Author: Melissa

Please meet Ellie’s new puppy:

If there is someone that you don’t like very much, you’ll want to give them this. Because this is the most annoying toy I have ever encountered. (And we have some family members who are experts at giving annoying toys!)   Especially since Ellie is only 4 and this toy is intended for ages 7 and up. So she has no clue how to play with it.

Yesterday Ellie couldn’t find the dog’s stupid bone. The dog was barking and whining and beeping and lights were flashing. Ellie was worried because the doggie was hungry and she couldn’t find its stupid bone. “Mommy, what will happen to the doggie if I can’t find its bone?” I made some sort of incredibly sensitive comment along the lines of “Well, she’ll probably die.”  Smooth, Mom. So, we looked for thirty minutes for the stupid bone for the stupid dog who would not shut up because it was #$@@*&^$ hungry!!!!

Oh – and the very very best part – there is no freaking off-switch on this thing!!! It has to die or whatever before it will shut up. We have to put it in its own room at night because it is so loud and never stops making noise.

I am going to throw this thing out the window pretty soon. I am totally not kidding.

Last night we were discussing Ellie’s 5th  birthday. (Its coming. Did you hear? Event of the year!)  This year I will be about 8 months pregnant that weekend, so we were thinking that it might be a good year to have the party somewhere else.

Ellie has her heart set on a “pony party” like one of her friends had, but because her birthday is in the middle of winter, that will not be happening.  So I began researching other options, like Libby Lu’s, Little Gym, even (groan) Chuck E Cheese.
Thump
That was me hitting the ground. Do you have any idea how much kids parties cost? Holy moly! I would much rather spend hundreds of dollars on something that lasts longer than two hours, thankyouverymuch.
Guess we’ll just have to suck it up and host it here!

I sent The Shakespeare Insult Kit out to my family this week and we have been trading insults ever since:
“You beslubbering fen-sucked clack-dish!”
“Whatever, you reeky fat-kidneyed clot-pole!!”
Its quite fun. Try it.

Beth at I Should Be Folding Laundryhad an exciting announcement. Funny blog posts are sure to follow.

Christie over at These are a few of my favorite things has shared her brilliant system for organizing her kids routines!

And – I almost forgot this one – BooMama posted a new brownie recipe for “Symphany Brownies” in this post, ironically about overeating. Recipe goes like this:
“You prepare your favorite brownie mix, pour half of it in the baking dish, top with Hershey’s Symphony Bars with Almonds and Toffee, pour the other half of the brownie mixture on top of the candy bars, and bake according to package directions. Then eat, praise Jesus, and repeat.”
I made this for Bible Study on Wednesday and every single person there was raving – raving – about these brownies and asking for the recipe. Oh, my stars, I will never make ordinary brownies ever again. But its got me thinking… what else could I crumble into the centers of my brownies?

Grace just came downstairs wearing three princess dresses. AT THE SAME TIME. Cinderella dress under a Snow White dress under a bride’s dress. And a veil. And wings. And a tiara. And a magic wand. And she is running around the room singing “Sal-lig-ga-goooola, Sal-llig-ga-goooola, Bobbity-Bobbity-Boo!” at the top of her lungs.

Of all the days for Husband to take the camera’s memory card to work….

Today we took the girls to the dentist today for the first time ever. (Husband came with me, since there was no way I was going to do that by myself!) We were prepared for anything. But… they were amazing!! Gracie insisted on sitting in my lap while her teeth were cleaned, but other than that… I could not believe it. After having so many horrendous experiences in the pediatricians office, having a completely uneventful dentist visit was a real shocker. And here I thought I’d have lots of blog fodder for you all today.
************
After we went to the dentist, we headed over to the mall, which happens to be right across the street. And browsing Pottery Barn Kids while my kids played with the toys, I totally decided what to decorate their room with!  Their room has pink walls, white furniture and light green accessories.  We’re hoping to get them a white bunk bed for Ellie’s 5th birthday in February (since she has been sleeping on a mattress on a floor since she got out of a crib) so we can finally really finish their room. And I love this light green polka dot duvet.  How cute will that be? I did cave and purchase  these mats (and plain green) today to go in her white picture frames. But I won’t open them until I decide for sure what we’re doing in their room.
*************
I also discovered my new favorite drink today: Starbucks Skinny Vanilla Latte. 90 calories. 0 fat. Heaven in a cup, people. Run. Run out and try one. And buy one for me.
Hey- this may help me in my quest to gain less than 10 pounds this week! Back to Starbucks!

Now this really isn’t a ‘gourmet’ recipe, but is darn good soup. This is supposedly Olive Garden’s recipe, but I haven’t been to an Olive Garden in approximately 2 years, so I can’t really compare the two…

Pasta Fagioli
1 lb ground beef
1 cup onion, diced
1 cup carrot, julienned
1 cup celery, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 cans diced tomatoes, with juice
1 can red kidney beans, with liquid
1 can great northern beans, with liquid
1 can tomato sauce
1 can V-8 juice
1 tbsp white vinegar
1 tsp oregano
1 tsp basil
1/2 tsp pepper
1/2 tsp thyme
1/2 package ditali pasta

Brown beef. Drain. Add onion, celery, carrot, and garlic; saute for 10 minutes.
Add rest of ingredients – except pasta – and simmer for 1 hour.
Cook pasta separate according to package directions, drain.
Add to soup just before serving and let simmer for 10 minutes.

Top with grated cheese and add some crusty bread. Yummmmmmm…….

Ellie has a friend from school over for a playdate this afternoon.

They were coloring at the kitchen table…
Ellie: Mom, can [girl] come back for another playdate again someday?
[girl]: Actually, I don’t want to come back to your house.

Can you just picture Ellie’s face? I could have died.

Yeah, well, actually that’s fine with me, since I don’t want you playing with my daughter if that’s how you’re going to treat her.  Grrrr……

Today I went to 6 stores and I did not buy anything. I only returned things. Even though some of those stores are quite dangerous for me to be in unsupervised. Like Target. 1% of Targets annual revenue probably comes from my family. They’re just mean with all the cute stuff they have in their store that I have to try really hard not to buy. (How cute would this look in my girls’ bedroom? Super cute, that’s how cute.)
Yes, I had gift cards burning a hole in my pocket. (Which I technically could have used without actually ‘spending money.’)
Yes, I saw things I needed. Okay, wanted. (50% off lots at Old Navy, people!! I mean, don’t this and this and especially this qualify as a “need”??? And just look at this… doesn’t the baby boy need clothes?? )
Yes, I did spend time browsing in every store. Including Goodwill.

But I resisted. I’m very proud of myself, since one of my goals this year is to curb frivolous spending and to try and to bring things in below budget every month so we can actually save some money this year. Novel idea, I know. But we’re wild and crazy like that in our household.  (Okay, Grace and I did buy a coffee and a cookie at Barnes & Noble with the $3.17 credit on a gift card after an exchange, but that’s it. I pinky-swear.)