Morning personalities

On Mon thru Fri this is what happens pretty much every. single. morning. at our house when we wake up and begin our day...

My alarm goes off at the same time as Kendall and Cooper's (they get up and going on their own) but if I don't have somewhere to be that morning I turn it off and cover my head and pretend I don't have children running around my house. I'm usually dragged out of bed against my will 20 minutes later by Blake, who wants a "dwink". As soon as I'm up I'm awake and chirpy, it's just the getting up that's the hard part.

Kendall rushes through her morning chores and then asks to play her Nintendo DS. I say no, she can practice her piano, or sometimes I throw an "unload the dishwasher" or "fold these towels for me" in there. She's in the 4th grade and still hasn't caught on that if she took longer finishing her chores she wouldn't actually have to do extra ones for me. I love her for this and intend to milk it for as long as I can.

Cooper asks if he can have pop tarts for breakfast. Without fail. I say no. Without fail. He then drags his tail through his morning chores and usually is not done by the time we have to leave, which means he owes us time when he gets home from school. It's lots of fun!

Blake asks for oatmeal and Bambi. Every day. He has to wait until the kids are gone before he gets to watch a movie (Cooper doesn't need any more distractions), and it's always the same one, even when I offer him numerous other choices. I'm afraid to say that I'm ready to shoot Bambi myself at this stage.

I tell ya, the life of a two year old is tough.

Russell doesn't want to talk and doesn't want to be talked to. Luckily for him (and us) he is up and out the door long before the rest of us are awake so this doesn't cause any problems. Except in the rare case when I wake up and have to go the bathroom and then decide to chit chat a bit (because remember: up and chirpy), and then he tells me he can't HANDLE the talking and I huff off to bed again because I didn't want to speak to him ANYWAY! 

(I kid honey, I love you!)

And that pretty much sums it up.

So in a nutshell:

Mommy loves her sleep

Kendall rushes

Cooper drags

Blake is cute

Daddy is dangerous.

What I Wore Wednesday - weird weather edition

So fall arrived nice and early this year, even going so low as to rain on the kids' first day of school. But then a couple of days ago fall decided to just up and leave, and summer has made a late return appearance. It's weird. Not that I'm complaining, I love summer! Except that it's been terribly humid, and Oregon is NEVER humid... and I'm totally going to complain about that. Turns out I'm not cut out for humidity.

All this to explain why I'm in a scarf and Uggs in one picture and a tank top and sandals the next. It's been crazy.

Wednesday: Wed night church - nursery duty

top: JC Penny's

jeans: Gap from the Goodwill

sandals: payless

earrings and bracelet you can't really see: Walmart and Liz Claiborne outlet

Thursday: grocery shopping and general day of mad dashing around

1/2 sleeve turtleneck: Shade

jeans: Old Navy

scarf: I can't remember but based on my shopping habits alone I would say Target or Walmart would be a safe guess.

boots: the Uggs have returned from their summer time-out, Hallelujah!

Friday: more shopping, family birthday party in evening

black tee: Shade

purple top: Ross

jeans: Old Navy from the Goodwill

green necklace: thrifted

cute sandals that you can't see: Kenneth Cole from the Goodwill

Because my first picture was so dark...

Saturday: company over for dinner

top: Ross

skirt: Maurices

sandals: rummage sale

Sunday: church

black ruffle top: Target

cropped cardy: Old navy

jeans: Target

heels: Nine West from a yard sale

necklace and bracelet: gifts

What happens when you ask your husband to take a picture of your outfit... very funny babe.

 Monday: prayer group

long cardy: Target

pink cami: Diviine Modestee

skinny jeans!: Target

sandals: Old Navy

necklace: gift

Tuesday: kids dentist appts. & ladies fall bible study kickoff

tunic: Target

white cami: Diviine Modestee

capri's: Calvin Klein from Costco

sandals: rummage sale

The end.

I'm linking up with other What I wore posts at The Pleated Poppy. Head on over if you want to check out some cute fashion!

