Sweet, Sweaty Summertime!

Long gone are the days where I longed for Summer. I can remember waiting for the days to get longer and the temperatures to rise, because to a teenager that meant more time with shirtless boys. Now when I think of Summer, I think of how I am halfway to a heatstroke by the time I get in my car! One thing that brings this half-crazy mother some solace is the thought of goooooood sunny drinks...and by drinks, I mean DRANKS! I recently posted on my facebook that I was going to open up an adult lemonade stand and name it PuckerUp....I was only halfway kidding! I am serious about getting together with a group of girlfriends and mixing up some cool, sweet Summah-time dranks! Since today's high is 102, I thought I would get a jumpstart on that and come up with my first drink:

It tastes like heaven and smells like trouble....it will be known as the 'Hoedown'! Ha!

It is so good and so easy to make. I like putting it in a canning jar so I can put the lid on and shake 'er up!

Ingredients:Whipped Vodka (I use Pinnacle...as always)
Frozen Strawberries
Ginger Ale
Orange Juice

~Mix equal parts OJ and Ginger Ale. Use frozen strawberries as ice cubes. Add vodka to taste- don't be shy...the more the better!!! (Truuuuust me here) Notice I don't have things measured out by the oz. Just dump it in and shake it up...it always helps if you dance while you do it! ENJOY!

Oh Holy freakin Night!

If I only knew how hard it would be to put up the Christmas tree with a toddler running around, I would have gladly snatched up the Charlie Brown tree half off from Hobby Lobby and thrown it somewhere!

When the whisperings of the upcoming Christmas season began a few weeks ago, I whistfully daydreamed of having the perfect family night where we put up the tree: Tyler, Jack and I would be donned in our snazziest 'Leave it to Beaver' chothes, the radio would be singing songs of halls being decked, a tray of gourmet hot cocoa would be perfectly placed on the coffee table, and our family would lovingly and ever-so-gently hang ornaments. Let us not forget the ceremonious placing of the tree toppers by Junior who would be held up by his strong father! Reality then hit me in the form of a whofting poop diaper trotting by!

Oh, and did reality ever hit hard! It took no sooner than a full week to finally get our new tree covered in lights. All 1500 of them! I suppose this is what happens when your husband grows up in a household of electricians. When we (I say we, but only to make me feel better) finished stringing lights, it was time for the dreaded mesh. I love shopping and seeing the gigantic store front trees with mesh placed perfectly inbetween branches; however, I do not love trying to recreate that look for my tree. It took about 2 hours to get it wrapped around. I can give credit here to my severe bouts of anal retentiveness! It is not perfect, but I suppose I can live with it. Maybe. Ornament hanging went well until James Brown came on the radio! I thought dancing to "I feeeeeeeeel good!" while hanging ornaments would be a great way to burn off some extra calories. I ended up burning more by jumping from all of the ornaments that I dropped while dancing! James Brown had NOTHING on ol' Lynden Jack though! Each and every expensive ornament I have coincidentally either takes the shape of a football or baseball, so my son loved helping mommy with ornaments! I quess I should count my blessings that he only broke a few!

Now that I have my tree up and ready for Old Saint Nick, I can't help but sit here and count the days until it comes down. I think I just may leave it up until Valentine's Day! Now, how about that Silent Night?!

Halloween Goodies!

As a direct result of my Pinterest fever, I figured I would upload some Halloween decor and then post it to Pinterest.

I can only light the candle while Jack is sleeping because he has quickly learned the thrills of being a pyromaniac!

As a big kid, I HATE HATE HATE scary Halloween decor! I was the kid who wouldn't even make it through the parking lot of the haunted house without crying. Don't judge me! I read an idea online a few years ago for some "spooky" framed decor and decided to try it out since I was hosting a party. At first, I found it to be really freaky looking and hated it, but now I see the humor in it and look forward to putting it out each Halloween.

For these pictures, I googled "antique portraits" and saved a few to my computer. I then opened them up in Paint and added red circles over the eyes and white triangles for fangs. After I printed them off, I burned the edges, backed them with scrapbook paper, and framed them! If you look closely, you can see that the dog has even been turned into a spooky vampire. These vampires may not be as sparkly and hott as the Cullen gang, but it'll do!

Boy, How Time Flies By!

It is safe to say that it's been quite a while since I have posted! I have a laundry list of excuses as to why it has been so long, but I will save an hour or so and give two:

1. WE HAVE MOVED BACK TO ARKANSAS! I can safely walk out of my front door and yell, "Wooooooo Piiiiiiiggggg Sooooiiiiiieeeeeeeeee!" without one of my neighbors taking out his or her John Wayne autographed rifles and aiming it at me! (Note: I am not saying that EVERY Texan has a John Wayne rifle, however, I am assuming so!)

2. JACK HAS TURNED 1! On August 10, my little man became just that...a little man. He waited until AFTER he got his bday presents to go crazy, and oh did he! Staying home with him is truely a full-time job! He is into anything and everything! For example, I found my toothbrush under the couch in the living room yesterday! And, no, this was not the first time this has happened- I think I have bought 5 new toothbrushes in the past 3 months. "Payin fer yer raisin"??? I think so!

What has found me back on here, though, is the magic that is Pinterest! From here on out, I will be adding my own little goodies to link up as well as trying my hand at a few that have already been posted. Say a prayer and keep a look out!

"Diaper backward spells repaid. Think about it."

While flipping through my April issue of Parenting Magazine, (you know, because doing so will make me a good parent!) I came across a funny snippet about parenting styles. The magazine asked parents to describe their parenting styles using 3 words, and the following are some funny examples:

WHATEVER WORKS TODAY

MINDFULLY WINGING IT

TRIAL AND ERROR

DOING MY BEST!

TAKE NO PRISONERS

LAUGH, CRY, PRAY

NOT ALWAYS GRACEFUL

IS THIS RIGHT?

STOP. DON'T PANIC

TAKE DEEP BREATHS

I think 3 words to describe my parenting style would be HE'S A BABY!

For example, when Jack chooses to make those highly adorable farting sounds while spraying a mouthful of peas, I have to remind myself
          HE'S A BABY!
When Jack belches up his squash, leaving a not-so-fashionable orange stain on my pink shirt, I remember
          HE'S A BABY!
When I have to leave the table on a dinner date to change a dirty diaper that's overrun, I try to stay collected and think
          HE'S A BABY!

Although the trials of babyhood can be frustrating and downright disgusting at times, I know that HE'S A BABY and will only stay this little for a small amount of time, so I take a deep and laugh at it. I am learning to realize that there are more problems in this world than my squash-stained shirt!

Snips, snails, and puppy dog tails....

 "Some parents say it is toys guns that make boys warlike, but give a boy a rubber duck and he will seize its neck like the butt of a pistol and shout "BANG!"

At 7 months old, the new has yet to wear off of Jack! He is the quintessential boy. I find that he is at his most content when left alone to bang toys together and make flatulant, razzing sounds. Some of his other favorite activities include playing outside, pulling on the dogs' tails, and being naked. That's my boy! My goal with this blog is to give updates about Jack and all of our adventures through the strange, smelly world of boyhood!