Right now: april 22, 2010

i am thinking: i wonder if it is going to rain...and therefore ruin our field trip to the zoo tomorrow.

i am thankful for: the sale of our home!!!!! (admit it, that is way worthy of multiple exclamation marks!)



from the kitchen: i think i'll grab a glass of wine (pic taken last weekend because clearly it is evening here!)

i am wearing: a cami top that i wore under my shirt today and jammie pants.

i am creating: the perfect backpack to take to the zoo....did I forget anything??

i am going: to watch Sober House with Dr Drew later

i am reading: just finished "look again" some book my SIL gave me! Very good but worried me. I can't fathom if something ever happened to one of the kids.

i am hoping: i can continue working out at least 3x a week.

i am hearing: ANTM (America's Next Top Model DVRd from earlier in the background)

around the house: i actually have a few messes... i feel so free to NOT have to keep it "show ready"

one of my favorite things: listening to the kids playing outside...jumping on the trampoline, running through the sprinkler, swinging, trying to vacuum bugs with the bug catcher

a few plans for the rest of the week: hopefully a zoo trip, enjoy the last few days with husband before he goes TDY for most of May

a picture to share: see above..i took this with my phone either last weekend or the weekend before, a gorgeous weekend with a glass of wine

happy thursday

Thursday 13: letter D

1. dated: engaged, and married in eleven months....that was twelve years ago this month!

2. decorated: for fall, my favorite time of the year

3. dyson: love my handheld one....the kids think it is fun to "get" to help clean

4. distraught: when I walked into Will's classroom yesterday, .....and he wasn't in there! but, he was in another class doing math.

5. downloaded: Glee-the-Music-vol-1 can't get enough of that show! love it

6. dinner: or do you say supper?

7. drink: of choice, diet DP

8. don't: think I will ever be a morning person

9. do: wish i were...it would totally make my mornings easier

10. dang: my choice of words....just waiting for the day that pete and repeat say it.


11. Disney world....best vacation ever.

12. dillards: used to be the place to shop when i was younger....are those even around any more?

13. daylight savings....still working on getting used to it


Thursday 13: Letter D 2008

Thursday 13: the letter C

1. Catalog: I received my Hanna Anderssen catalog yesterday. I am loving the rayon Cafe dress. But I am on the fence about that ruffle on the sleeve. Will it annoy me?

2. Crazy face pics, even at the preschool "rodeo days".

3. Crazy: Speaking of crazy, (I am totally using crazy twice!) Yesterday was major crazy. I went from home, preschool, hair appt, cowgirl party, school, dr appt, tae kwon do, PTA...before finally heading home for the evening.

4. Cowgirl pics...What is better than one little cowgirl cheesing it up? Two cowgirls cheesing it up!

5. Camera: I really do need to pic up my camera more. Lately my camera mojo has just left me.

6. Computer: I somehow messed up my laptop while Husband was gone. He was home a few minutes and fixed it. I love it that he has computer skills! Otherwise the GeekSquad would be my new BFF.

7. Cry- I cry at the drop of a hat during that time. It drives me crazy. I cried during "Kendra" the other night!

8. Children: While I always saw myself as a 'three-kid' mom, I now know I was always meant to be a mom for Will and Livi.

9. Cut

10. and Color....I had my appointment yesterday to get my hair 'did'. I can't be letting my gray show through, I still have one in preschool!

11. Caves: We have a trip to see Mammoth Caves soon.

12. Can't: I can't wait, it should be fun.

13. Can: I can see the end of the tunnel with Livi's baby scrapbook. Yes, I said BABY scrapbook. Remember I so so behind on it.

Letter C: round 1

Thursday 13: the letter B

Happy Thursday, y'all! Want to play: the new thursday-13

1. For the letter B this week, I have a story about my little boy:

2. Last week, he informed me after one full week of school, he was ready to ride the bus.

3. Husband found out the time the bus ran past our neighborhood. We went to bed a little earlier since he had to be out there at 6:55 AM. Yes, that is BEFORE 7 AM....crazy I tell you!

4. I woke up the bowhead.

5. She put on her bathrobe (note to self: make sure she wears shoes next time. Just in case we have to take the boy to school!)