Out and about

Yesterday turned out to be quite the busy day. And also quite the hot day. Holy heavens was it hot! Which was a tragedy really because I finally braved up to wear some skinny jeans with a long cardigan and had to shed them by 11 am I was so sweaty. I did get to wear them to my prayer group in the morning, but as I walked in a few minutes late and everyone turned to look at me, I felt so self-conscious that I blurted out for everyone to please not laugh because I was "experimenting". Not quite the low-key debut I was going for.

After outfit change #1 (into denim capri's and a tank top) it was off to my Mum's to make my yearly supply of plum sauce. I am proud to announce that I did not forget any ingredients and things went just swell. Before I give myself too much credit however please remember that I made it at my mother's house... because I'm still too scared to do it all on my own. Why this is, I don't know, moral support I guess. 

what it looks like before it has cooked down.

All finished. Feels good to accomplish something like this!

We could buy plum sauce in New Zealand but it's not popular here, or even the same thing when you do find it, so we make it. Picture ketchup that's made with plums instead of tomatoes and is therefore sweeter and you'll get an idea of what I'm talking about. We use it just like you would ketchup, and also in several recipes. It's especially good with battered fish. 

Next on the agenda was a trip to the eyeglass center with Kendall because if you will recall I "broke" her glasses last week. Kendall and I amused ourselves by playing "I Spy" and 20 Questions in the waiting room for 10 years before finally getting called in, and during that time I may or may not have mentioned offhandedly that we should perhaps keep the part about soaking her glasses in hot water to reshape them on the "down low" if they didn't ask.

Kendall smiled and said okay, and then BLURTED OUT THE ENTIRE STORY within 30 seconds of talking to the nice lady helping us. God bless her sweet forgetful soul, and the Lord for my lesson of the day! Thankfully the glasses are still under warranty and new frames have been ordered. 

Back home after picking up my boys from Mum's, then a change into outfit #3 (a light cotton skirt) because our hot day had turned even hotter, and ickedly humid to boot, and I was starting to look like I'd just been swimming except I hadn't. We then were off again to friends for dinner.

Brian is an old childhood friend of Russell's and an all-around great guy and his wife Sarah is about the funnest girl you could meet. They have the most adorable little guy and all three of my kids enjoyed playing with him (and okay, his baby toys too). We had a great time visiting and eating outside once it started cooling off and then while the guys talked hunting I spent the rest of the night talking poor Sarah's ear off because I don't see her enough and I had to gush over her mad sewing skills.

Take a peek at this beauty! Her first one and her first zipper!! I told Kendall, who is starting 4-H sewing this year, that I'll buy her whatever she needs if she learns to make a bag like this for her mama.

By the time my day was over I was officially pooped. And if you made it all the way to the end of this I congratulate you because obviously my gabbing didn't end when we left Brian and Sarah's last night. 

Your weekend update

Interrupting my regularly programmed Monday Confessional this week to bring you a special weekend update! 

On the agenda: 

- Nephew Sam's birthday party Friday night. Check.

- Cousin Linley and her boyfriend Mike over for dinner and games Saturday night. Check.

- Church and general day of lazy slothfulness Sunday. Double check.

The highlights:

- Not having to make dinner Friday night because it was served at the birthday party. Always a plus.

- Getting my house clean and tidy for company on Saturday, leaving me with a clean house and no dirty laundry headed into a new week. Awesome!

- Getting to know Mike a little better and playing cards and Settlers of Catan (our favorite board game).

- A long luxurious Sunday afternoon nap. Refreshing.

- Family movie night with the kids, watching Popeye with Robin Williams and seeing my husband's face as he discovered it was a musical. Oh ho ho, quite humorous :)

- Making a new cookie recipe; zucchini butterscotch chip with coconut, and seeing them go over well with the family. 

- Amazing Race premiere! Woohoo!!

The lowlights:

- Spending my Saturday cooking and cleaning. I'm glad it got done but I wouldn't call it "fun".

- Planning a game night that coincided with the Oregon Duck game airing on the radio. Let's just say that at one point Linley and I ditched the boys and had ourselves a personal fashion show in my bedroom where I tried on my newest Target purchases and we came up with different ensemble options. Yes we were that desperate. 

