Never say never...

Once upon a time (when I was a very young and delusional young mother) there were several things I said I would NEVER (or always) do.
-my kids would NEVER wear liscenced superhero or character T-shirts
-my kids wouldn't go a day without brushing their teeth
-my daughter should always have her hair "just so". matching bow included.
-my kids would NEVER behave like little turds in front of my friends
-I would never become one of those "bedraggled looking" moms I saw with 3 or 4 kids hanging off of them, the horror!
-I would faithfully wash my sheets EVERY week, ha!

Funny how time changes, or, wears you down. Humbles you. Wakes you up to reality a bit. Makes you less judgy of the mom who's kids nails CLEARLY need to be clipped. Who's kid looks like there's syrup in his/her hair...jelly? hair gel?

I swore that by this point in our marriage, my house would look like a Pottery Barn catalog. Guess what? Kids dont give a flying fig about their bathroom having a 'nantucket' feel. Surfing penguins....cool mom! And when their little faces shine when they don that Captain America t-shirt, you get over that illusion you had of your boys ONLY wearing polos and seersucker shorts.
If this works for you, and your kids, super! I just found that I was driving myself nuts over this stuff.

So what? WHo cares? Ask yourself...am I a good friend? do my kids know I love them? do I have fun and laugh at life, and myself?

Note to self...get over it, and NEVER say NEVER!

Bumpit or no Bumpit?

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Kennedy has been asked no less than 2 times if her mom wears a "Bumpit. If you have been hiding under a rock the last year, a Bumpit is a comb that you place on your head so that you can have the ginormous hair you've always dreamed of.
Nothing more natural than a plastic comb in your hair?

But I DO love BIG hair!!! When the poof was in, I was all over that a la Elaine from Seinfeld. And Dolly Parton said it best that the higher the hair, the closer to God. So, its for my spiritual growth that I tease, spray, and tease again.
I am not kidding that for years before the BUMPIT, I even considered what I could put in my hair to make it bigger, and a velcro roller cut in half is as far as I got.

Hats off to you, BUMPIT inventors.

But rest assured, no BUMPIT under here.

A week in my kitchen...

This is the second week that these kids have been on break, and man can they eat! I feel like I do the dishes, and wipe down the counters all day long! And, unfortunately for me, my kids think that they live at Chili's because they are "tired" of eating ham and turkey sandwiches..Are you kidding me? I lived on peanute butter and jelly, and Hawaiian Punch almost every day of my young life, and LIKED IT~!

I made a salad that I had at Heidi V's house, and it is so wonderful!!!! My kids ate seconds and we all fought over thirds. It is a spinach and pasta salad, and here is the link...
http://sisterscafe.blogspot.com/2008/04/spinach-pasta-salad-with-toasted.html
You have to make it with Heidi's balsamic dressing, it is great...
1 c oil (I use 1/2 c, and add 1/4 c water to make it lighter)
1/4 c balsamic vinegar
2 T chopped onion (she uses dried)
1 t salt
1 t sugar
1 t ground mustard
1 t dry basil
1/2 t oregano
1/4 t pepper
2 cloves garlic (use fresh, its so worth it)

I don't post recipes unless I can completely vouch that they are 1. really yummy 2. easy

I also made turkey meatballs this week. I have to say, that we really don't eat pasta here much, so when I make meatballs, I pour speghetti sauce on them and we eat them on broccoli. (And then we pig out on things like crackers and tortilla chips, we arent perfect!) It is because us Farrell's could eat our WEIGHT in pasta, and that aint' good friends.
Here is my tried-and-true turkey meatball recipe...
1 1/4 lb turkey BREAST (like Jennie-O, it comes in the package in that amount)
1 egg ( I used egg beaters)
1 c bread crumbs
1 T worcestershire sauce ( harder to say~)
1 onion, chopped pretty small
I used my pampered chef cookie dough ball scoop, and put them on a greased sheet, 350 for 20 min.
Here is also a little tip...buy yourself a box of latex gloves because for things like shaping a meatloaf, or mixing meatballs, its easier to use your hands and without gloves that is way gross.
Also good for chopping jalapeno's. Yup, I am the dummy that has wiped her eye after choppin' chili's.

Tonight I am making ham and cheese stromboli, which is so stinking great!
I buy the frozen bread loaves, and defrost 2
Make them into a giant 12x24ish rectangle
Brush 1 beaten egg all over
Top with lunch meat ham, and a minumin of 2 c swiss cheese, a little garlic or onion powder
Roll up like a cinnamon roll, pinch the sides, put on a cookie sheet (it won't fit on unlesss you curve it) and bake like 40 min at 375.
You kids will love you for it!

And thats it, next week back to last minute Subway dinner runs, and eggs for dinner...

I am a lucky girl!

This has been a rough week. It's been super busy with all the mom stuff...house, kids, sports, church, yada, yada.... The low was that I misread a deadline and threw away an 'A' grade. I vented about it on Facebook, and got lots of nice comments and support. (See, FB can be a good thing!)