6. I know this shot is kind of blurry. But at oh-dark 30, a little boy is way too excited to stand still for a phone shot. (I have come to love blurry shots so much, I made them a set on my Flickr!)

7. As the minutes start ticking my, we see bus after bus, pass us. He looks up at me with his big blue eyes, "Mommy, will it ever show up? Do you think they know where I live?"

8. Finally, an older kid shows up. He starts giving us bits of advice. "this bus passes by first, etc" Will asked him if he was ever nervous riding the bus. He said, "Not really." **Mom note here: I was like, "Boo on you kid! This is the first time (besides the practice bus ride at Open House) he has ever ridden on a bus. I did not say this, but did think it.

9. Bad answer...BUT then he recovered and said, "Well, I am pretty sure I was nervous the first time." High five, kid!

10. Just beyond the trees, we see it coming around the corner.

11. He grabbed his backpack and lunchbox.

12. My baby is growing up.

13. I did the hug and kiss before the bus stopped. I don't know if he would be embarrassed in front of the other kids. "Bye bye, Bubba.....I'll pick you up this afternoon."

Dang, I am getting more teary-eyed now than I was this morning! I know this is posting late Wednesday night, but I have to get to bed. A little boy I know wants to ride the bus again!

Letter B (round 1)

Thursday 13.....second time around

I have missed doing a Thursday 13. So I am going to start the ABCs again. Without further ado, this is the very first ABC Thursday 13 I did in Dec. 2007.

1.....duh........adams (I asked my hubby these as he wondered in here at 11ish) Our monogrammed silver we received as a wedding gift. It belonged to his grandparents.

2. a spoon

3. apples..it has to start with an A....the kids favorite snack

4. how many times you gonna change the rules......he says......

5. accordion....my aunt Brenda played the accordion

6. it has to be something that has to do With us

7. I didn't ask to be "blog-accosted"...he says, ".i am trying to get a snack and go back to bed

8. apple....I already did apple

9. there is another rule



10...nothing starts with a ....how about animals (PS, this is a picture I took yesterday at Livi's preschool. These animals were glued down to the hood. Even funnier, a grandpa was the one driving it!)


11 ...apostrophe.....Good golly, he is almost done with his creme brule'....he cannot think of anything else that starts with a

12. albacore...okay, he is really reaching now....

13....and the big finale....

I think I am going to start the new year ....okay let's really act like it is the new year .....with the ABCs

Thursday 13: Lists

I am a list maker, always have been....most likely always will. All of my lists are in my handy dandy control journal. It is broken up into different sections of things I need to make my little world function. I pretty much do the same thing every day, so it really made since to me. I was born organized. My home is not always completely picked up....I have two preschoolers! But it is never more than 15 minutes from clean. The kids are learning simple routines and that things have a home. A babysitter can ask them where the dinosaurs go, and both could show you where they go.

Here are the thirteen sections in my control journal that is nothing more than a glorified Trapper Keeper! Doesn't that make you think of junior high?

Daily Routines: these are the things I do every day

1. The morning routine helps get us out the door by 8AM.

2. The afternoon routine is actually pretty much tying up loose ends of things I started in the morning.


3. The before bed routine is the most important one of all to me! I do as much I can after the kids are in bed so that I can push that snooze button if I really want to!! Finally, I do a daily

4. To Do list of the things that aren't on my routines. Today's to do list consists mainly of stuff I need to do to get ready for the weekend.

5.Weekly routines: I do certain things on certain days. The kids go to preschool Monday through Thursday. So I do certain things "kid-free"

6. Zones: The house is divided into five zones. If I get done with the normal every day stuff, I have a great list of "spring cleaning" type things

7. Grocery list: I keep an ongoing list of things in our pantry. Kind of like a perpetual pantry

8. Emergency section: filled with insurance stuff

9. Emergency numbers: sheriff, fire, ambulance, poison control

10. Address book section: This includes a list of Christmas cards sent in previous years.

11. Babysitter info:

12. Vacation packing lists

13. Moving information

"Happiness is not something ready-made, it comes from your own actions." ~His Holiness, the Dalai Lama

This quote sums up the very reason that I do these things. When my world is upside down and chaotic, I am not happy. I need my lists to help things go smoothly. Since I do the very same things all the time, there is no sense wasting time rewriting the very same lists.

