sanity saver...AKA tips and tricks

Well, my friend Dana does tips and tricks on Tuesdays. They do works for me Wednesdays at We Are That Family. We all know I'm walkin' the line of sanity and...well...not sanity these days. BUT, anything I can do to get me to stay on the other side of the line, I'm for it. I thought you might be too. So, here is a tip that this mama did on her last school shopping outing that saved both time and sanity. That's right kids...a TWO-FER!!

I loathe, with the full on stink eye, shopping. WAIT WAIT WAIT...hear me out. I don't mind the looking process (enter obsession with junk/thrift/antique stores and yard sales.) But if I have to do anything that requires actual forethought for buying or heaven help me, trying anything on, I'm pretty much out. However, as the house manager, I discover more times than not that one of my little team players is in need of something in a bigger size (STOP GROWING ALREADY!!) This was the story a few weeks ago. Both boys needed school shoes. I have only taken my kids to try on shoes one time, EVER. For as long as I can, I will avoid it from now on. Here's how.

1. Grab your biggest most cooperative and at home during school hours cutest kid and some card stock (or scrapbook paper...or newspaper...or...you get it.) Don't judge the mound of clothes in the background b/c they are coming to some lucky friends out there.

2. Stand said child on the paper, leaving enough room to trace around each foot.

3. Make sure those lines are a little crooked at the toes and the heels. (If not, you just missed out on an opportunity to play with your kid for the only 2 seconds you can devote at the moment cause you only have about 6 loads of laundry to put away!!) I'm sorry. Where was I?
4. Once you have traced their very boy and Fred Flintstone looking feet, cut out around the tracings. They don't have to be perfect, but get the outline as close to the line as you can and hit the high points on the toes. And yes, I realize it's spelled wrong in the picture. sorry. I knew it didn't look right.
5. Label those jokers...especially if you have kids similar in age, you know...like twins...or quads. Be sure to put if it is their right or left.

Cause if you are on the brink of sanity one day, and you are out trying to find said sanity by getting out of the house, and you find yourself at a yard sale or thrift store, you don't need to teeter on the edge because you don't know your (or their) right from their left. Am I right?
6. Laminate 'em. You can be done after #5, but if you are going to multiple places and want to keep up with them for more than one day, i wouldn't choose that option. Or if you only use paper and not something heavier like card stock. I used Duck brand "Clear Laminate" (basically clear contact paper...cause I'm not as cool as a teacher.)
7. Punch holes in the foot and stick them through a paper clip or unused key ring. Stick them in your purse and go shoe shopping.
8. When you find some cute shoes, slide those puppies on the inside and see if it's a fit. Look at the top and be sure there is toe room. Look to the side so that you can see if the curve of their foot lines up with the arch support.

9. Be sure they are on sale and bring 'em home. I'm gonna guess you'll have happy feet (and more importantly will have avoided having to buy Hulk or Transformer shoes.)

and there you have it...how to save your mind shopping for the mythical unicorn shoes that fit.

minivan moments

on the way to the reunion on saturday, from the seat behind me i hear...

Seth: (muffled with mouth closed) HELP! HELP!!

Seth: nope. don't wanna hear it.

Seth: (muffled with mouth closed) SAVE ME!!!!

Seth: tooooo bad. i already ate you. you're in my belly now!!!

poor micky mouse fruit snack. i may need to have him looked at.

i just love her...i just do.

minivan moments

on the way home from school yesterday, this conversation happened.

Luke: (from the way back) Mama, how did I get here?
Me: (are we seriously having this conversation now? i was thinking you were talking about letters and numbers today, and lo and behold, the meaning of life??) ummmm....what do you mean?
Luke: how did i get here?
Me: Well, God put you in my belly, remember?
Luke: A girl God put me in there?
Me: (seriously, what are they teaching my child??) No baby. GOd isn't a girl.
Luke: How did he get me in your belly?
Me: (note to self...check to see if they are teaching anatomy in kindergarten.) well, one day, mama and daddy loved each other so much, God decided we needed to share that love with someone else. So He put you in my belly to grow until you were big enough for us to share those hugs with you. And when you were big enough, you came out.
Luke: oh yeah. and then i went to kindergarten.
Me: that's about right.
Luke: wait...NO. first i went to preschool, theeen kindergarten.
Me: that's exactly how it happened son.

cause sometimes they need to know the correct timeline. i mean, it's all about schedules, am i right?

next up...
kids singing along to Veggie Tales "God Is Bigger Than the Boogie Man"

little sethy (who may take more after Micah in his singing abilities...sorry bubby) original words in red (cause that's how they do it in the Bible). italics is seth's version...
Bob: You were lying in your bed
You were feeling kind of sleepy
But you couldn't close your eyes because the room was getting creepy.
Larry: Were those eyeballs in the closet?
Was that Godzilla in the hall?
Bob: There was something big and hairy casting shadows on the wall.
Now your heart is feeling like a crumb...(beating like a drum)
Your skin is getting clammy.
There's a hundred tiny monsters jumping right into your jammies!