- Being awoken from my Sunday afternoon nap by some obnoxiously loud children playing an intense game of Lego Batman on the Wii. Let's just say that heads rolled! Okay, not really. I told them they were rude. And then I baked them cookies.

- Baking half of the cookie dough before discovering I'd left out one of the more crucial ingredients: 2 cups of oatmeal. Ah ha! Now my very sloppy batter made sense! As Kendall best described them, they were like butterscotch chip zucchini pancakes. Don't worry, once corrected the rest of the cookies were stellar.

- Turning on the TV at 9 pm to watch the Amazing Race only to discover it was a special 1 1/2 hour premiere, starting at 8:30 pm.... Nooooo!

And thus concludes your weekend update. By "special" I meant completely non-consequential. Please stay tuned next Monday for the return of "Monday Confessional" and a look into the trouble that comes from lighting your living room carpet on fire when you are a mere youth and then trying to lie about it. 

Cwocodiles out the window

While driving into the city yesterday morning for Blake's very belated two year check up at the Doctor's (his birthday was in March - yes I am ashamed) Blake decided to spot and announce animals out the car window.

These were the confirmed sightings:

- "aminals"

- a farm

- chickens

- cows

- goats

- a dog

- horsies

The following sightings remain unconfirmed:

- a "cwocodile"

- "cows dwiving a car"

As to that last one, I think he's seen the movie "Barnyard" a few times too many.

And here he is at the Doctor's office, getting measured...

Happy and innocent. Clueless to the fact that he's about to get a shot. It pretty much went downhill from here folks.

Now, next on my agenda: schedule his two year pictures!

Generic or namebrand?

Spellbinding thought, I know. What's your preference?! :)

Yesterday was my bi-monthly grocery trek into town and since I do a little something called Project Life, where I take a picture a day to capture a year in the life of my family, I had my camera in my purse with me. It has come in handy many a time, like when I want to snap cute pictures like this...

or this.

That would be my most awesome, handsome, adorable and single baby brother Jamin, playing with his two youngest nephews after an outdoor church service. He's good with kids ladies! ;)

Back to the grocery store however, I was working really hard to stay within my grocery budget for once and gave myself a little pep talk to ignore the brand and go for the best deal. I finally delved into the bulk section, something I've never really done before because, "hello, my name is Jodi and I don't like change". I'm pretty much same stores, same direction inside store, same items... you get the drift. 

But guess what? Bulk bins are FUN! I know I saved money, but we'll never know exactly how much because figuring that out would require me to do math. Umm no.

hello cute little bulk bags!

FYI: those pastel mints in the front? My favorite treat IN THE WORLD (besides Cadbury cream eggs). That bag started out a good 1/3 larger than that, enough for a two week pay period you might assume. But based on my consumption today alone, it might last till Saturday if I'm lucky. 

Moving on. 

I did realize that there are a couple of items that I am a complete brand snob about and I will now showcase them for you, because remember? Spellbinding? hehehe...

Item #1: There is no other in the world for me. Yes I know it is not the healthiest choice. Or even a healthy choice. So be it. I love you JIF!

 Item #2: If there is one thing in the world I hate more than single ply toilet paper, it's toilet paper that leaves white fluff behind. On your behind. Ha! The solution? Charmin Ultra strong - double rolls. Try it. 

Item #3: Tillamook cheese. From Tillamook, Oregon. People there is a major difference in cheddar cheeses out there, be aware!

There. I don't think three items to be a brand snob about is too shabby!

Although while I was taking pictures, I realized there are a few items from New Zealand that I am picky about too (and can't live without)...

Kraft Vegemite, Whitlock's tomato chutney, and Cerebos tomato relish. Yum, yum, and yum. My grandparents just brought me a fresh stock so I'm good for a couple more years, enough time for one or another of my family to travel and get some more. I know I could probably find them in some store like World Market but it would cost an arm and a leg and possibly be made in China. Not the real deal folks. Also included in this picture should be chocolate from NZ but that is sadly long gone by now. 

