We Are Family

The tagline I usually use for my blogs, my FB page, etc… is that we are a happy family of three, formed through love and adoption. It’s the tagline for our lives. Because it’s true.

* Thanks for the sweet family pic, Shawna!

FGF: Hand-me-down Heaven

What makes me feel good today?

Hand-me-downs.

LOTS of them.

We are so spoiled. My sister just happens to have 2 boys (6 & 8) and also just happened to keep every single piece of their previously-worn clothing neatly stored in bins that she rolls out for us each season. It's insane.

They have also given us a crib, dresser, stroller, pack-n-play, toys ... and the list goes on and on.

Spoiled, I tell you.

I have the best sister in the world!

See all the clothes in the pic below? That's only about 1/3 of what she gave us for summer.

Not having to drop tons of cash on summer clothes for the boy makes me soooo happy!

Your Husband is Hiding Something From You

I was desperate. It was one of those rare 80-degrees-in-April kind of days here in Minnesota recently and that presented a crisis of ghastly proportions.

I wanted to wear capris. But wearing said short pants would show parts of my pasty white legs that have not seen the light of day since last September.

But that's not the worst part.

The worst part is the hot mess that is created when you don't have to/need to/want to shave your legs for days/weeks/months at a time.

I needed to shave. Seems simple enough, right?? But then I looked around for a razor. Generally I use something like this: Schick Quattro for Women High Performance Razor

But I could not find any extra blades ANYWHERE. Then I looked for a crappy disposable one. NOTHING. But I was desperate here, people.The word forest comes to mind and I'm not even kidding. I thought nothin' was getting through it...

[TMI? Yeah. I think so, too. Sorry about that.]

So, I did what anyone else in my situation would do. Steal. Borrow.

My hubby (who we joke has a 5 o'clock shadow by 9 a.m.) uses these beauties with FIVE blades: Gillette Fusion Manual Razor

I give it a try. And let me just say this: Shaving with this thing is like getting licked by friggin' kittens.

*sigh*

I feel almost betrayed. Like my husband has been keeping this huge secret from me all this time. Why didn't he tell me about the five blades from heaven???

I'm never, ever, ever, never, ever going back to using women's razors again.

So ladies, raid your husband's toiletries and start shaving. Those replacement cartidges are not cheap....but it's so very worth it.

Happy Spring, legs!

W... W... W... Wednesdays

This is a meme after my own heart...books. If you haven't already gotten the hint I LOVE books. I wish I could dedicate my life to reading books but sadly just squeeze it in when I can. So, I am going to participate in W... W... W... Wednesdays over at Should Be Reading.


What are you currently reading?

I am actually reading these two simultaneously right now. Because obviously.


Dead Until Dark is the book that the HBO series "True Blood" is based on. Now, I haven't seen the show but damn the book is intriguing. It's a mix of sex, mystery, sci fi and romance...all mixed up in one big vampire stew. I am half way through and loving it. Escapism at it's finest.

And I am just a couple of pages into the Lincoln one so stay tuned for a review.

*** PLEASE NOTE: I would just like to say that I am really not that into vampires and zombies. It just happens that MANY of the books I have read recently (including the Twilight series) falls into this category. It's all the rage right now and I'm hip like that. All the cool kids are doing it.


What did you recently finish reading?

See this post.


What do you think you'll read next?


I will be reading The Help. I cannot wait to start this one. It is our next bookclub book and it has been on my "to-read" list for many months. I have read so many glowing reviews of this book I hope it will live up to all the praise! I'm sure it will.

The Downsides of Skype

I decided that Skype definitely has it's negatives after a conversation that I had with my dad the other night that went something like this:

Dad: "How are you doing?"

Me: "Fine. Tired."

Dad: "Yeah, you definitely LOOK tired."

Thanks. Thanks a lot.

So, the downsides of Skype, as I see it:

1) You clearly can get unwanted comments about the state of your appearance.

2) Going to the bathroom while having a conversation is out of the question.

3) You have to wear clothes. Unless you're into that kind of thing.

4) You can't roll your eyes at something the other person says.

5) You can't multitask. (i.e. wash the dishes, watch American Idol and talk on the phone all at the same time...just isn't happening with Skype)

I know this person agrees with me.

Don't get me wrong, I actually really like Skype for the fact that Miles can now see and talk to my parents when they are down in Arizona for the winter. But, like I have already pointed out...there are some definite pitfalls I hadn't imagined.

So, yeah...regular old phones definitely look pretty good sometimes...especially when I don't.

Feel Good Friday: Dumpster Diving

Here I go again, back for more Feel Good Friday presented by The Girl Next Door Grows Up.

I chose prompt #2 this week:

Write about something that happened to you this week that really made you smile. Was it your child, husband, or maybe a complete stranger did to you?

Well, here's a little story about something that a stranger did that is just too good not to share ;)

Does anyone remember the "Stop glaring at my son and go back to pretending your kids are perfect" post from way back in November? Anyone? Anyone? Bueller??

Well, we decided to give storytime at the public library another shot a few nights ago. It was...I can't sugarcoat this one -- it sucked. He lasted for approx. 10 minutes being fully engaged in the songs and the stories and then it was all over. Suddenly my two year old decided it was way more important to throw a fit over the animal crackers in the diaper bag that I wouldn't let him have. So, needless to say, we left. Such is life with our spunkalicious boy. (I totally just made up that word and I kinda dig it.) He has been such a doll as of late I really can't complain.

As we were walking out of the library and back to our car we noticed an older, well-dressed gentleman walking toward the dumpsters behind the library. I didn't think much of it until he opened up the lid to those dumpsters and started digging through.

Now, normally I would be a mixture of horrified and sad that someone feels the need to dig through dumpsters to get what they need in life. But this time? This time I was thinking that this man is a genius.

Grant and I shot each other an "OMG" look as we watched this guy pull out BOOK after BOOK. He would check out the title, keep the ones that he wanted and throw the others back in. He was shopping for discarded books in the library dumpster. Sad? NO. Brilliant!

I'm sure the library has some pretty good reasons for throwing out books that can't be recycled or given to Goodwill. They are probably old, damaged, spilled on, ripped apart or just so out of date they have no relevance anymore to anyone. I am not questioning the library at all. I am the biggest fan of public libraries that you will ever meet. Clearly a woman invented public library because they are JUST. THAT. COOL.

What's the saying? One person's trash is another person's treasure? YEP.

It was all I could do not to run over and dig through there with him.

Okay, that's a lie. The germaphobe in me repels against dumpster diving of any sort. But I really did want to go over there and ask him what in the world ever possessed him to start looking for tossed out books in the library dumpster. Truly, if I was a documentarian this would be a fascinating subject, yes? What lengths people go to and how creative they get to save a buck!

And what did Frugal Grant think?

I think I saw a tear in his eye. This man is now his hero.

By Popular Demand: The Zombie Punch Recipe

This is not an April Fool's joke. There really is that much alcohol in this punch. ;) Deeeelish!


Zombie Punch

1/2 c Bacardi® 151 rum
1 frozen, thawed container 100% pineapple juice, undiluted
1 c orange juice
1/2 c apricot brandy
4 tsp sugar
2 c light rum
1 c dark rum
1/2 c lime juice
Mint leaves and cherries or dried cherries, more for garnish
TONS OF ICE IN THE PITCHER

Thanks, Nurse Leathers!

ENJOY!