Ha!

Priceless conversation between my mom, my brother and me. This is not verbatim.

Me: acting very excited about winning Ticket to Ride and beating my brother and especially Devin.

Eric: Marie, I thought you of all people could care less about winning a game. I don't remember you being this competitive.

Marie: It's Devin's fault. He rubbed off on me. I love to win things now!

Mom: It's probably because you're a mom now. Having kids can lower your self esteem.

Blank looks from all around

Eric: Only if you have us for kids!

*As a side note, I did see what she meant. There are times that I miss having a career, as well as the adult interaction that came along with it. Sometimes something as small as winning a game (other than Dora dominoes or Princess Memory) can make you feel like you still have something to contribute. You may disagree, but I feel that way sometimes.

Anyway I really enjoy spending time with my little bro. He is a great conversationalist, smart (too smart), and extremely caring. We have a very similar sense of humor, which can get a tad pretentious at times (especially when aimed at one of his ex girlfriends). He is also very patient with my blatant interference in his love life (COME ON SINGLE LADIES! WHO WOULDN'T WANT ME FOR A SISTER IN LAW?!) . I wish he lived in KS, but he's getting ready to head out to DC to start his fancy new job.



















Here's one more recent pic from our trip to Colorado. Caitlyn (Devin's little sis) took this picture. Addison refused to smile until Caitlyn said "Addison if you smile one more time I'll take you to the playground." Thus, the perfect smile was born. What a little stinker...

Cheap Dipes

I ordered some diapers off of diapers.com today. It was an awesome deal! I got a 228 pack of size 2 pampers and a 42 pack of luvs for $40.97 w/ free shipping. At Sam's I would have paid $39.50 for a 264 pack of size 1-2 (Huggies), but I wasn't sure how much longer Ainsley would be in that size AND I like Pampers/Luvs better. Parents Choice and Target brand are still cheaper, but I decided the $5 extra was worth it for Pampers. I used a referral code to get $10 off. Because I just bought from them you could use this code: LITT7995. You can also send in manufacturer coupons ahead of time and they credit your account. Then, when you're ready to buy, they take them off automatically. Anyway, I'm not sure how often I'll use this site. I only tried it because of the $10 off and free shipping. Kind of nice to have diapers delivered to your house though!

I'm still semi-interested in trying cloth. We have a Bum Genius diaper that Ainsley looks so cute in, but I can't quite get Devin on board to shell out all that money upfront. Plus the laundry.... I am always behind on laundry as it that it is hard to imagine washing a load of diapers every single day on top of that. Ainsley goes through 10 a day. YIKES! But yes, I'm thinking about it...

Here are a couple of pics of these cute blocks that Keri made for the girls




























Oh, and here's Ainsley NOT napping. Yes that's my shirt. She likes to sleep with it (normally).

Stranger Danger?

Apparently reading the Berenstein Bear book about Strangers is not really doing the trick with Addison. Today it was such a beautiful day outside (hello! 78 degrees....in July....in Kansas) that we had a picnic lunch at a nearby park. Addison immediately ran over to the nearest parent helping her kid on the slide and said "Hi! I'm Addison!" Then she did it again to two more adults. It takes her a little bit longer with other kids, but she usually says hi and plays with them. Today some elementary aged girls were playing and one said hi to Addison. Addison said "Just a minute! I need to get something!" She sprinted over to the blanket where I was sitting with Ainsley and started digging through my purse. Out came an empty sandwich bag! She ran over to the little girl and said "We can play catch the bag!!!" Unfortunately "catch the bag" did not sound as delightful to Addison's new friend, and Addison's excitement was met with a blank stare Oh well. "A" for effort right?

In napping news (which makes for an oh so thrilling post) I am willing to put my intense need to get out of the house on a daily basis on the back burner for awhile if it means Ainsley can get the rest she needs. Plus I am enjoying the extra time I have to read books and play games with Addison. I enjoyed Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child very much. Thanks for the suggestion Carmen, Em and Erica! I wish I had read it when Addison was little. Oh well. She survived.

Nap City

I finally received my copy of Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child from the library. As I was perusing through it, I saw the action plan for babies 5-12 months old. Apparently they are supposed to wake up at 7:00, nap at 9:00, nap at 1:00, possibly nap at 5:00, and go to bed at 7. That's all fine and good, but when the heck am I supposed to go to the grocery store or take Addison to play with her friends? Why does it all have to be so complicated? I do like the book a lot though. This guy knows his sleep stuff.

MMMMMMM

When we were in the Springs Keri made this really good dinner. I copied the recipe down and made it tonight. Since it's so easy, cheap and GOOD I thought I would share it with you.

Chicken Succotash from Rachael Ray (we'll just pretend it comes from someone less annoying who doesn't shorten the words to everything, and who doesn't name her own brand of dog food a dumb name like Nutrish)

2 T butter
1 bunch scallions, white and green parts thinly sliced separately
salt and pepper
one 10 ox box frozen corn
1 cup frozen lima beans, thawed
1 cup heavy cream
21/2 cups shredded rotisserie chicken (Keri and I poach chicken breasts in broth and it turns out very tasty)
1 tomato, chopped

In a large skillet, melt the butter over medium heat. Add the scallion whites, season with salt and pepper and cook, stirring for two minutes. Add the corn, lima beans and cream and bring to a boil. Stir in the chicken and cook, stirring occasionally, until the sauce is thickened, 4 to 5 min. Stir in the tomato and scallion greens just before serving.

I couldn't find lima beans at Hy-vee, so I just bought a bag of frozen veggies and thawed them in the microwave a little bit. They worked just fine.

We served them over biscuits. Keri made hers, but I bought the kind in a tube. Before I went to the store I thought I'd try to make them from scratch to save money. I got there and they were only $1.08. Heck yeah baby!!!

You know this dinner is good when Devin said "This is good!" while eating it (refer to this post: http://blessedimperfection.blogspot.com/2009/06/hellooooo-friday.html

Sharks are mean

Check out my friend Julia's blog.

Why didn't I think of this?

Patrick Largen posted this on facebook and I thought it was too priceless not to post on my blog. I guess there's always my vow renewals. Then again, can you really see Devin doing this? I'm gonna go with a big fat no!




This post is dedicated to Jules, who literally got bit by a shark and needs a pick me up. No one likes to dance as much as she does.