And thus concludes my grocery showcase. Tomorrow: cleaning supplies. 

Kidding!

A birthday and other matters

In other words, welcome to my rather random post.

Yesterday was my Mum's birthday. I call her Mum because we're from New Zealand and over there the word "Mom" is super weird. In case you wondered. 

I also call her Mrs. MacGyver, because she is literally the female version of Richard Dean Anderson's character in that popular early 90's show. It's quite a plus to have her in the family :)

Tuesday night Kelly and I took her out to dinner and a movie to celebrate and we ate our weight in breadsticks and alfredo sauce from The Olive Garden. Yum yum.

Then I ordered the gingerbread pumpkin cheesecake "to go" because I am incapable of eating out and not having dessert (and I'm incapable of resisting pumpkin cheesecake altogether), so I took it with me to the theaters and after nibbling at it during the show I finished it off for breakfast the next morning. It was divine. 

Also yesterday morning Kendall decided to "reshape" her eyeglasses by placing them in our bathroom sink filled with hot water (unbeknownst to me) and when I found and retrieved them one side of the frame literally "fell" off, leading Kendall to tell everyone I broke them. Good thing I just had cheesecake or that would have been a mighty poor start to my day.

Where did she learn this trick you ask? That would be her Granddad MacGyver, my mother's father. The apple didn't fall far from the tree.

Then, since our life is full of one little mishap after the other, Blake locked me out of my bedroom. For the second time this week. He doesn't lock himself in, which would have been handier so I could have at least tried to talk him through unlocking it, he just locks it and walks out, shutting the door behind him. Rascal! 

On the bright side Russell is now ready to graduate to intermediate level in breaking and entering.

Unfortunately I did not inherit any MacGyver skills at all. You better believe if Russell hadn't been home I would have called Mum STAT.  

My lovely and most awesome mother, Carol. And Olive Garden leftovers, mmmm!

Happy birthday once again Mum. I love you more than my pumpkin cheesecake!

What I Wore Wednesday No. 10

Welcome to another stirring edition of What I Wore Wednesday! 

Okay, so it's not stirring, but welcome anyway! Russ was away most of this past week so I kept myself busy being out and about. Fun times, fun times :)

Wed: hanging out at Tricia's (and now you've seen part of her bedroom :)

top: Shade

jeans: Gap from Goodwill

yellow flats: Old Navy

scarf: Kmart

Thursday: Mom's Notes meeting, grocery store run

gray top: Downeast Basics

cami underneath: Diviine Modestee

long cardigan: Target

jeans: Old Navy from Goodwill

hidden wedges: Walmart

Friday: errands, Jana's house to hang out

black turtleneck: Target

jeans: Old Navy - thrifted

same yellow flats as Wed: Old Navy

scarf: Maurices

Saturday: special church conference then "Thirty-One" party at a friends

sweater top, belt and jeans: all from the Goodwill

pointed toe boots: Walmart

necklace: ??

Sunday: church, again!

top, denim skirt, and brown wedges: the Goodwill & another local thrift store

wooden bracelet: Maurices

Monday: OH YES I am posting this picture! Keeping it real folks!!

(I shall not bother with the outfit details however. 

Well okay, the cute apron: made by a friend)

Tuesday: night out with my sister and Mum 

yellow top: Ross

jeans: Gap from Goodwill

sweater: Old Navy - yard sale

sandals: Target

earrings and necklace: from my husband

In conclusion: yes I love the Goodwill, how did you guess?

Like always I'm linking to other "What I wore" posts at The Pleated Poppy.

Monday confessional

Remember those Magic Eye Illusion pictures that were so popular back in the mid-90's? 

I've never been able to see one in my life.

“Hello, my name is Jodi and I cannot magic-eye.”

I also cannot roll my R's, which was a bit of a bummer during my FOUR YEARS OF HIGH SCHOOL SPANISH.

Or make myself drink eggnog, because ummm gross, raw eggs!

And today I found out that apparently I can't teach a two year old his colors. My conversation with Blake went like this...

