Tuesday, June 30, 2009

A Good Day


Today is a good day.
No one has really fought with his brother.
No one has really pouted.
No one has really talked back.
No one has stepped on a Lego.
This is good.
Will it last all day???

Monday, June 29, 2009

It's Harder Then It Looks


Do you know how hard it is to take a picture of a baby's first teeth?
It takes a lot of dedication and hard work, at least ten minutes, and at least fifty shots, before the teeth are captured.
Even then, those darn teeth are not showcased in the cutest of pictures.
Take it or leave it...Ethan has two teeth, they came in on the same day and gave him (almost) no trouble. Hope that wasn't beginners luck and that his teething experience remains one where a little bit of tylonel and a few teething tablets always does the trick.

Friday, June 26, 2009

LSU Tigers...#1 AGAIN! and a recipe for Longhorn Gumbo

Well, the LSU Tigers did it again...They are the National Champions of BASEBALL! They rocked the College World Series this year. Bart got to go to TWO games, would have been three but some things came up and he and Brennan missed the final game (even though they had free tickets waiting for them at Will Call!!!!)


It was a lot of fun to be surrounded by baseball. We went to Fun Fest the Friday before it started and the boys still talk about meeting the LSU players (even if they were less then enthusiastic in signing autographs and we now have a Michael Jordan #23 ball, not a Ranaundo ball).

I'd have to say the one good thing about living in Omaha is the CWS. Some people's lives come to a standstill for the games, and if I could afford it, my family would go to every game. I think it would be a blast.

Now, here is a recipe I recieved from Bart's LSU crazed cousin, Kyra, though she didn't make it up (cause it was a forward). You know those cajuns, so creative in their cooking.

RECIPE FOR LONGHORN GUMBO

1. Start with some Super-Regional seasoned RICE.

2. Carefully move from the back burner in Baton Rouge to the hot stove in Omaha.

3. Add some VIRGINIA country ham—do so quickly because it doesn’t stay fresh long.

4. Season with a double dose of pig fat—RAZORBACK fat, that is.

5. Slowly bring to a boil in a heat index of 107.

6. Then slowly add LONGHORN meat—make sure meat comes from Austin, TX.

7. Cook for 11 innings on the first day.

8. Let cool for a day.

9. Then bring to a boil and blow the lid off on day 3!!

This is a tried and true recipe and one that’s sure to tantalize the taste buds of Tiger fans everywhere.



Wednesday, June 24, 2009

Wordless Wednesday (Mt. Rushmore Roadtrip Edition)









Tuesday, June 23, 2009

Why my blog had been abandoned...




1250 miles total (we drove a lot while in South Dakota, too)
2 great families (ours and the Grigoratos's)
1 Mt. Rushmore -1 Crazy Horse (we are NOT paying $20 to see a barely finished carving. so we turned around...I think that happens a lot)
1 Sturgis -1 motorcycle rally still had fun at Harley Davidson shop. (though it had no motorcycles)+ 4 matching teeshirts for 4 adorable boys
6 kids, 4 boys, 2 babies (one boy and one girl, who must love each other) +4 adults
401 pictures taken on my DSLR camera alone.
1 book read in 1 day {3rd Degree, my first James Patton or whoever book} (Thanks Bethany...I've started the 4th of July book, but this week is crazy, so maybe I should get #1?)
127 texts between the cars + 559 phone calls when we were driving
1 GPS
84 signs advertising WALL DRUG
$47 spent at Wall Drug
$47 wasted on our dinner at Wall Drug...do NOT eat there
967 stops along the way for bathrooms, gas, the Corn Palace (don't waste your time, really!)
$50 a night at a great cabin in the woods (loved it...I say stay here if you ever go!)
1 fun vacation with a family we love...can't wait for our next adventure! Well, yes I can...I still feel as if I am driving in the car! I think if I were to tell the boys we were going to be locked back in the car for a while THEY'D FIRE ME!

More pictures to come at dropshots.com/deseretdesigns. Now, I've got a boy's 6th b.day party to prepare for and a house to put in order.


Wednesday, June 17, 2009

Thomas Live and a Laundry Soap Giveaway



Memorial Day Saturday (cause you know it entails a whole three day weekend so this works) we got to go see Thomas the Train Live! in Lincoln.

