Song Tagged!

I've been song tagged by Bella!

Here is the tag:
List 7 songs you are into right now. No matter what genre, whether they have words, or even if they are not any good, but they must be songs you are really into right now, shaping your summer.
Post these instructions in your blog along with your 7 songs.Then tag 7 other people to see what they're listening to.

I tell you what, Bella, you got lucky this summer. Ordinarily all I listen to is talk radio. Well, sometimes I flip it over to contemporary Christian. But this summer I've been going back to my roots and really been digging some country music. Okay, blaring it and singing at the top of my lungs. I've had a few that have really spoke to me this summer. Now, ya'll, I am just terrible with song titles and the artists' names. Bear with me.

1. Every Other Weekend by Kenny Chesney and Reba---the first divorce on my mom's side of the family is occurring and one of my close friends is having some marital problems.

2. I Don't Even Know His Last Name by Carrie Underwood---yeah, it's moral content is horrible, but it gives me a laugh every time I hear it

3. You Should Have Seen It in Color by ???? (if anyone knows, tell me!)---Rhett's grandpa is a WWII vet and this song just speaks to my heart and makes me ache that we are at a point where our time left with our grandparents is very limited and that generation was like the golden generation to me. I have so much respect for them.

4. She's Somebody's Hero (?) by ????? (again, please let me know the artist, you music junkies)---Love it, love it, love it! Makes me think about how BFG looks up to me and I pray that I can be a wife and mother worthy of her wanting to care for me when I am elderly.

5. Indian Outlaw by ????---This song has been running through my head ever since I saw the snake. Like I can't get it out. It's taking on its own personality. I'm getting a little worried. Help!

6. Man of Conviction (?) by Toby Keith---Okay, I am crazy in love with anything by Toby Keith right now. I really liked him before, but me & Rhett watched his movie Broken Bridges a few weeks ago and now I am totally into him! He is just so cool!

7. A Country Boy Can Survive by Hank Williams Jr.---Okay, there is something elemental about having moved out to the country. There's just something about having land and a gun that speaks to my core. Pioneer spirit maybe? Being an American traditionalist? I don't know. But I do know that when this song came on about a month ago, I literally cut Rhett off mid-sentence and sang it at the top of my lungs and followed the song up with a lecture to BFG about how country people really can survive. Yeah, you can say it . . . I think I'm cool living in the country. Of course, if it came down to it and I really had to survive living off the land, I'm sure I would be an absolute wreck and total dead weight.

Oh, I have no idea who to tag with this. So, I guess I'll just pass on that part. Hope it doesn't mess anything up.

Kickin' up my heels in the country,
Mama Said

Busy Week . . . Again

Whew! This has been a crazy week already! I totally missed Muffin Tin Monday this week. I've been running around here with one little crisis after another. Nothing big just enough to keep me hopping.
Here's an update on our week:

-The window company is finally coming to put in our windows on Thursday. Gulp! That's tomorrow! Okay, major panic attack! I have to move everything away from the windows. I don't even think our bed will fit in the room 2 ft away from the windows. How is that going to work? Plus, all the junk and boxes and stuff I've never got around to are guess where? You got it! Piled up by the windows.

-I've spent 2 days trying to find those furniture slider things. You know, the discs you put under the furniture to make it slide like butter across the floor. I thought these were quite popular and would be rather easy to find without going into the "big town." Wrong! I guess once again I'm behind the times. So, ended up at "big town" at Wal-Mart of course. And, what's the magic number to spend at Wal-Mart? $80. I can never get out of there without spending $80 dollars! My total was $78.11. What the heck? It amazes me how they do that. Rhett was like "Well, they did their job. You went in for one thing and spent $80." He doesn't see how this is possible. My response is he shouldn't have made the furniture sliders my responsibility. Otherwise, I would never have been in Wal-Mart yesterday. And, of course, I really needed all the stuff I bought. He'll see.