Me: what color is this? (pointing at something blue)

Blake: bwue!

Me: good job bud! What color is this? (now pointing at green)

Blake: gween!

Me: Awesome dude! What about this? (pointing at yellow)

Blake: gween!

Me: no silly, that's yellow. What color is this? (pointing at brown)

Blake: five!

Me: Okaaaaay then, moving on!

And finally, I cannot resist this cute face :)

Reunited

Join on in folks! "Together again, together forever until basketball season..."

The mighty hunter has returned, my white bra is no longer MIA, and all is well with the world once again!

(Two completely unrelated events by the way.)

I have had so much to catch Russ up on since he came home last night...

• Kendall and Cooper's backseat squabble that resulted in Kendall emerging with a bleeding face. 
• the anger and frustration felt by a mother of backseat fighting children.
• Blake's promotion of Cooper from "Poop" to "Toop". Finally. 
• a detailed breakdown of the premiere of Survivor Nicaragua (against Russell's will).
• my Goodwill finds and a description of what I wore them with (also against his will).
• my sleepover at Jana's and how we stayed up till 2:30 am and had TOO. MUCH. FUN.
• my coming plans for the week and Russell's involvement in them (staying home to watch the kids) and my assurance that there would indeed be a revolt if he was not on-board after leaving me for a week.
• the news that his sister and brother-in-law had been out of town due to the death of his brother-in-law's grandfather.
• after reading his sisters blog this afternoon, the news that oops, it was NOT the grandfather, who is in fact alive and well.
• and other equally fascinating stories of life on the home front.

Russell listens patiently and attentively when he comes home from a trip, knowing that if he sits through all of my storytelling that he will then have a willing victim for all of his hunting stories (which he will continue to re-tell me frequently over the course of the next couple of weeks). 

We have a good system :)

Rocky Mountain elk

resting during the 9 mile pack out

And the hunting stories are exciting this year!

How to frustrate me - a tutorial

1. Put a cute little movie clipboard symbol in blogger (where I am blogging) that says "insert a video" when you scroll over it, making me want to find a video clip on my computer to upload so I can try it out.
2. Fail to upload the video clip of my cutest ever 4 month old nephew Elijah "talking" to me, over and over and over and over and over until I give up and blog about my missing bra, which is not exactly a stellar replacement (and is still missing by the way).
3. Show me "Vimeo" as a suitable video hosting choice in my google search for an alternate way to add my clip and make it super easy to register and get started.
4. But then take 45 minutes to upload my 1 minute video.
5. And then take 20 minutes to "convert" it.
6. And then tell me that the video upload "failed".
7. With zero explanation of why.

Look at that - only 7 easy steps and you're done! I am officially frustrated.

Well fine then, I won't try to broaden my blogging horizons and add a video clip.

At least not tonight. Because while I was waiting a tediously long amount of time for my video to upload, unsuccessfully, I started watching the movie "Deja Vu" and am now officially sucked in.

Gotta go!

Underwhere?

Official warning: this may be a very solid case of "oversharing" but I'm just gonna go for it because I'm tired, and, well that's actually my only excuse...

I've lost a bra. My white one. My only white one. And it's driving me bananas. It's not in any of my drawers. Or my closet. Or in the clean laundry. Or the dirty laundry. It is in fact, no where to be found. 

How does one lose a bra? It's not like I took it off somewhere outside of my house (or my bedroom for that matter) and left it behind! This leads me to ponder a little... where was the last time I stayed the night somewhere else and could have even possibly taken off my one and only white bra? 

Unfortunately I come up with an answer. Our church family camp on Labor day weekend. Specifically: the public showers!

Well that would be embarrassing!

How does one go about attempting to retrieve it now? By asking my fellow church attending campers, "Did anyone find and bring home a white bra?" The answer to that is a resounding "No". For one: I would rather lose the bra than admit it was mine if someone had found it. For two, who in their right mind would pick up someone else's abandoned undergarment?

No one, is who. 