We made a day of it, going to the Lincoln Zoo (really cute, but small. W/ our Omaha Zoo pass, we only paid $12, so that wasn't too bad.), Ben Franklin for cheap candy (and Ben Franklin 2 for a scrapbook pen), and Raisin' Canes for some of the best darn chicken fingers IN THE WORLD.




Cane's Sauce. If you're a Canic, you know what I'm talking about.







We had a lot of fun at Thomas Live! BUT, our good seats (first row, section section, floor) turned out to not be so good once the show started because the kids could not see the stage. So, we went up into the bleacher section where we could see much better (there were empty seats and I noticed a lot of the people from the flooring movin' on up). Moral of the story...height is good for a kids show.

Now, for the giveaway.

Thanks to MomSelect, I got to review Sun Laundry Detergent. Yep, the cheap stuff...AKA my best laundry friend.

When we moved to Omaha and had to buy a washing machine, we got a great deal on a front loader. I was excited, thinking of all the money I'd save on water and electricity.
Then...I realized there was no "cheap" HE soap, a must for a front loader if you want it to work for very long (just ask my friend Liz). So, all the money I dreamed of saving went out the door and in that same door entered the world of Tide and other pricey soaps, leaving me a little bummed each time I had to buy more.

I was not happy.

Sun (a frequent visitor at my house in Baton Rouge, it really does work as well, I've done tests thanks to my willing volunteers to dirty the best of clothes : ) started putting out an HE laundry soap and I got to test it out. I've used the dirtiest laundry we've got, and so far, it's all come out clean, even the shirt Jackson wore the day he ate a lot of cookies with chocolate chips and had chocolate smears everywhere! There isn't really a scent, though it says it's clean and fresh or something, so that is a plus if you don't like your clothes to smell like the washing machine. Right now I've been using Gain fabric softener, so that was not a problem (I tested it w/o the softener, first)

I am so happy to have an inexpensive option for my laundry again. I love the scent of Tide, and some of its abilities, but so far, I've loved Sun, so I know I will be looking for it the next time I need detergent.

I've got FIVE coupons for my readers to have. I will give them to the first five readers to email me at theremingtons (at) cox (dot) net. Simply send me your mailing address and I will get a coupon out to you.

Tuesday, June 16, 2009

Pick Mii

It's getting closer.

A lot closer.

This little Mii is going to be turning six...NEXT Friday! Wow!

Wii can hardly wait.

Can you?

Brennan is having a Wii Sports Birthday, and let me tell you, I am as excited about it as him. I made invitations with handcrafted paper Wii-motes on them, I just finished up the red and blue banners (Team Mii vs. Team Wii), and next week I'll make the Mii iron on transfer tee shirts and get some paper to cut out his "Happii Birthday" letters for the freshly painted dining room wall, to be surrounded by Bren's Mii friends.

Oh, did I mention I plan on making a Wii-mote birthday cake?

Seriously folks, Kate of "Jon and Kate Plus 8"gets a LOT wrong, but one this she has right is her birthday philosophy. She said something like, "They only get to turn X age once."

They do. I mean, Brennan will NEVER turn six again, Jackson will never be exactly the same age as he is today. I want them to think back and say, "Oh, yeah, remember when I turned three and we had a Cars birthday?" or "Remember when I turned seven and we had a mad scientist party? And Dad burned his eyebrows off?" The good stuff. It's all just another way to find joy in the journey.

What do you do to celebrate your children's birthdays? Do you go all out? Have a family only dinner at home? Let the birthday boy (or girl) pick a resturant?
This is Bren's first year to get to pick his own friends to invite. He got to invite 8, and so far none of them have called to cancel. I know 8 is a lot, but I am secretly hoping one will not come so there can be 2 teams of 4 for a Wii sports Tourney.

So, stay tuned...June 28th I will have a full post with pictures to go along with it...it's coming.