-My other major panic attack has been that a few months ago I came up with this big plan for my grandmother's birthday. I wanted me, my sis, my mom, and my aunt to all go to my grandmother's and go shopping, out to eat, and stay up late and spend the night all with no husbands or kids. You know, so it would be like it was when I was little. Plain ol' girl fun. I know my grandmother will love it. But, whoops! My mom and aunt wrote it down and have been making big plans and I totally forgot about it. I mean I totally forgot about it. To the point where I had come up with a whole new set of plans for her birthday. I tried to play it off to my mom like I hadn't forgotten. But I felt too guilty and had to confess that I hadn't thought about it in a really long time. I can't believe I forgot it! I think I'm going to blame it on the Clomid. I think I'm going to divide my life into before Clomid, during Clomid, and after Clomid. I can't be accountable for anything I said or did before or during. We'll see about after. :) Oh, uh, did I mention her birthday is this Saturday? Eeeek!

-The laugh of the week so far has been Rhett's new driver's license picture. He looks like a pumpkin head! His words, not mine. But it's true. I don't know what happened to the boy. How do you walk in there normal and come out normal but with a picture in between that looks like you have a pumpkin for a head? Was it the orange shirt? Was it cause they get so close? Was it the lack of a hair cut? I don't get it. But at least we'll get to laugh for the next 5 years.

Well, gotta get crack-a-lackin' on moving all that stuff!
Mama Said

Desperate Households

I've been promising a review of the book Desperate Households by Kathy Peel for awhile now. I found it right after I read S.H.E (Sidetracked Home Executives). I liked what I read in SHE, but I went ahead and read Dsp. HH just in case it contained the magic cure in which I could have a clean house without actually cleaning. Uh, it didn't. So don't get your hopes up. I've read so many organizing books now that I think I have to finally face that I am going to have to clean day in and day out for the rest of my life. Sigh.

I liked Dsp. HH and would recommend reading it. However, it wasn't specific enough for me for that to be my only resource. She takes more of a decide on your priorities, decide how much mess you can live with, and how to fix problem areas approach. I am too loopy for that and all that deciding makes my brain hurt. I want a step 1-do this, step 2-do this, etc. (which is more of what SHE is). But I did like it and got some useful things out of it.

I will say that I did absolutely love her Christian viewpoint on maintaining your household. She explains and supports the traditional Christian roles for man and wife. I am thrilled to see her Christian perspective throughout the book since she has been on Oprah and The Early Show. I pray that people who might not have been exposed to the Lord got a chance to read about Him.

The premise of the book is that she divides managing the household into 7 departments and then each chapter is about how to "makeover" that department. Each chapter also includes a chart in which you can find your problem and she gives ideas on how to solve it. Pretty helpful esp. if you do have just some problem areas and are not living in a train wreck like I am.

One thing that stood out to me was she said that it didn't matter how shiny your sink was if your were screaming at your family to get it done. Seeing as I was screaming at my family while trying to get my SHE cards done, I realized the cards and a spotless house aren't worth it if I can't be kind to my family. So, I've laxed up a bit and luckily, the cards get easier and easier to complete taking up less time and lessening the need to scream at anyone or anything that gets in your path.

She says to make a Daily Hit list each morning for the tasks you need to complete. That is helpful. But with the SHE cards, I already have my "list" ready to go without having to take time out to do it.

Desp. HH did inspire me to redo my meal plan/menu or lack thereof. I am so excited about this! I'm going to post my menu makeover plan soon for ya'll. It helps so much. I've done it before but never stuck with it. So, I'm really trying to do something I can just rotate.

Dsp. HH also really, really, really encourages getting up early. This hit me hard 'cause I don't. But I have known for years that I need to get up early and I know that it would improve my household so much. Can you tell I still haven't done it? I'm going to though. Ya'll challenge me. I have GOT to do this. This is going to be one of my biggest struggles. But I'm determined to do it before I start homeschool preschool with BFG this fall.

And I guess I have to say after reading the book, I thought ya' know I really could be okay with some mess. Do I really want to spend time every month cleaning baseboards and dusting every nook and cranny? I seriously think I am just fine with doing a major spring and major fall cleaning for all that kind of stuff which is totally opposite of SHE. That is my complaint with SHE that when you do it fully, you spend hours upon hours cleaning every week. I desperately need my SHE cards to keep up. But I think I may limit the SHE system to help me with the basics to preserve my sanity and keep things rolling smoothly. But I'm not gonna worry about being spotless. I want to live my life and enjoy BFG. There is time enough for a spotless house later on down the road.

