Thursday, October 28, 2010

The NUBY Super Spout Easy Gripper Sippy Cup

You would think that at about the age of 3 the sippy cup would become a thing of the past.

Not in my house! Now, don't think that I'm crazy...I just look at it this way:

The middle of the night is when I prefer to be asleep.
And I think that I have found the perfect solution to the nightly call for some water to drink. (which typically happens between 2-3AM)

My girls really don't use it during the day...unless I'm petrified that whatever it is that they are wanting to drink is going to destroy my beloved couch. So it's rare now...really it is.

BUT at night they know that Momma goes and fills the Nuby Super Spout Easy Gripper Sippy Cup to what I imagine is 1/3 of the sippy cup's capacity.


It then gets placed in the center of a kid's neck pillow...you know, the kind that us adults use on airplanes or on long car trips.

View complete posting: The NUBY Super Spout Easy Gripper Sippy Cup

Tuesday, October 26, 2010

Is the world barking mad? Or is it just my world?

There are some days when I just feel like the world is completely barking mad...and yes, I'm pulling on England for that description. At least I feel like my world is from time to time.

It tends to go a little something like this:
Grace Rose Me

"Mommy! MOMMY! Good morning Mommy. You're my favorite mother ever."
"I'm your only mother ever."
"But you're my favorite."
"Thank you baby."
"Good morning Momma. I love you."
"I love you too baby."
"Momma, it's time for breakfast. Can I have some cereal with no milk and some juice with water?"
"Yeah, cereal with no milk...alright. What about sissy?" Sissy has left to turn on the morning cartoons.
"I want a ham and cheese and balogna sandwich please...OH! And chocolate milk." What a lovely combination...it turns my stomach every morning.
"Okay." And the day begins...

Not too long afterwards there is the constant squeals from one kiddle torturing another. And it's usually something along the lines of what it was today...
"Mommy! Rose is teasing me...she said that I'm not beautiful because I have dragon breath."
"Rose, stop teasing Grace. You're still beautiful even with dragon breath...but it would probably be a good idea to go brush your teeth so they smell more like peppermint patties, right?"
"Okay...but tell Rose not to tease me anymore."
"Rose don't tease Sissy anymore...and go brush your dragon breath away too."
"Fine. Okay...I will brush away the dragon breath." *HHHHAAAAAAAAAHHHH* (that would be Rose breathing her dragon breath down the hall to the bathroom)

And I have to admit it...I laugh at this because it's just too funny. I laugh until I hear the water constantly going...the giggles and splashing occuring out of my sight...

Sunday, October 24, 2010

Cinema Sunday ~ Rebecca (1940) Review & Giveaway


This is one of my favorite Alfred Hitchcock movies. He takes you from feelings of pity to joy to sorrow to fear...he's just a master of pulling as much as he can out of a viewer. It's funny because there aren't too many movies where I feel like reaching through the screen and helping the lead actress from being just so darned pitiful. By the end of the movie she does happen to grow a backbone though...thank goodness for that!


This Gothic thriller is piled high with mystery...mostly the mystery of the former lady of the house named Rebecca. But first let me just tell you that this movie has one of the best opening narratives that just sucks you right in...

Last night, I dreamt I went to Manderley again. It seemed to me I stood by the iron gate leading to the drive, and for a while I could not enter for the way was barred to me. Then, like all dreamers, I was possessed of a sudden with supernatural powers and passed like a spirit through the barrier before me. The drive wound away in front of me, twisting and turning as it had always done. But as I advanced, I was aware that a change had come upon it. Nature had come into her own again, and little by little had encroached upon the drive with long tenacious fingers, on and on while the poor thread that had once been our drive. And finally, there was Manderley - Manderley - secretive and silent. Time could not mar the perfect symmetry of those walls. Moonlight can play odd tricks upon the fancy, and suddenly it seemed to me that light came from the windows. And then a cloud came upon the moon and hovered an instant like a dark hand before a face. The illusion went with it. I looked upon a desolate shell, with no whisper of the past about its staring walls. We can never go back to Manderley again. That much is certain. But sometimes, in my dreams, I do go back to the strange days of my life which began for me in the south of France...


Thursday, October 21, 2010

Celebrate Autumn's Treasure: The Pumpkin

It’s Fall…we need to celebrate the pumpkin. Disney does a pretty good job of it...and perhaps I think so because I'm a huge Disney fan to begin with. But I'm not talking about just carving it up and lighting a candle inside…NO! We need to be able to savour this Autumn treasure of the patch.