Friday, June 12, 2009

  • I am grateful for the 45 minutes it took to park at the bottom of the hill at the zoo. Not only did it give us amble time to enjoy the beginning stages of tail gating, it also allowed us to walk about 1/2 a mile up a hill to get to Rosenblatt Stadium. My butt is going to be so toned...
  • I am grateful I am a member of the zoo so I could park then in their parking lot before it was full and NOT have to pay money to park in a scary back yard somewhere.
  • I am grateful for the drivers of the Lexus and the Acura who parked so well that I got to test out my parking skills, which are a bit lacking.
  • I am grateful I held onto this adorable LSU Baseball jersey that we spent way too much money on when Brennan was a baby. Everybody went crazy over this "Lil Tiger"
  • I am grateful I have adorable kids, so them pretending to hit a baseball in every single shot is not quite so bad.
  • I am grateful Jackson had to go to the bathroom during LSU Tigers baseball practice session, and that we discovered the line for getting the Tigers autographs was pretty long.
  • I am also grateful for this because I got to lug Ethan up the stairs just moments after sitting down to rest. I bet that worked my abs.
  • I am grateful I got in this line so I could get my dad's big LSU Curtain signed by the coaches. If I had been even ten minutes later, I would not have been able to do this b/c they cut the line off after we got our autographs (as in, those people stood in line for almost and hour and didn't get anything for it!)
  • I am especially grateful for the police officer that had to search bags to throw away all food and drinks at the front gate. I am especially grateful that I reached into my bag for him, 'fessing up to the sandwiches, so I could keep the water and snacks that were under my dad's curtain (once again, the curtain made me grateful)
  • I was extremely grateful for the above mentioned cop when we were standing in the line during lunch hour, right in front of a pizza shop that did NOT take credit cards. My children ate one oatmeal cream pie (God bless you Little Debbie) and one rice krispy treat each for lunch.
  • This leads me to being grateful for having to stop at Wendy's on our way home and reminding me I had an errand to run that was very important right across the street (I had forgotten.)
  • I am grateful for Jackson's fresh cut finger nails. It made the scratch marks on Brennan's face less noticable. I am also glad for the nap both boys must take now as punishment for their crimes.
  • See that big ball in Jackson's hand? I am grateful for the kind LSU fan who was passing them out to all the kids. It was so sweet of him and gave the boys something to play with while we waited. Did I mention we waited a lot?

  • I am grateful for those balls and the LSU players who signed them. It was funny to watch. The players were like a well oiled machine, sign, pass, sign, pass, sign pass. They'd obviously done this a few times...
  • Oh, and I am grateful for the poster I had them sign for my dad. The poster I forgot when I ran into the pitching coach and pulled out my dad's curtain to sign.
  • I am grateful for the light sprinkling of rain we experienced walking back to our car. Another fifteen minutes and we'd have been stuck in the floodgates that opened up and flooded everything.
  • I am grateful that Jackson had to go potty on his way to the car so we stopped at a port-o-potty and let him go. He was able to learn about compare and contrast as he studied the size of his poo next to the poo already in there.
  • I am VERY grateful I did not have to throw up (except a little in my mouth) before I could drag Jackson out of that gross potty.
  • I am grateful we have the chance to experience events that only occur once a year and at Rosenblatt's second to the last World Series. It was fun (kind of) even if there was a lot of impatient, hungry boys. I am grateful I got to get the curtain that's been around the world signed for my dad, too.


Thursday, June 11, 2009

Mom, Can you please...


That is one phrase I hear a lot.

While I am grateful for my children's (pseudo-)good manners, it gets old.

Really old.

Especially when Brennan is asking, "Mom, will you please pull apart these LEGOS?" five point two million times in one hour. Why don't LEGOS have a self destruct button? Every time I pull them apart and crack a nail, I silently curse Uncle Justin for giving nephew Brennan his entire childhood collection of LEGOS.

Oh, and b/c I know every one of you is just chomping at the bit to buy Brennan a birthday present, you can just get LEGOS. Big pack, small pack, does not matter. This child is addicted and there is no slowing him down.

Or, maybe you don't want to get Brennan a gift. Maybe you don't even know Brennan. BUT you DO need to get another boy turning five or six a present.

I recommend LEGOS. They have provided me with HOURS and HOURS of freedom during the babies nap times. I think even if a child seems to not be interested in them, he will play with them. Bakugan, Ben Ten, Star Wars the Clone Wars are all fads. Kids have a room full of balls and trucks and trains. Books are always good, but then what reading level to buy? Brennan is well beyond a kindergarten level.

So, save yourself some time and energy and cruise down the LEGO aisle next time you need a present. You won't be sorry.


BabyLegs WINNER!