Mama Said

Addiction

I learned something about myself while Rhett was off last week. I am totally addicted to my S.H.E. (Sidetracked Home Executive) cards! I wasn't able to do them last week. I tried. Oh how I tried that first day. But my need to see the living room complete trumped the cards. So, last week, I was an absolute mess. Everything was out of sorts and out of order. I thought I was going to go insane! I was completely lost and couldn't keep up with anything. This Monday was a good day because I got to get back on track with the cards. It was such a relief and I felt so much better! And so did Rhett. I think he was as happy as I was to have things back in order.



I totally believe in the cards. Now, I'm still not 100% on them as in doing all the monthly and seasonal stuff yet. But this is definitely the system for me. I have seen a change in myself. I am shifting from the haphazard out-of-control SAHM to a more calm and controlled SAHM. I can no longer just blindly walk through my kitchen with dishes piled up and overflowing. I have actually found myself putting the dishes in the dishwasher the moment I finish with them! Gasp! I know for you Born Organized folks that's a given. But for a S.H.E., this is a huge deal. The past couple of times I have been at my mom's, I literally jumped up and started cleaning up after we ate. I can't believe that either. I usually just laze around looking at the Sunday paper and saying to my sis, "We really should get in there and help Mama." If you knew how much I detest cleaning up my mom's kitchen, you would be even more impressed. I know everyone who eats there with us is related, but it just makes me sick to my stomach to have to touch the partially eaten food on the plates. It's made me sick ever since I was little. I don't have a problem with it at my house even when non-related people eat with us. Oh, well. Just one more way I'm weird and crazy. I know Freud would have a field day with me. LOL!
Anyway, point is: S.H.E. cards good. Me like.
Mama Said

The Shoe Search

I had this big ol' post I was going to do about my SHE cards, but geez! What a day! I really think that one day I could put together all my experiences running errands and have a bestselling book. I'm sure it would sell because every mother can relate! The stuff we go through while running errands is just plain ol' insane.

I will admit that I did make a few mistakes on this trip. Well, let me start off with our goals.
Goal #1: Buy Rhett some new tennis shoes just like the ones he already has but have become too stinky to be kept inside the house.
Goal #2: Buy powdered milk, eggs, & cream cheese.
Goal #3: Buy Rhett some personal clothing. Apparently all his stuff is wearing out at the same time.

Mistake #1: I started off my day with a slight migraine (Thanks, Clomid!) and forgot to take anything before we left and had nothing with me to take. Dumb-da-dumb-dumb!
Mistake #2: Tried the local shoe outlet to see if by chance if they might have Rhett's shoes. Not sure what I was thinking. Big waste of time esp. the 20 minutes I spent looking for shoes for me that I did not buy.
Mistake #3: Getting sidetracked by two of the stores in the strip mall where Shoe Carnival is and getting suckered into buying BFG a water bottle jug thing that says Jesus Loves Jasmine (For those of you who don't know, Jasmine is NOT BFG's name). In my defense though, they were 75% off, she's wanted one for a long time, and she can pretend she's Princess Jasmine from Aladdin when drinking from it.
Mistake #4: Thinking that Shoe Carnival would have the shoes.
Mistake #5: Banking on the free samples from Sam's being mine and BFG's lunch. Ooops! All we got was 1 corndog nugget (just one, I didn't get to eat one, the lady only put out one at a time and wouldn't give me a second one for me), a little bite of a chicken strip each, and a bite of beef jerky each. I just wonder do they put the sourest old people in charge of the samples or what? If you are going to give FREE food, be a cheerful giver, darn it! Don't begrudge every bite you pass out.
Mistake #6: Going to Sam's to buy the powdered milk. OMG! I could not find it anywhere! I am just sure they sell it. They have to. They're Sam's for Pete's sake. But none, nada, nothing after scouring every aisle. Of course, there was no one to ask. I guess all the workers were in the back chowing down on all the free samples they didn't pass out to the customers.
Mistake #7: Not buying the shoes at the 3rd shoe store that are just like Rhett's except for blue Adidas stripes for $40. They didn't carry them in all white. So, of course, I held out and drug BFG to the mall and finally found the shoes! Yeah, I found them. For 70 bucks. Forget that. For $30, ol' Rhett can live with some blue stripes.