Happy Thursday, y'all! Want to play: the new thursday-13

Thursday 13+ : Coconut Curry Chicken soup

Okay, this has more than thirteen ingredients....which that alone would normally make me shy away from this. But it really was as good as a coconut chicken soup I have had in a Thai restaurant! I am so glad we have leftovers!

Ingredients

4 cups water
3 cups fresh spinach leaves
1/2 pound snow peas, trimmed and cut in half crosswise
1 (5 3/4-ounce) package pad thai noodles (wide rice stick noodles) **I think I used the wrong noodles**
1 tablespoon canola oil
1/4 cup thinly sliced shallots
2 teaspoons red curry paste ***used sriracha hot sauce instead***
1 1/2 teaspoons curry powder
1/2 teaspoon ground turmeric
1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
2 garlic cloves, minced
6 cups fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth
1 (13.5-ounce) can light coconut milk
2 1/2 cups shredded cooked chicken breast (about 1 pound)
1/2 cup chopped green onions
2 tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoons fish sauce **Did not use since apparently this is an item not to be found in KY***
1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro
4 small hot red chiles, seeded and chopped, or 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper
7 lime wedges


Preparation

1. Bring 4 cups water to a boil in a large saucepan. Add spinach and peas to pan; cook for 30 seconds. Remove vegetables from pan with a slotted spoon; place in a large bowl. Add noodles to pan; cook 3 minutes. Drain; add noodles to spinach mixture in bowl.

2. Heat canola oil in pan over medium-high heat. Add shallots and the next 5 ingredients (through garlic) to pan; sauté 1 minute, stirring constantly. Add chicken broth to pan, and bring to a boil. Add coconut milk to pan; reduce heat, and simmer 5 minutes. Add chicken, onions, sugar, and fish sauce to pan; cook for 2 minutes. Pour chicken mixture over noodle mixture in bowl. Stir in cilantro and chiles. Serve with lime wedges.

printable recipe from Cooking Light

Yield 7 servings (serving size: 2 cups soup and 1 lime wedge)

Happy Thursday, y'all! Want to play: the new thursday-13

Thursday thirteen: things I do before I go to bed

Since I was just checking my "before bed routine" list, I knew I had an easy idea for today's Thursday thirteen. I am a list maker, as well as a list-checker-offer. I love to be able to cross things off my list. It makes me feel like I have accomplished something during the day when time seems to have run away!

So...

1. Shine my sink I do this compulsively. It really does make the kitchen look and feel cleaner!

2. Is laundry folded and put away. I usually do one load a day. More times than not, it is left on the dining room table waiting to be carted upstairs. When we lived in Alaska, my laundry room was on the second floor. I LOVED that!

3. Pick up things off the stairs. Things end up here that need to be carried upstairs.

4. Is the mail put away? **I do have a huge "to shred" pile. Normally I love to shred. One of my favorite Christmas presents from Husband was a shredder!

5. Check calendar for tomorrow's activities.

6. Lay out clothes for me and the kids....These hang on their closet doorknobs, shoes are on the floor with socks or tights. **also, make sure the day's dirty clothes are in the dirty clothes basket...the kids are getting better about this**

7. Check menu for what we are having for dinner tomorrow: Stir Fry Beef with Ginger-Carrot Sauce

8. Put out non-perishable ingredients.

9. Brush teeth.

10. Floss

11. Did I take my vitamin?

12. Start a to do list for anything I need to do tomorrow.

13. Empty kids' folder from their backpacks.

I do sew and love me some polka dotted fabric, but I haven't started in on the coordinating kitchen. I don't think the covers will be on my tomorrow's to do list.


Happy Thursday, y'all! Want to play: the new thursday-13

Thursday 13: Scattegories

SCATTEGORIES Rules:

I saw this on Facebook. Since I am reaching for a Thirteen list, I am totally using this. Use the first letter of your name to answer each of the following questions. They have to be real places, names, things. Nothing made up.