And since that is therefore a dead end to finding my bra and I'm a much more optimistic person than that, I'm going to abandon such a train of thought altogether and tell myself that it is not possible, I could not have possibly done such a thing AND NOT REALIZED IT AT THE TIME OF EXITING THE SHOWER WITHOUT IT.

At this point I will need to tell you to ignore and dismiss from your memory every single one of my past Monday Confessionals that have to do with my airheaded forgetfulness and believe along with me... it HAS to be here somewhere. It just has to. 

So I'm off to look again. For the one gazillionith time. Wish me luck!

What I Wore Wednesday

It's been a busy week! Lots of fun things going on right now, and cooler weather means more layering pieces are coming out of the closet. I'm a summer girl but I love fall fashion!

 Thursday: grocery shopping & errands

cropped jacket: Burlingtons

turtleneck sweater top underneath: Ross

jeans: Old Navy

polka dot flats and bracelet (really a necklace): Claires

I want to switch out the buttons on this jacket to big brown ones - it's a bit bright and the even brighter buttons don't help. It's a little low on my "to procrastinate" list however. (There's like 9 buttons on that thing!) 

 Friday: date night!

top: Dress Barn

black cami: Diviine Modestee

jeans: Gap from the Goodwill

red flats and silver bracelets: Walmart

 

earrings: bday gift from my sister-in-law

diamond circle necklace: Christmas gift from my husband several years ago.  

(He got up at 4 am the day after Thanksgiving to go buy it for me God bless his heart!)

 Sunday: church

green top: Shade

skirt & belt: Maurice's

necklace: Forever 21

chocolate wedges: thrifted

 Monday: fun day out with my mother-in-law

ruffle top: the Goodwill

cardigan: Old Navy from a garage sale

capri's & necklace: Fred Meyer

sandals: Target

Tuesday: salon appointment

tunic, belt and shoes: the Goodwill

jeans: Old Navy

turquoise earrings and bracelet: gifts

Question: I am aware that the fashion now is to wear tunic tops/dresses over leggings or skinny jeans but I own zero leggings and don't fit into my skinny jeans right now so is this an outfit fail with my bootcut jeans? I was just sooo excited to wear my latest Goodwill find!

And here's an extra of my sister, because sometimes when I pick up my kids from school I like to go visit her in her office just to see what she's wearing. She's pretty much always super cute!

dress: Walmart

jacket: Costco

shoes: Payless

necklace: Claires

black hoop earrings: Target

Happy Wednesday everyone, check out other What I wore posts at The Pleated Poppy.

While the hubby's away the wifey will play

Russ is gone. Has been for 2 days now. He'll be back on Sunday and in the meantime I'm trying to fill up my days with fun in an effort to avoid the growing feelings of resentment and bitterness that can sometimes come when your husband is away playing (elk hunting) and you are stuck home to take care of three children by yourself. And sleep alone.

Not that I ever harbor feelings of resentment or bitterness towards my husband! Oh no. Except when he's gone hunting. Then maybe I do a little bit, sometimes.

But I'm trying to have a good attitude this time. Because if anyone knows Russ they know what a hard worker and dedicated husband he is and I think he should enjoy his week away without feeling guilty for going. At least that's what I tell myself I think :) 

Anyways, I believe I was talking about fun filled days? Yesterday was one of them. I attend a small weekly prayer group every Monday morning that prays for our churches (church's?) Pastors. My mother-in-law is one of the ladies that attends and afterward I asked her what her plans were for the day. Then I invited myself and Blake along, as long as she went out to eat Thai food with me for lunch. An offer that's hard to refuse right? She was all for it, yeah! 

After lunch, a quick trip into the mall, and a stop at Dairy Queen for my new favorite treat: the mini banana cream pie blizzard without whipped topping (because I'm dieting you see), we decided we had enough time for a quick trip into the Goodwill. A place that's right up there with Walmart in it's suck-you-in-so-you-can't-escape draw. We found some great deals and may or may not have accidentally stayed a little bit too long so that I was late for school pickup and had to call my sister to go grab my kids and send them to the playground until I got there. Again. Just like last Thursday when I went grocery shopping. 