All in all, it was just miserable. Out of 4 shoe stores, Sam's, Old Navy, and Lifeway, I ended up with the Jesus Loves Jasmine bottle, 2 $5 movies from Lifeway, Rhett's personal garments, and 10 lbs. of sugar. Oh, and a bottle of Gatorade from the mall vending machine for BFG. My head hurt so bad by the time we were done, my eyes were tearing up.

Poor BFG! We walked past the play area at the mall which has a half-wall around it. I kind of stopped and looked for a minute thinking "BFG has been sooooo good. I really should let her play for a few minutes." But I was just too tired and I kept going.
BFG: Mama, what are they doing?
Me: Oh, I don't know. (Liar!)
BFG: Playing or something? (Busted!)
Me: Yeah, they might be. Sounds like they are having fun.
BFG: But we're not, Mama? We're not having fun?
Me: No, sweetie. We're not anymore.

Later when Rhett got home, he told me I could buy him absolutely any shoe I wanted to. He didn't care. It didn't have to be the same. Now, this is NOT what he said when he asked me to go buy him some. After the torturous shoe search in 90 degree weather with a 3 yr. old and a migraine, I cried when he told me that. Cried. Can you believe it? I guess I can. It's day 4 of the Clomid and by day 4, I am a crazy person. Last month on day 4, I argued with anyone and everyone I came across. I pray I get pregnant and all, but I have to say that I am so glad this is the last cycle. I hate being on this stuff.

Muffin Tin Monday: Build-A-Bear!

Check it out! Muffin Tin Monday--Build-A-Bear Style! I very lightly toasted whole grain bread and cut it out with a teddy bear cookie cutter. The contents in the tin that we used to decorate with are (starting at top left): graham crackers, peanut butter, jelly, peanut butter (again 'cause this was my lunch too!), goldfish crackers, apples, pretzels, Cheerios, peanuts, chow mien noodles, mini marshmallows, and chocolate chips. See our results below.

This one was mine. Could you tell? :) I know this sounds weird. But this was absolutely delicious! I devoured anything and everything BFG had left when she was done. It was that good!
Here's BFG's. Aren't they precious? I'm not really sure what the pretzels sticking straight up are, but the apple slices are spider shields. You know every bread bear needs one of those. It's all the rage this season. BFG really had alot of fun with this and she snacked on all the goodies while making them. Another fun way to do this concept would be to use marshmallow cream as your "glue" and lots of different fruit for your decorating. I guess you could even do sugar cookies and make little bear fruit pizzas. Mmmmm! I love fruit pizza! I haven't had one in ages. Are they out of style or something? Man, I may have to hit my aunt up for one sometime soon. See why I need the SHE cards? I ramble constantly! It's gonna be all I can do to not start looking up fruit pizza recipes right now and go back to cleaning the kitchen. {sigh!}

Don't forget to check out Katy's Muffin Tin Mamas to see more ideas!

Mama Said

Progress

We are making some progress this week! Yay! Rhett has been off from work. I'm sure you noticed that I was unable to reside in cyberworld this week. It was work, work, work! But I didn't mind 'cause I'm deliriously happy that I may have a living room again in a matter of a couple of weeks! We got everything painted and Rhett is getting the floor laid a little at a time. I never dreamed the floor would be that slow to put down. But hopefully, it will be put down right. I'm a little nervous 'cause I think the kind of floor we got is supposed to be glued down directly to the floor. But there was no way we were going to glue it down the the original plank floors! And we had bought our hardwood at a salvage place months ago and can't return it. So, we'll see how it lasts the way we are putting it in.

The pic is BFG's contribution to the painting project. She had so much fun! The two big people on the left are her and Rhett. I don't know if you can tell where I am. I am a tiny little person down below the big blob. I truly think that this was a matter of running out of room to paint and not like the child psychologists say that children draw the most important things the biggest. I mean I hope so. It better be. Not that I think I should be bigger than Rhett. Just even us up a little, would ya', BFG? I'm just kidding. She actually said she ran out of room and had to make me smaller. But I got a laugh off of it and am rethinking everything I learned in college about child psychology. Gasp! Could it be that all these years that the kids actually just ran out of room on their paper? Wow! What a breakthrough! There isn't some grand secret meaning into all their drawings! Ha!

BTW, to all you Nesters out there, in case you've wondered--Tobacco Road IS the best paint color ever! I love it, love it, love it!

Tired, but happy,

Mama Said