1. What is your name? tommie

2. A 4 Letter Word: talk

3. A Boys Name: Timothy

4. A Girls Name: Taylor

5. An Occupation: teacher

6. A Color: teal

7. Something you wear: t-shirt

8. A Beverage: tea, but it has to be sweet tea

9. A Food: tomatoes....drizzled with balsamic vinegar and a bit of olive oil

10. Something found in the bathroom: toilet paper



11. A place: Texas **pic of our door from my home from when we lived in Texas**

12. A Reason for being late: tardy?? me, obviously that doesn't happen

13. Something you shout: TIME OUT...right now, on the stairs little missy!
Want to play: the new thursday-13

Thursday 13 - Location Location Location

Thirteen locations on my Sitemeter:

1. Perth, Western Australia 11, 141 miles ...the farthest one from me

2. Kaiserslautern, Rheinland-Pfalz- Germany

3. Obernheim, Rheinland-Pfalz- Germany

4. Toronto, Ontario Canada

5. Brussels Hoofdstedelijk Gewest, Belgium

6. France

7. Reigate, Bromley, United Kingdom

I don't have thirteen seperate countries, so I will fill in with the first thirteen from the United States.

United States
1. Bloomington, Indiana
2. Killeen, Texas
3. Holmen, Wisconsin
4. San Antonio, Texas
5. Los Angeles, California
6. Clarksville, Tennessee
7. Lancaster, Ohio
8. Charlotte, North Carolina
9. Poughkeepsie, New York
10. Charlton, Massachusetts
11. Haverhill, Massachusetts
12. Denver, Colorado

13. Oxnard, California

Little did I know when I started this blog that anyone besides my husband and immediate family would even care to hear me drone on day after day about my kids. I started this blog so Husband could keep up with the kids while he was deployed.

Will was born on a Tuesday. He has a scrapbook called "Tuesdays With Will"..the pictures I scrapped of him I would email to our family every Tuesday....YES, every Tuesday. I would take picture of something new he did that week. He was the first grandchild on husband's side, so they were loving all the pictures! I would get emails bounced back and such, so it evolved into this blog.

Happy Thursday

Want to play: the new thursday-13

Thursday 13- what's in my bag

Kind of taking the easy way out for this Thursday 13....13 things in my bag.

1. grocery list from today's shopping trip

2. wallet

3. iPhone

4. Bobbi Brown compact

5. pink Sharpie and black pen

6. handful of change

7. coupon for Michaels

8. business cards for the lady that makes Livi's bows....I get stopped all the time and asked who makes them!

9. Purell

10. sugar free sucker

11. wallet with debit card with a ring with those tags for like Kroger and Barnes and Noble

12. reading glasses

13. red first aid bag with band aids (both Sponge Bob and Dora), Neosporin, a pair of mini scissors, tweezers, girl products

Yeah I am MacGyver like that.....

Want to play: the new thursday-13

Thursday 13 ....#53

Today I decided I needed a little help writing my thirteen things list so I went to Google and it kindly helped me out. I simply typed in “Tommie needs” and voila!

1. tommie needs to shut it down. We have enough average guys to fill his shoes right now, we don't need Tommie average. I only wish there were enough people to fill my shoes. I'd put one on dishes, one on cleaning...etc

2. tommie needs to Buy Katie Holmes Maternity Wear.......uuhhmmm only if I get invited to the baby shower!

3. tommie needs to get paid and (s)he deserves his contract. I get paid...I handle the checkbook.

4. tommie needs to decide what he wants to be when (s)he grows up and then grow up real fast. While I never thought I would be a SAHM, I love it. okay, most days I love it. I don't really miss teaching, but I do miss my friends at old CJHS.

5. tommie needs a hug. Totally not a hugger, unless I have had several Coronas. Then I will hug anyone.

6. tommie needs to stay and has earned a lot of cheese. Question is will the Bears pay it? Cheese! Now we are talking....wil the Bears kick in some wine too?

7. tommie needs to eat more in this off season. I mean screw diet soda, screw fat free anything. Tommie, you go out and eat that ...wooahhh, stop the bus. I need my diet DP!