I love you Kelly! Thank you for working at my children's school, it's so convenient of you!

I also love you Teri! Thanks for such a fun day out, I'll pick up your dry-cleaning with you any day. As long as Thai cuisine is involved of course.

And don't think my fun day ended at school pick up. After a lovely nap with Blake and a quick dinner we headed over to my parents to visit their adorable new puppy Bindi, an Australian shepherd/Siberian huskie mix. Blake called her Bambi all evening. And then, when I was ready to head home again to my lonely empty house, guess who called? 

Russell with cell phone reception in the Eastern Oregon mountains is who! I can tell you right now that my master plan of a week of fun is working because I was not pouty and sad and "I miiisssss you honnneeeyyy" on the phone, I was happy and cheerful and "I'm so glad you're having a good time babe! (even though it's without me!)"

The banana bread baking in Mum's oven may have helped too. Oh yes, the banana bread has returned! But I was smart this time and made it at someone else's house. And I only brought half a loaf home with me too, because, I mentioned I'm on a diet right?

Monday confessional

Here's another one from back in the day... 

It's my sophomore year of high school and  I'm 15 years old. My friend Jessie and I are in love with these stick figure t-shirts at the mall, the ones where the stick figures are doing comical things with funny captions below. They were the bomb in 1995 okay? One day I finally have an opportunity to buy one and after telling Jessie that I'm heading to the mall that afternoon she gives me a $20 bill to pick her up one as well, telling me which one she wants.

Fast forward to the mall where I am now shopping with another friend, one who knows nothing about my t-shirt purchasing arrangement. I buy my shirt but somehow forget all about the one for Jessie. Not only do I forget all about it, I discover the $20.00 in my purse and believe I've happened upon a wonderful occurrence, finding money I forgot I had. AND THEN I SPEND IT ON MYSELF.

Now fast forward to the next day at school. Not only am I still completely ignorant of the incredibly air-headed mistake I made, but I wear the clothing item I bought with the "extra" money I found and then show it off to all my friends, including Jessie, telling them about my great money discovery. 

Oh heavens I'm cringing even now just remembering it.

Jessie is incredulous, as I'm well sure you can imagine, and politely asks if I remembered her t-shirt or perhaps did I just spend her money on myself instead. And then I die. Seriously, there are no depths to my mortification.

Oh how I was teased! You better believe I borrowed money from my Dad and fast-tracked it back to the mall pronto to buy Jessie her shirt. Thankfully she had a good sense of humor and was very forgiving, because good gravy I needed it!

I wish I could tell you that was the only time in my life that I've found money in my purse and forgot what it was for and spent it. But that would be a total lie. I'm pretty sure that was the only time it was someone else's money however!

Date night - R & J style

Reason #274 why Russ and I are a great match is that we both love a good date night out. We try to go a couple times a month, and they don't always have to be just the two of us either, double dates/group dates are lots of fun! Hey, if you get to be out without kids and eat without having to cook it's two thumbs up in my book no matter who's involved!

Last night we had a date night scheduled to include: 

Dropping kids off at grandparents @ 5:30 pm, going out to eat in Portland, visiting recent newlyweds Isaac & Noelle (of recent Blake's ringbearer day fame) in their new university apartment, stopping in at Dicks Sporting goods because my husband is a hunting maniac and the store was going to be nearby, and finally catching a late movie.  

When you live out in the country you try to pack a lot in when you make it in to the big City.

But this is what happened:

We left half an hour late and then I was dragged to Bi-Mart before dropping off the kids so someone (Russell) could "take two minutes" to return something which of course took at least ten. By the time we left the grandparents to begin our date we were already an hour behind our original schedule. No worries, we're not really stick-to-the-plan kind of people anyway so we decided to visit the newlyweds first, then go eat and watch a movie, skipping the sporting store altogether (oh bummer. Or not.)