This leads me to why I am posting....my good friend and 'running sensei', Mindy P., arrived at my door this afternoon with flowers and candy, ROLLO! Beautiful daffodils and tulips, the kids helped to pick them out, she said. All because I had had a hard week.

I'm not worthy, I'm not worthy! Although I missed out on getting a sister, I am so extremely blessed that Heavenly Father sent me friends who are there to lift me up, teach me, make me laugh, and seek to make my life better.

Mindy, you are a blessing to me, and anyone who knows you. Thanks!

...and she's back!

Yay, the aforementioned meds kicked in, woo-hoo! Ended up being a wonderful day, and here's why...
-I slept in. Like until 9am this morning. Well, actually I just refused to get out of bed. Yeah, I heard screaming outside my door, I just ignored it. I have been getting like NO SLEEP this whole week, and so I made up for it.
-I made cards this afternoon. Scrapbooking and crafting in general just make me feel good. I love carefully creating cards and get the warm fuzzies when i get to send them off..., love in an envelope!
-I MADE myself go run the Del Lago loop. Not super far (maybe 3.2miles?), and for not running as much as I would like to, did pretty good.
-Nice hot bath. Kellie's recipe for fantastic bath experience=Diet Dr Pepper, 2 cookies, new Creating Keepsakes mag for reading, the phone....blissful
-And, I just ordered a wrap dress in True Navy from Lands End. Fingers crossed it fits. I truly believe in the power of a wrap dress, feminine, comfy, classic, ....life changing! j/k
So there you have it...sleep+create+run+bath+shopping=happy Kellie

Defeated

Has it been enough time since my last whiney blog post to post a whiney blog post???
Aren't there days where you just feel defeated? That is totally where I am right now. Every day I make goals, and by the end of the day, I am just glad to have survived!
There were years where I painted, sewed and crafted pretty regularly. And that was when my babies were little. I currently have two bolts of fabric slated to become curtains....someday. But its one of those things, the walls need to be painted first, and before that, the plaster needs to be fixed, and by the way, the grout in the kitchen floor looks horrendous....hope I still like the fabric in 10 or so years.
And then there is the backyard. I worked my hiney off ripping trees and bushes out. Felt like a mighty, mighty warrior. Okay, now what? I need to haul off tons of rocks, to regrade the ground, dig trenches for sprinklers, put in extra valves....maybe when Shayne is retired.
The kids need to be fed everyday, the nerve! What's that, AND you want clean clothes???And, I have learned the hard way that I must do homework every day to hopefully get 'B's in my classes. Its the little league, volunteering at school, driving "into town". library runs, that keep us all pretty dang busy.
I have these weeks where I just feel beat down, and then, next week I could be super-obnoxiously positive about life. Now, where's my Ritalin, mommy needs her uppers...

Loyal

The other day, as I was reading on of my favorite food blogs, and she posted about "the best caramel popcorn". Well now, I'm thinking I already OWN the best caramel popcorn recipe, so I will just show HER and test it out (like, seriously, how would she even know). Two hours later, and many batches of cruddy popcorn later, I realize that my recipe, for me, is the best, and I just wasted my time. Caramel popcorn recipe, can you ever forgive me????
There are things like recipes and products, that for me, when I find the right one, I am just not interested in trying out anything else. Yummiest banana bread, check. Best english toffee, check. Wheat bread, check. I can not tell you how many dinner roll recipes I have tried, and I always come back to the same conclusion, MY ROLLS ARE THE BEST!!!(to me, anyways)
I am loyal to products too. Even if it is a great coupon or offer, I will generally pass it up, because I like what I like. Here are some examples...
Sour Cream-Daisy Brand sour cream is the best, hands down. Sorry Shamrock cows.
Taco sauce-(I realize that is a random product, but I use it a lot)-has to be La Victoria(must be the sugar in it like I like)
speaking of sugar...Spaghetti Sauce-Prego
Ranch dressing-here's where I am a snob, homemade is the only way to go
Hairspray-you all know I love BIG hair(closer to heaven, ya'll!)-I have tested MANY aerosol hairsprays out, take it from me-Aussie Instant Freeze, cement hard
Mascara-Maybelline Great Lash, good ole' pink and green
Soap-gotta be Dove bar soap, bring's out Shayne's sensitive side
Detergent-Gain ( I am a borderline laundry huffer, and its the soap that brings me the most "joy")
Tampons-hey, they are a part of life-Kotex, cuz' my momma said so
Perfume-its been my signature for years now, Ralph Lauren Romance
tennis shoes-Asics all the way, official shoe of plus size women everywhere, just kidding
Toothpaste-plain ole Crest PASTE, no whitening, gel, and sprinkles don't belong in toothpaste!

I also do not like going to ANY OTHER Fry's, Target or Costco than MY REGULAR LOCATIONS!!! I just can't enjoy it because I don't know where anything is. I will drive past a Fry's just to go to mine....

And to be honest, I really don't like trying out new resterants(how do you spell that???) I would rather Shayne try them out, and report back to me, and then I will decide.


So, what things are you loyal to?