8. tommie needs the help of interested .......interested what??

9. tommie needs to get healthy to excel. Finally one I can agree with!

10. tommie needs to continue to embrace the ...the gorgeous sunsets I see while leaving Livi's ballet class.

11. tommie needs to grab some pine! This must be sports related....no thoughts whatsoever!

12. tommie needs a new chair ...I just got new dining room furniture...chairs, table, buffet, hutch.

13. tommie needs a vacation now and again too! Yeah, what Google said.

I have blogged a "tommie needs" in the past......I am surprised they are a bit different.

Want to play: the new thursday-13

Thursday 13....favorite muffin recipes

These have been my favorite muffins we have made from Muffin Mondays:

Since I finally finished the entire ABC themed Thursday 13.......I am back to wondering to what to do every week! These are in no particular order....because if they were #6 the Chocolate Chocolate Chip muffins would TOTALLY be first! Here are thirteen favorite muffins and cookies and sweets from the last two years of doing muffin Monday.

Several people have asked how Muffin Monday came about.....Husband deployed in Oct of 2006. The kids were 2 and 3 at the time. Livi had turned two a week after he left. Will was 3 1/2. I was trying to eliminate some of the cookbook clutter I had. I told myself that if I didn't use at least five recipes out of a cookbook, I had to get rid of it. I could copy the recipe into my recipe file and get rid of some clutter.

Oh how I love me some cookbooks! I have several from vacations, some from Junior League groups around the country, and most places we have lived. So in order to kind of cheat and keep some of those cookbooks, I choose to find the simplest recipe in the cookbook. Muffins are quick and easy. I, also really needed to get into a routine to help the time pass.

Will was in preschool every day until 12:30. He didn't nap. That time in the afternoon just before dinner became so hard. I knew we needed to do something to keep busy. When Husband first deployed, we thought it was for a year. Somewhere in there, it was extended to 15 months. That is a long time to be a "pseudo single parent".

So muffin Monday was born. We would make a muffin recipe into 24 mini muffins (sometimes more)...We shared those muffins with two or three neighbors. Each family got half a dozen or so, most of the time, warm out of the oven. The kids loved delivering them...we had so much fun baking them.

Now at ages 4 and 5, both kids know muffins are basically some dry stuff (flour and sugar) and wet stuff (eggs and something else)....we mix it all together and have a little plate of happiness to share.

Enough rambling......each of these has the recipe on the link.

1. Pumpkin Chocolate chip muffins
2. Lemon Ricotta muffins
3. Blueberry yogurt muffins
4. Blonde brownies
5. Chocolate chip banana
6. Chocolate Chocolate chip muffin
7. Apple Spice Crumb muffin
8. Tropical Nut muffin
9. Ginger Pear muffin
10. Fudge
11. Faux turtles
12. Peanut Butter Cream Sandwich cookies
13. Amish Ginger Cookies

Happy Thursday. y'all!

Thursday 13, the letter Z

My final ABC Thursday 13.....the letter Z

1 zucchini- favorite bread to make into a muffin!! Will doesn't think the same!

2. zoo: From the Columbus, OH zoo: Oh yeah, I still laugh when I look at this pic ....that is truly a face only a mother could love.

3. zone clean: I zone clean ....a Flylady thing. Basically the house is divided into five zones (entrance/dining room, kitchen, bathrooms/kids' room, master bedroom, living room)....I focus on a certain zone each week. Ideally, during one month the entire house gets a thorough cleaning. The key word here is ideally. Before kids I would have stressed to the nth degree if it my house wasn't immaculate....now a general clean is okay. Though the dust on the baseboards still wear me out!

4. Zip code: Every time we move, it takes me forever to learn my new zip code! Forever! We have been here since the summer and I still confuse the last digit!

5. zapped: I have been zapped by a cow prod. It left a little dent in my shin bone. Lovely high school memories.

6. zeal: I like to think I have a zeal for life. I try to make the best of wherever we are, wherever we live. No sense whining for several years!

7. Fort Worth Zoo.....Fort Worth Zoo We had a great time there on spring break. We went there and to Six Flags. It was the first vacation after Husband got back from deployment.