i just love these kids.

i think we need a break....

well, i don't know that NEED is the right word, but i'm gonna have to check out on yall for just a little bit. obviously, i have a few upcoming projects in the works. but also, i have got to get in more training for my job. i received a ton of "algorithms" that i have to go through not once, but twice before i can get started. yeesh! but if you called an after hours nurse, you'd want her to talk to you and not sound like everything is coming from a computer, wouldn't you? (and my bigger thing will be going through the peds stuff. have i mentioned that my "seniors" weren't the high school kind?) anywho, that being said, i need to ignore this part of the computer for a little bit. thank you for your imput on the last 2 posts. my husband thinks i'm a little nutty in some of my decisions. so i like to have back up to let him know he's the nutty one! or is it this little girl?

prissy girl, i'm gonna go on record as saying that putting your brother's boxers around your neck may not be the best idea you ever had. and i'm quite sure it's not the fashion statement you were going for. but i'm trying to embrace your individuality. you got closer today. today it was an actual shirt that you put around your neck by the arm hole. good thing it was a girly wife beater. and did i mention that you are looking entirely tooooo big standing there with your "sassy". cause you totally are. (note...sassy + 2 da-dohs, or hippos, = ni-ni...or night night.)

now tell me this...

thank you for your comments on my outdoor decor. you absolutely read my mind!! i'll have to show you what i do.

now, i want you to comment and tell me what kind of forward facing car seat your kiddies have/had. for some odd reason, i didn't realize that car seats expire. the one sis is in is already 6 years old and has held 2 boys before her. i'm thinking we need to upgrade. i want a good seat as she'll be riding it for a good 3 more years. but i don't want to break the bank. but it want it to be safe...and comfy. as i'm sure your children gave you the low down on how they felt about their seat, their opinions are also welcome.

opinions wanted...

first of all, excuse the total over exposure of that picture. it was taken when we had our home on the market and i was trying to get some in at different times of day. moving on...now, the reason i called you all here today is for a vote. (ooo...maybe i'll put a little poll thing in my side bar.) i'm thinking i want to paint my front door and or my wicker furniture. here's the deal. every house on our road is red brick and all (15 of them) save 2 have white front doors. here is part of the catch...mine is the only one on the road without shutters. so i don't really know what to do. i am hoping for a little pop. something to make our house look different (aside from the fact that we have mature trees and a larger yard...neener neener neener...). so, take a look. enlarge that bad boy. tell me what you think. leave well enough alone, or slap some paint on her and make her all purdy. i'm not gonna tell you what i'm leaning toward b/c i want honesty. now...come out of your little google reader and leave me a comment. pretend you love me.

went on a picnik...

i used picnik.com to "edit" these images. they make me look a little more like i know what i'm doing, huh? give 'em a whirl. it's free. well, what i do is. cause i am totally cheap!!

just testing this out...

i know you just saw this pic below. thanks for endulging me as i learn how to play with some photo editing. have a great weekend! here's hoping i cross even more off of my to do list!!

Kindergarten

not everone was excited about luke going to kindergarten...

on the way to school this morning,(which for the inaugural first day included all 5 tuckers) luke said "Seth, I'll miss you while I'm at school." "Luke, I'll miss you too." Seth said "Mama, I sure will miss my brother..."



Luke's teacher is Mrs. Carter. Seth is feeling better for now (nothing like a little Blue's clues and finger painting.) I asked him what would make it better on the way home. He said "when my brother comes home...". can you even stand it??

unlike seth, Luke and I couldn't have been more excited!!

What's for Supper Wednesday?

sorry i didn't get this out yesterday. i had every intent to get you a recipe on tuesday. but alas, tuesday got away from me. i have added a list on the right side of all of my upcoming projects. so if i go missing for a while, i'm probably weilding a paintbrush and continuing my quest to make our house a home (i mean, we've only lived here 7 years!) and so...

Broccoli Chicken Casserole
(your hubby that doesn't like broccoli, will have 2 helpings. i PROMISE!!)

you need about 2 cups of chopped cooked chicken

and about 2 cups of chopped fresh broccoli (i don't prefer stems...so this is about 2 heads of broc)

1 can cream of chicken soup

1 can cream of celery soup

3/4 cup of sour cream

8 oz. velveeta

mix soups, sour cream and velveeta and heat in the microwave until the velveeta is almost all melted. in the mean time, sautee broccoli with a little butter until it becomes tender. then mix broccoli and chicken into soup mixture and pour it all into a 13x9x2 pyrex dish sprayed with pam. bake at 350 until bubbly.

when bubbly, add a sleeve of crushed ritz crackers and some french fried onions pieces. spray that with butter spray (or you can melt some of the real thing and pour it over!) bake until topping is slightly browned.

dish it up and yummmm!! serve it with some sister schubert's.