My Little Life

Why yes, I did, indeed, just use a hashtag in the title of my blog post, but only because: Dubya Did FL!! (And yes, that was the Insta hashtag that I used to document our trip!) Remember the fabulous 11th birthday tradition my parents have with their grandchildren? Well, guess who just turned 11? Yup...my sweet, big hearted, non-stop talking, thrill ride loving middle child turned the big ONE-ONE. So, without further ado, let me bring you up to speed on the whirlwind trip that is our 11th birthday FL tradition...(oh, and I "get" to go along, but I pay my own way!) First up...Dubya's first airplane ride. Gosh dang is it cute to watch a first time airplane rider. At least...I think it was cute. Maybe it was cute? I dunno...I was chillin' with a little Valium coursing through my veins, so who knows, really, how "cute" his first plane ride was. :) (Actually, I don't get that zonked from the drugs...it just leaves me a little chill...a little "...

Actually, I digress, it's a bit warmer today. But anyway, back to regular scheduled programming... Lemme tell you a little story. Once upon a time, a young couple (that'd be me and Mr. Wonderful) and their littl e family (that'd be Pal, Belle, and Dubya) bought a house from a couple that had previously had a wood stove in aforementioned house and, hence, were eligible for "dual fuel", or "off peak" heat. Quick factoid regarding "dual fuel" heat: you get a significant savings on your electric heat if you have a back up heat source and allow the electric company to turn off your heat (only for a couple of hours) during peak usage times. Another factoid: electric heat is SPENDY, so the inconvenience of the electric company shutting off your heat, temporarily, is well worth it. Back to the story: So, we also have fireplaces...more for looks, but they'd prob do in a pinch if we were in dire straights...so, we still qualify for the dual...

Last year, at about this time, during conferences, our Baby Girl's teacher told us that according to her standardized test results she was "borderline qualifying" for Title 1 service. Those words made me catch my breath. "WHAT??? MY daughter? Qualifying for Title 1? Couldn't be." And so, Mr. Wonderful and I talked it over, I talked with a few of my teacher friends, I scratched my head in confusion...she seemed to be at (if not further) the same "place" as our other children. The difference? Her personality. Shy (especially with strangers), where they were more outgoing. Stubborn, where they were "go with the flow".  We all agreed...we'd wait it out. Let her get more accustomed to school, tests, etc. Let her get more confidence. And so, we rode it out until winter when we were informed, via letter, "According to your child's test results, she qualifies for Title 1 services which will start...". And just like that,...

As we speak, my mom, SIL and myself are power shopping our way through the Mall of America! It's our annual Christmas shopping kick-off and man alive...was I due for a little "me" time! After single-parenting it for the last two weekends (hubby was deer hunting), I was ready to have a night that I didn't need to worry about bedtime or supper or baths or laundry! Don't get me wrong, I absolutely LOVE being a mom and very rarely "need" time away AND I have a husband that is "all in" when it comes to parenting, but sometimes? Sometimes a mama just needs a night away. A dinner out, where she doesn't have to share even ONE bite of her salad.  A bedtime where the ONLY person she needs to worry about brushing their teeth is HERSELF. And that night was last night. At the Radison Blu...attached to the mall so we didn't even have to step foot outside and could haul bags to and from our room! Like a little slice of heaven, right he...

Just finished up a fantastic weekend. Started with my least favorite holiday of the year and a bad attitude turned completely around...like when the Grinch's heart grew 3 sizes.  For several years, I took our kids trick-or-treating in our town's business trick-or-treat event. And each year I grew more and more hateful toward Halloween until I realized it was the HORDES of people fighting in and out of small doorways for one small tootsie roll that were making me so stressed out! So last year, I said ENOUGH! No more downtown trick-or-treating. Mama needs her sanity. We did our annual Gram's Chili and then the hubby took the kids around to a few houses near my grandparents. Well, this year, I decided (begrudgingly) to go along with them and guess what???? I actually found myself enjoying it! Watching my bundled up Elsa, dress billowing out from under her winter coat, run door to door, seeing my kids being all shy and uncertain at the first couple of houses and th...

Used to be that I'd share a picture now and then when I did a photo shoot. While my shoots are few and far between these days, I do have some to show you! But first up...how do y'all store your photos? I've discovered my picture taking has WAY slacked off since my laptop ran out of memory. And, I'm not a fan of my external hard drive because it just DUMPS the pictures in there and, for example, leaves me with 5+ photos with the same title (DSC_0043 or something like that). Can I move them into folders? Will it take me 87 years? Is there some online storage solution that I can pull my photos back from (not Shutterfly, for example)? I've tried uploading to Google, but it never works. (What am I doing wrong?) Help!! Anyway, here's a few of my faves from my most recent shoots... Happy Monday!

We had Dr. J and her awesome family over this weekend, and as we were getting ready for them, I decided to decorate my mantle for fall. Dubya hauled up my Rubbermaid tote full of fall decor for me and we began to set things out, feeling content and happy as I sprinkled my house with hues of orange, red, and yellow. Prior to our remodel project, our fireplace was something I tolerated. Put up with. The Mr. and I had spoken, now and then, about refacing it with stone or some other kind of brick but it was my dad that spoke these wise words, "Just wait until you're done with your project...you might change your mind about it.". Never. I NEVER thought I'd change my mind about our fireplace being something other than an object that I just put up with. I never thought that I could actually APPRECIATE our fireplace...but then? Something magical happened. As things came together with the remodel project, I began to realize that our fireplace was starting to shine. I w...