Out of 153 total entries (including the zillion and one comments left by Megan :), the winner of the BabyLegs is Lauren, #92. Lauren picked the jellybean baby legs.
Thanks to everybody who entered. I really love these BabyLegs and hope that if you are ever in the market for something to keep your baby warm, protect his knees while crawling, or if you want a pair for yourself to use under a teeshirt in the fall, I hope you go order a pair.
Lauren has 48 hours to respond to my email and then another winner will be chosen.

Wednesday, June 10, 2009

How I'll pick the winner

For this giveaway, I will be picking the winner by taking the total number of comments on the BabyLegs post, then taking those who left comments today and are sitting in my in box, giving them the #'s after the BL post ones, and then giving the final talley to random.org to pick the winner. If the # is past the BL post, I will just look at my list from my inbox of names and find the winner. Easy, peasy, right?

BabyLeg Giveaway ends today

The BabyLegs giveaway ends today at midnight.
The boys have loved wearing the BabyLegs (Ethan esp. b/c he likes to chew on fabric and he can chew on this and not have us freak out he is going to suffocate himself). I think I might have to order a few pairs for the winter!
For extra entries, today only, leave a comment that actually relates to any blog post (don't forget those email addresses if you don't have it listed in your blogger profile or somewhere easy to fine) on this or my other blogs, and get extra entries. Find the other blogs listed in my profile. If you already left a comment on a post, just leave another one. I get all comments emailed to me, so it will be easy to keep track of!
You MUST have entered the initial contest, first, with the "what is the pair you want to (and will) win part first to be eligible!!!!


Tuesday, June 9, 2009

Egg-cellent Idea Daddy

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It all started at Easter, when Bart insisted we boil five zillion eggs for Easter.
He SWORE they would all get eaten.
And...they did. My boys love hard boiled eggs so Bart was spared an "I told you so" speech.

Then, a week or two ago, we boiled a dozen eggs and Bart taught the boys how to crack them and peel the shell off.

This skill, I knew, would lead to disaster.

It finally happened, yesterday.

I had to go to the bathroom, so I was upstairs when I heard Jackson say, "I want an egg". I yelled down, "In a minute!"

Keep in mind...we had no hard boiled eggs in the fridge.

I came downstairs and Jackson handed me an ice cold egg, fresh from the fridge. Now usually the eggs go up pretty high in the fridge, but I had bought extra because of a cake order I had. These eggs were on the bottom shelf, just waiting for me to move them when there was room.

Jackson informed me that these eggs were "Yuck!" I told him of course they are because we had to boil them.

He then led me to the trash can (whose liner I had removed a few minutes before) and pointed.

In the bottom of my linerless trash can was EIGHT broken eggs. EIGHT! Luckily, there was a runaway Walmart sack to catch some of the mess. But...not all of it.

So, now, the rule...no matter HOW full the fridge is, eggs MUST be stored above 48 inches of fridge space.

I told you teaching them about cracking and peeling hard boiled eggs was a bad idea.

Monday, June 8, 2009

Finding Joy...right?

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Not Me Monday....Circus Edition

  • I did not laugh in the face of the man who tried to sell us $12 cotton candy. Seriously folks, $12.
  • I did not allow my child to pick up one of the ridiculous looking dunce hats after the circus was over and it was abandoned on a seat on our row.
  • I did not put my camera away, figuring Trina who had much better seats (best available my butt) would get better shots and I could copy hers.
  • We did not get a family fun night for $5, the cost of parking.
  • I did not sneak in bottled water, homemade chocolate chip cookies (made by Bart...he rocked those cookies), and oreos.
  • Brennan did not hold his nose and act absolutely ridiculous as we viewed the animals beforehand.
  • I was not amazed at the size/girth of the elephant bulls man parts at he peed and pooped all over. I did not feel a little baby for the girl elephants.
  • I did not coordinate in a very subtle way my entire family's wardrobe based upon Ethan's brand new outfit he wore.
  • I did not change Ethan's diaper in our seats, while he sat in my lap, with no one being the wiser. (So white trash, I know)
  • I did not wish I sat where Bart was so he could chat it up with the overly friendly father on the side of me.
  • I was not amazed at how freakin' cool the greatest show on the earth was.
  • I do not want to go back next year. Nope. Not me.