Here are some amazing recipes that I have found from other talented bloggers to celebrate the PUMPKIN!

View complete posting: Celebrate Autumn's Treasure: The Pumpkin

Wednesday, October 20, 2010

Wordless Wednesday ~ Portland Art




Confession: This photo was taken by my friend Nikki Shedd. I saw this and swiped it from her Facebook page...I love creativity! It was found in the bushes, in Portland, by a walking bridge.

View complete posting: Wordless Wednesday ~ Portland Art

Tuesday, October 19, 2010

Not Your Average Couple


Proverbs 17:27 (New American Standard Bible)
27 He who restrains his words has knowledge, and he who has a cool spirit is a man of understanding.

Every once in awhile it hits me that Charming and I are a little different from the average married couple out there. Last night was one of those nights. We signed up for a "Laugh Your Way Through Marriage" class at our church...and it's a great class. A lot of the things talked about are very similar to the Men Are From Mars, Women Are From Venus books that I read when we were dating. (I had wanted to understand the man that I loved so that I wouldn't be in complete confusion of how his brain works.) And quite frankly I think that in reading those books it gave me an edge to understanding Charming before we married and started a 24 hr. a day living relationship.

Back to our difference from other couples...and everyone always looks at us like we're A) lying, B) in denial or C) crazy. And we're probably able to claim C, but in fact we are very different (and I think blessed) because we have never had a fight. You know, one of those yelling, screaming, throwing inanimate objects, slamming doors, tear-filled kinda fights. Yeah, well, we've never had one...and don't plan to either.

Don't get me wrong, that doesn't mean that we don't disagree on things. We do. But we just don't yell at each other to get our points across. And we both love each other so much that we never want to hurt the other person. And words can hurt...and once they are out there, there's no taking them back. No matter what anyone says...those words stick with the injured party and will resurface.

So what's our secret you ask? Simple. When one (or both) of us is mad, we simply go silent. And we give eachother space to cool down. Then, once cooled down and done reflecting, we get together and talk calmly about whatever it is that's made us upset. And we choose our words CAREFULLY. That is key! The wrong words in the wrong tone could cut like a knife.

Another key is that we both make an effort to try to understand where each other is coming from...what was intended, what did we misunderstand, and what was really trying to be conveyed. The other couples in our group were surprised last night when we said that we had never had a fight...but they were even more surprised by how we both take the time to cool down and then come back together to discuss things calmly. But I think that's just called being respectful of each other and wanting a resolution, not a confrontation.

I hope that somehow this helps another couple...it's so nice to not live on edge for fear of the next blow-up.

Monday, October 18, 2010

MommyTopics' Adorable Pumpkin Cupcakes


I may be in the process of putting my little apartment together...which means that I am still sorting and sifting through boxes and containers...but that doesn't mean that I can't pass along a great little article for my readers to check out. It just wouldn't be fair to hold back because of moving issues, SO...

My sister-in-law Rachael, MommyTopics.com, is one very creative cupcake baking momma...and she's got some of the most adorable little pumpkin cupcakes for Fall. Not to mention that they make a great centerpeice for a gathering of friends/family for the night.


How could I not share this with everyone?! I mean, just look at them! Everything in me says, "Get out the apron and start bakin'!" And I want to...and I'm going to...just not right now.


View complete posting: Mommy Topics' Adorable Pumpkin Cupcakes

Friday, October 15, 2010

Moving = Beyond Complete Exhaustion



When we started our move I had absolutely no idea that it would become such a monumental undertaking. Now 4 weeks into it and I am still going through storage containers and sifting out what stays and what gets donated. Just for clarification's sake let me explain why it has been such an undertaking...

Now, our background? As mentioned in previous posts, my little family of 4 has been living with in-laws on either side for, well, our entire existence of being a family. So that's 6 years people! Can you imagine?!

In those 6 years we have been storing things in the local storage centers...the last was a 10x30 unit to be exact. Filled to the brim. And we're now living in an 1095 sq.ft. apartment....with a little ant's trail to make our way around. I have to laugh...if I don't laugh then the storage containers and boxes just might make me cry. My line of vision is filled with them...


View complete posting: Moving = Beyond Complete Exhaustion

Wednesday, October 13, 2010

Wordless Wednesday ~ Hiring Post For Fall



Confession: I saw this and swiped it from my friend's Facebook page...It was just too good not to share.

View complete posting: Wordless Wednesday ~ Hiring Post For Fall