8. zebra: In TX we went to a drive through zoo ....a zebra followed our car right at Livi's eye level. She did not like that one bit!

9. zero: tattoos on my body. I have always wanted one...but have a pain tolerance of ZERO.

10. zest: anytime we make muffins with fresh lemon or lime juice, I use the zest in the muffin batter. It makes it so much more flavorful and moist.

11. zip: I am totally not one to gripe...but people who zip through traffic (especially when the temps are hovering between 30-35) scare the bejesus out of me!

12. zodiac = cancer = crab......traits makes you wonder if the stars know something I don't!

13. Zoomboomafoo- if you know what this is, you must have kids!

This ABC Thursday 13 has been fun and challenging! I am not sure what I will do next.....any suggestions??

Happy Thursday, y'all!

Thursday 13, the letter Y

1. Yellow: I never did find a yellow bag ....okay, I lied. I never did find a bag for less than $1000.

2. y'all: I crack up every time one of the kids says y'all. Between my southern twang and the KY accent here, they have the drawl down pat!



3. year: I can't believe it has been nearly a year (on the 19th) since Husband's homecoming ...why does it seem like this past year flew by...but those fifteen months dragged by??

4. Yesterday I went to Starbucks to get a peppermint latte. They were out of peppermint. This was just as they opened, too. I rarely drop the f-bomb but I was like, "WTF"....okay, I really didn't say it, but I did think it.

5. Yippee....I am finally going to get the pink Tag .

6. Yoga: I enjoy the feeling I have after a yoga class. I wish I could bottle it up and carry it around with me!
7. Young: I was very much like Livi as a young child. This remains one of my favorite pics of her....she was floating acorns down the river of rainwater that ran along the street.


8. Yuck: I love the smell of liver and onions cooking, but I don't like the taste....yuck!


9. Yugo: I had a roomie in college who drove one of these. This was in 1990. I don't even know how old it was then, but I swear that thing was made of plastic!


10. Yolk: I like my egg yolks cooked all the way...that runny stuff grosses me out. Makes me think I am going to get sick or something!


11. Yeah: Husband gets home tomorrow!


12. Yes, I am done with my Christmas shopping.


13. YMCA: I was a YMCA camp counselor in college.

Happy Thursday, y'all

Thursday 13, the letter X

In keeping with the ABC theme, I give you the letter X.....

1. X-ray- I turned the magic age to have to go have my "girls" x-rayed... poked, prodded, stretched and squished. Yeah me!

2. XM Radio- Both Husband and I received an XM radio a few years ago. With the Ipod now, we never renewed the subscription.....besides who am I kidding? The kids are usually watching a movie if we are on a long trip!


3. X- Kind of reaching here, X is the 24th letter.....when I was 24 years old, I was teaching in big Ltown, America. It was my first year to teach there. I loved it, even if it was junior high!


4. Xerox- is that what those copied papers were when I was in elementary school (late 70's)...you know, they smelled GOOD and were cool to the touch! Oh yeah, fond memories....or does that mean most of first grade I was high off copy fumes?? Makes me wonder??

Now for the rest, I am having to use "ex-" I even consulted my dictionary...there are only TWO pages of X definitions in the whole dictionary. I don't even take xanax, so I couldn't even use that one.


So.....


5. exact- I know pretty much the exact location of any item in my pantry, because you know they are in properly labeled baskets by theme.

6. example- I am not creative, but I can copy an example I see of pretty much anything....a flower container garden, a scrapbook page, a room in a magazine.

7. exceptional- I like to think I am an exceptional cook...bread baker -definitely not....but pretty much anything else.

8. expert- I can pretty much organize anything....does that make me an expert or just anal? I prefer expert, I call it like I see it!

9. explore- I am finally learning my way around town to my favorite places....so now I am ready to explore shortcuts and fun little places.

10. extra- ALWAYS buy extra toilet paper.....Never running out of toilet paper is just a little "I love you enough to have paper to wipe your hiney."

11. extraordinary- I believe I live an extraordinary life....extra ordinary....I am just a stay at home mom with two preschool age kids and a wonderful husband who just so happens to be in the military. We survived a deployment.....but so many other wives. I find that to be extraordinary.