And then this happened:

We enjoyed our visit with Isaac and Nollie so much that we stayed "longer than we had anticipated" and then roped them into the rest of our evening plans, dragging them with us to eat at what was now 9:00 pm, even though they'd already had dinner. Then we drove 1/4 of the way back home to get to the theater with the latest show time possible, enjoyed ourselves a fun movie (don't listen to the boys, just ask me and Nolls :), before driving back up into Portland to take the newlyweds home and then turning back around and coming home ourselves. AT TWO O'CLOCK AM. 

AND WE LOVED IT!

I'll tell you why:

When you've known and loved two great kids since they were just little, and watched them grow into wonderful young adults, making great decisions along the way, and then they get married and you get to go out and enjoy an evening together as peers, it gives you a very satisfied feeling! We're proud of them in a we-had-nothing-to-do-with-it-but-got-to-watch-it kind of way.

PLUS: after passing the same locations 4 times in one night I now feel secure that I know how to get to at least one more place up in Portland! Always an accomplishment for this directionally-challenged mama.

Yeah for Red Robin steak fries!

and this one just makes me laugh :)

Dear I & N (IN!),

thank you so much for being great hosts,

skipping your sporting event,

and hanging out with us a-whole-decade older folks.
You guys are fun!

And don't worry, we won't tell anyone about how we LAUGHED OUR HEADS OFF at you both strapping yourselves in on opposite sides of our car's backseat instead of next to each other because you're still getting used to this whole newlywed business. It will be our little secret :)

Love, R & J

Something's not quite right...

Have you ever had one of those days? You know, when things just aren't "fitting together" the way they're supposed to, when nothing seems to be going right? 

Blake feels your pain. 
 

"It's okay little buddy, Mommy will help you. 

Wait a sec, these are Cooper's... where did you get them?!!"

Please Jesus not the dirty laundry...

Actually, I feel your pain. 

What I Wore Wednesday - camp edition

I'm missing a few pics but here is my camping edition of What I Wore Wednesday, started by Lindsey over at The Pleated Poppy. After doing this weekly for, hmmm, 8 weeks now? I would like to report that it has helped me immensely with my goal of not wearing sweats and pj's every day that I'm home (which is often). Yay for WIWW!

Thursday: packing for camp

blue tank: Old Navy

pink cami: Diviine Modestee

cuffed jeans: Old Navy

flops: Nike from Fred Meyers

Friday: off to Foster Lake for a glorious 4 days at family camp

pink tank: Aeropostale

white cami: Diviine Modestee

skirt: Target

flops: Fred Meyers

Saturday: bike riding on my sweet vintage Schwinn cruiser

tank: Old Navy

tankini swim suit:  Macy's several years ago

capris: Union Bay from Fred Meyers 

(bought fresh out of high school, oh, 13 YEARS AGO!)

flops: Fred Meyers

Monday: Gotta love sweats.

tee: Old Navy

white cami: it's the Diviine Modestee one again

baggy sweats: my fave and from the Goodwill

Tuesday: back home and back to school! (for my 2 oldest children)

top: Maurices

cami: yep, same one. Don't worry I do wash it! Plus, I have 2 white ones!

jeans: Gap from Goodwill

suede flats: Goodwill

earrings: Forever 21, bracelet: Bass outlet

A word about my camis that you see in Every.Single.WIWW post. So I have a large chest alright? And any cami with a built in shelf bra is useless to me, the shelf inside is never tall enough so it pulls the whole thing down. Giving me serious cleavage issues. Which I am opposed to. Because I have a large modesty streak in me. And don't care for the floozy look. (No offense if your tastes differ).

Several years ago, when layering was just beginning to come in style (hallelujah), I saw an ad, in a scrapbooking magazine of all places, for Diviine Modestee.com and thought I'd check it out, even though it had a seriously weirdly spelled name. I then bought a billion cami's (ok, about 10 over several months), loved them, and to this day continue to wear them with EVERYTHING. 

Since then I've discovered Shade Clothing, Mod Bod, and DownEast Basics (my fave), which are much better clothing sites in my opinion, but I still love my Diviine cami's because they are straight across the top and the straps are widely placed. AND over the years they have held up beautifully. I'm hooked.

Gotta love them Mormon entrepreneurs and their modesty :)