Friday, June 5, 2009

Brennan and Jackson's Soda Pop Shop

Our neighbor across the street is having a garage sale. Yeah for a bunch of deal seeking folks from all walks of life trampsing down my nice, quiet street. He suggested the boys set up a lemonade stand and sell sodas.
Of course my money loving (they play with change like it is a toy) boys were excited to do this.
I spent about $20 on Mr. Pibb, Diet Coke, Coke, Country Time Lemonade, Kool-aid pouches and some treats (M&M's, KitKats, Little Debbies) I told the boys they had to pay me back for the investment before they earned any money.
Who am I kidding? I am not making my adorable babies pay for the soda. Their happiness and excitement are payment enough. (That and every time Brennan has been naughty I have taken some of his money) Also, they have eaten about half the treats and drank about six Kool Aid pouches, so they'd owe themselves more money then they made.
Day one (the first picture with jackets and the handwritten signs) brought in $8.25...not bad considering Brennan snuck across the street about ten times buying random small trinkets. Mostly bells. That broke. Because they were glass. And not toys. Especially not toys for little boys. Good thing they were a quarter each.
Thursday was cold...as in 61 degrees at 9:30! Not too many people out for sales that morning (though they really do come on Thursdays, weird, hm?) but that afternoon warmed up and Brennan sat outside all afternoon (after a nice 2 hour trip to the park with friends) and made some cash. He listened to my I-pod, played LEGOS and made money. Good times.
Last night I remade their sign because A) I don't know if people could read it B) Jackson spilled some Kool-Aid all over the first one.
Today they have made $5 so far...maybe a few more to come? Probably not because we are closing shop at 4 to get ready to go to the circus tonight. (The sale goes until 5 and yesterday evening a lot of neighbors stopped by) Today Jackson made his first independent sale and it was so cute. Today Jackson got $1.50 and ran to find Brennan and brag the second the he said "Thank you." Today is warmer then yesterday so no jackets needed to be dug out of the winter clothes bins. Today we had fun (after I baked an adorable birtday cake that I actually got PAID to make...so far for cakes I've earned a t.v. for the basement {score!} and $25...the lady thought it was $35, but I still feel like my cakes are sub-par...I hope she likes it. Strawberry with cream cheese frosting, but I digress)
I wonder if the boys learned anything from this experience...They will learn what paying 10% in tithing is like (that's good, get them used to it now). They learned patience as they sit/sat and waited. They learned about working together as one ran inside to get a drink they did not have in the ice chest...maybe they even learned a little bit about kindness to others. They defintely learned if you keep going across the street and buying Mommy "presents" of purses for a quarter, you will lose the power to hold the money jar.
That's what I think they will learn...I will have to ask them later.

Oh, and one cute story about the POP SHOP: Today Brennan was sitting inside watching t.v. when we noticed someone outside. He ran out the door yelling, "I'm the owner of this shop!" It was so funny that the lady gave him an extra dollar.

Thursday, June 4, 2009

I am ♥ing the BabyLegs


We got a package today...with not one but TWO pairs of BabyLegs. How cool and fun is that?
We were on our way to the park and tested out the "Cool" kind, which are UPF protection of 50+ feature a lightweight single-ply mesh design.

Both boys really loved them...poor little Ethan didn't get to wear them, but he was in the shade the whole time, so that is okay.

At the end of our almost three hour park date, I asked Jackson if he was hot in them and he said he was not.
I'll leave it to you if you want to believe him or not.

When we got home, Brennan put his back on (he'd taken them off during sand tunneling time) and is outside at his Soda Shop right now...more on that tomorrow.

Enter HERE to win some. You've got until June 10th.

I really liked that they were not girlie looking. Lots of stuff is mostly girlie looking and I want to scream, "HELLO! SOME OF US HAVE BOYS!" so they will start to make boy stuff, too.

In other news...why can't my kids figure out how to CLOSE the door when they go outside? I am staring at an open door right now. Argh.

Also, the circus is tomorrow and we are all excited about that. Then the next weekend the College World Series begins. I have a whole post forming about it...for now, I will tell you that we are probably going to go to the family day stuff the first day. Free baseball related activities equals fun in my book. AND it is the last year at Rosenblatt, so you just CAN'T miss that. Really. I even knew what Rosenblatt was when we lived in Baton Rouge b/c of LSU. I remember Ms. Glenda was SOOOOO sick and the CWS was on t.v. in her room. Ms. Glenda was a forever fan of LSU, as are we. I realllllllly hope they whip butt these last few games and get out here to bring it all home!