12. excited- I am very excited for the holidays...from Thanksgiving to Christmas! I love this time of year.

13. expressive- I think the kids have the most expressive faces...

Will can make those little eyebrows do some unnatural things....but they definitely convey his mood.

Livi can make her cheeks, forehead, and eyebrows do those same moves as Will's....in this pic, a duck had lunged at her at the duck pond. Rather than the normal mom reaction, I had to capture the Kodak moment. Trust me, no ducks or child was harmed in the process!

Thursday 13, the letter W

Keeping with my ABC theme....the letter W

1. Will-Of course my favorite W of all time. This is actually in Will's Tuesdays with Will book . He is nine months old here. It is still one of my favorite shots of him!

2. Wreath-I pretty much always have a wreath on the door. Now there is one with multicolored eucalyptus one.

3. Warm- I like my coffee luke warm, not quite cold...but warm. My new flavor is chocolate mint. yummi-licious!

4. Water- I go to sleep to a playlist on my Ipod called Nature sounds...it is like mellow orchestra music mixed in with rain.

5. more Water- I took this with the kids' camera...driving down the road. Well, I wasn't really driving. I was stopped, waiting for traffic so I could turn. Love the water droplets on the window!

6. West-This is the farthest western state I have lived. I LOVE the seasons here so far.

7. Write- I have never kept up with a written paper journal. But I enjoy blogging so much. I started this blog when Husband was deployed. He has been back from a 15 month deployment almost a year....and I am still at it.

8. Wheat- I could eat frosted mini wheats cereal for breakfast most days!

9. Whoo Hoo! When I saw this sign coming home from the commissary, I pulled in to fill up, even though I had half a tank. You know I was saying "whoo hoo!!"

10. whimsical- I try add a little whimsical piece in each room of my home. Kind of a little funky in each room.

11. Wipe- I wipe down my sink with Windex (another reminder of My Big Fat Greek Wedding!) every night....I love me some shiny sink.

12. Wild- I don't think I was ever the wild child....nope, not me!

13. Wake - One child or the other wakes up every single solitary night. While I don't want to rush these preschool years....I am was HONKIN' excited for those lazy sleeping teen years! But I think that might be one of the only thing I like about those years...so I am not rushing it!

Thursday 13- the letter V

In my quest to finish my ABC Thursday 13s.....the letter V.

1. Van Morrison- had to go to my Ipod to see what V popped up...."Brown Eyed Girl" ....how appropriate!

2. view- from my perspective

3. vacuum cleaner- Love love love mine...I have the purple Dyson. I like to think I am an extremely clean neat person. But every time I dump that thing, I am so grossed out!

4. vague-If I don't want to deal with confrontation, I give a vague answer....can you say passive aggressive?

5. Valdez, Alaska-one of the many gorgeous places we have been to in Alaska.

6. valet-If we go out to eat at a restaurant and they have valet parking, I am so using it. Most likely I wore some pointy toed witch boots and my feet will hurt before we leave! I will look cute, but my feet will hurt!

7. valentine-I like to take creative desserts to the kids' school parties. I made pink heart shaped rice krispie treats for Valentines day last year.

8. vanilla-I have a huge bottle of Mexican vanilla that I have lugged from Oklahoma to California to Kansas to Texas and finally to Kentucky! The packers won't pack it and I love it enough to pack in the few kitchen essentials that go in the cars with us! It is almost empty...I wonder if I know anyone going to Mexico soon.

9. Vitamin-I take a vitamin every day. I am a good girl like that!

10. vegetables-I eat vegetables every day...see #9. Also, the kids do too.

11. Vidalia-I had a penpal when I lived in Alaska. She was from GA. She sent me Vidalia onions because I couldn't find them when we lived there! (this was in 1998)

12. verbose-I was a very verbose child. Livi is too.....guess she learned by example.

13. vocal- I was kicked out of vocal music in junior high. She said I talked too much (No, what she said was "I cannot offer Tommie the structured environment she needs in order to succeed.")...WTH?? I used to have the class change paper that said that. I think that meant I talked too much.....see #12.