friend of mine for quite sometime.  It has held me through 2 pregnancies.  It was there to cradle the big belly & support the aching back, something my bed just couldn't do.

I was very sad when the hubs took a plunge on it one night, gettin ready to watch him some football.  It creaked & snapped & has never been the same since......


this is the sad condition it has become!  the whole frame in the back was broken!



So I have been on the hunt for a new couch.  But, not just any couch!  No, not moi!!  I like to make things difficult, up the ante, you know make it into a sport (HUNTING).  So I was on the hunt for the perfect era, the perfect shape, the perfect color....you know!  PERFECT!

I must say, the one I should have gotten got away.  I let it slip through my fingers.  It was at a Habitat for Humanity ReStore in our local area.  It was a 60's floral print, orange and blue and greens!  PERFECT (did I say that already)!!  But, I wanted to get the hubs opinion & I walked away.  When we got there the next week, there it sat, with a "sold" sign on it!!  Someone else had gotten the 7' sofa/bed for $75 dollars!  Heartbreak....but I had to move on!

So, my cuz (Hi Lyd) & I were out trolling the thrift stores one day before she headed back to college & my MIL came back from Ohio.  We were driving and saw a "Thrift" store sign.  I had never seen this store before, so I slammed on the breaks took the corner on 2 wheels (I drive like that for thrifty goodness you know).  We walked in  & the first thing I saw was this lovely green & brown tweed couch.  Perfect color, perfect size, perfect shape....sat down on it, perfect squishyness!  It had a little musty "basement" smell but I wasn't too worried I'd steam cleaned a chair that was worse & it was fine.  No rips or tears, no stains!  PERFECT!!

So since I don't learn lessons quickly I walked away....yep, I said that!  I walked away!  I went home & told the hubs about the couch, and told him that I really, really wanted it!l  It was $60 & I was sure if he went the next day while I was @ work that it would still be there!

Long story short (cause I'm sure you get tired of my rambling on & on) he went back the next day with my lovely pops & pop's truck & picked up the couch for me!

Here she is in all her pre-cleaned glory!


perfect size, color & shape....plus she's sporting a free granny afghan, from the thrift store, that the lady threw on for free!


plus she's got sexy gold casters!


I'm loving not having to sit on the springs & practically being on the floor with our old couch (may she RIP).  I'm glad that she looks so well with my 60's chair & ottoman!

Welcome to the family........may you last many more years!!  (note to hubby & girlies: there will be NO flopping, jumping or rough housing on this couch!  Or you will be banished to sitting on the floor!  Thank you, Momma)

Wednesday, January 5, 2011

It's crazy @ my house....

AGAIN!!

Well, when things start slowing down after the holidays the true self comes out again!  The kiddles didn't know what to do with themselves the 2nd week of vacay.  They were pretty much grouchy, grumpy and greedy.  The dreadful 3-G's!

Lauryn wanted friends over EVERY day!  Liyah wanted to do messy crafts or baking EVERY day!  Momma had to do the daily chores, run errands & kid-sit all day long!  So we did some playdates for Lauryn, some crafting & cooking/baking for the Li-ster & momma did her best to keep up with all the other things that needed to be done.

The girlies did get some great lessons in laundry sorting, washing, drying and putting away.  They also both worked the Swiffer and Oreck quite well!!

We had time for lots of drawing, painting, glueing, cutting & "Origami"!!  We did some baking, cooking & they even did the dishes one morning while I went to get a shower (minimal water damage was done!).

All-in-all we stayed busy and tried to make the busyness fun!

The downside to all the busyness and crazy holiday hours.....CRABBY KIDS!!

I have never had Li Li sass, yell, cry & in general just ignore me so much as over the holiday break!  Whew, glad that's over & she seems to be liking the schedule of school & bedtimes again!

Lauryn, well she on most days is a whiner & complainer (don't get them confused with movers & shakers) HA HA HAR!!  I only had to deal with it for more hours of the day than usual....wears me out!

Lauryn is basically complaining about school everyday.  She has already brought home homework & refused to finish it!  On a brighter note tho' she didn't have any the 2nd day back because according to her, "I worked hard and got it done!"  HIGH FIVE for that!!!

Liyah is very excited to get back to school & see her teacher's & friends!!  She was all smiles and giggles on her first day back!  Her little friend Hannah has this deep gravely voice.  When we were walking down the hall to the classroom, Hannah's little face is beaming and she says, "WHAT'UP LIYAH!"  Oh, that cracked us up!!

We have had a break from Grandma Patty's care since the week before Christmas!  She's gotten to spend time in Ohio with family & friends.  Yea!

It's been a great break for me as I have been recovering from the pneumonia I got before Thanksgiving!  We are taking the girlies down there this weekend.  That should be something to blog about!

Plus, I'm hoping to find some thrift stores to rummage through while we are there!  Fingers crossed!

a little crafty with the cousins!  pretty snowflakes!


of course Li had to do her own thing...she made a butterfly!



the girls and cousin Annie got all the dolls & stuffies together


it was Barbie's wedding day!  Li couture made from notebook paper & toilet paper veil!


this is what momma enjoyed doing when she had time...funniest book i've read in a long time!


Did you survive holiday school break as well as the festivities?  How did you spend time with your kids?  Anything special?

May all my readers, and even those who don't read this awesome blog, have a wonderful year!  May 2011 find all us momma's, pappa's, kiddoes & our family & friends healthier, wealthier & wiser (no Lauryn, not a wise-a**, wiser!).  And further from the brink of insanity than in 2010!!