The Awaited Vacation

My in-laws come tomorrow beginning, what I hope to be, a much needed break from the chaos that is my life. They are coming for two reasons.  One, to build the play fort/ jungle gym in the back yard and two, to take the kids back with them.  Yep, you read write.  On Monday, all 3 of my beautiful children will be leaving the state without a single parent, leaving Neil and I alone.  What will we do with ourselves?  Of course, I will most likely fill any space emptied by the absence of children with some other conundrum.  For the moment let's pretend that I will be sleeping in til noon, eating cold pizza for breakfast and having nothing but "fun" with my hubby.  Oops, did I actually type that?  Oh well, you all thought it.  For three entire days, I will be at home, during the day, with no kids.  I actually get to go out to dinner with Neil on my birthday and not have to hire a babysitter.  Sweet!

I do have another plan as well, especially for the daytime.  As much as I would like to sleep til noon, it's really not in my nature.  I'd rather use my time wisely, and I can't think of a better way then to start the process of planning a new venture.  Oh, that's right, I haven't told you about said venture because I've been such a blog slacker.  My friends, Betsy,Leslie, and I are thinking of (more like planning on) starting a political consulting business post election.  Of course, if Steve wins, that bodes well for us.  Either way, we're diving in, and I thought I might use my kid-free days to meet with politicians, candidates, and consultants, picking their already fried brains.  It's an election year, everyone's brain is fried and scrambled.  Now if only we had a name for this business.  Hmmm...chew on that one for me, ok?

Back to my kid-less adventure:  It doesn't end there.  On Thursday, I'll wake up bright and early (AKA before noon) and make my way down to Chapel Hill to visit non other than my BFF's Jo and Angela.  I haven't even met Ang's new baby yet (and he's almost 6 months old).  I'll spend 2 days there before heading to Augusta to pick up my beloved offspring.  From there, we'll make the 7 hour drive to Panama City Beach to see my mom.  As the week comes to a close, we'll get back in the car (Mom included) and put the peddle to the meddle all the way back to Maryland, arriving just in time to throw Blake's 3rd Birthday Party and attend the 80's Prom with Team Whisler (yep, I'm making Mom go and buy some 80's garb).  Are you jealous yet?  No, really, you know you are. 

I personally can't wait for the adventure to begin.  I'll try and not be a blog slacker during the trip, but I make no promises.

We've Been Invaded

I love Spring, the sun shining down and making even a chilly day slightly warmer; the daffodils popping up almost immediately after the snow melted; the ants making their way towards my freshly baked cookies.  Stop! I don't like that last part.  They must be on the same schedule as the daffodils, popping up everywhere right after the Great Thaw.  "We survived the winter down in the ground.  Now we're starving.  Let's eat."  And poof, they're on my bookcase, counter, and Owen's lunchbox.  I'm telling you.  We're been invaded.


Of course, we're not new to this.  No matter where we live, ants always seem to be a problem. I'm starting to think that the same colony follows us everywhere, like they declared war on us 8 years ago in Atlanta.  They probably breed their armies just to make sure they win the war: full-on annoyance.  I wonder what would happen if I just surrendered.  Do you think they'd understand if I waved a teeny tiny white flag.  Or better yet, does anyone speak ant?  Maybe we could start negotiations.  Is Jimmy Carter still available for that? Scratch that, he'd probably be more willing to work for them. 

Owen and Blake have already enlisted themselves into the battle.  Yesterday, while I'm packing up Madison, the boys on sitting on the front porch marveling at the little beings.  Then Owen starts pounding them with his finger.  First of all, gross.  Second of all, "Owen, if they're outside of the house, then it's neutral ground.  You shouldn't be smashing them." Then Owen says, "But Mommy, we have to kill them."  Oh boy, considering the boy can't even fathom death yet, where did he pick that up?  I'm picturing a school yard, several boys, an ant hill, and a magnifying glass.  Wait a second, Owen isn't in school yet...at least not where there is a yard.  Hmmm!  I guess he gets it from his role model parents then.  Yikes!

Still the battle ensues, one that has just begun and will most likely continue until the snow falls again.  Never thought I'd be ready for another Snowmageddon.  Maybe that's all part of God's amazing plan. 

I Dove In and Survived!

I can't tell how you scary it is to put the first drop of dye on your hair.  Never before have I dyed my hair a shade darker than my natural color.  I figured it was time for a change.  It is Winter, right?  A time when brunette's shine and blonde's dull.  Don't be offended blondes, I am in fact, one of you at heart, which was precisely the problem.  An hour ago, my hair was all naturale, no dye, no highlights, no nada, and it was absolutely driving me crazy.  And even productless, I still had roots.  So I decided.  I was going to make a change, one way or the other.  Now, given my lack of confidence and self-esteem, I had to poll my audience.  They chose brown.  Of course, I was already leaning that way anyways.  I think I just wanted to make sure I wasn't about to ruin the next 8 weeks of my life, at least cosmetically.  The rest follows in typical Hillary suit, went to Target, picked out a color, bought it, brought it home, put whatever kids would take a nap down, and dove in.  For the entire the 25 minutes that I had to wait, I mouthed various obscenities under my breath.  "What was I thinking? No turning back now.  Holy Camoli!" (The PG version).

But as I was about to step into the shower to rinse it all out, I thought to myself, "this is what I do."  I get tired of the norm and I change it.  I'm not an idle person.  I thrive under stress.  I'm most productive when I'm busy.  If something's not being done, I do it myself.  In other areas of my life, I seem to dive in without fear, so why should I care about the color of my hair?  

Regardless, it's done.  I can't change it, at least not now.  And bottom line, I don't hate it.  If you hate it, just don't tell me. 

And the Winner Is...

Neil found $2.06 in the radio of the van.  That means CRT wins.  Congratulations.  Send me your info and I will send you your money.  You can do a lot with $2.06, like buy half of a Grande Caramel Machiatto at Starbucks, put an extra couple bucks towards your mortgage payment, or even buy a candy bar and a 20 oz soda at some quickie marts. 

Lesson learned: Don't leave loose change in your car when small children are not tied down (I mean, strapped into their car seats)

Tomorrow starts a brand new year.  I know, technically the year started on the first, but given the fact that my in-laws were here, my husband was off work, and Owen out of school...it doesn't count.  My year officially starts tomorrow.  Life will return to normalcy, if that even exists.  I can't wait to get back into the groove of things.  It's weird how I can beg for some kind of break from the madness, but when I get one, all I want to do is get back to it.  What can I say?  I'm a creature of habit.  I like my routine.  If there is nothing on my agenda, then I accomplish absolutely nothing, and I can't tell you how defeating that is. 

Alright, given the fact that I really have to pee and my husband is snoring beside me, I'm going to call it a night.  Welcome back to the real world, Hillary! It missed you!

Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow!

It's official.  The weather lady says it's going to snow and it's going to be a big event.  Yada, yada, yada!  What excited me was what she said at the end of her segment.  Listen closely and pay attention to a very special date.  I might just be looking at my first ever White Christmas.  I know it's selfish, but I'm totally praying for it.  I've never woken up in my own house with snow on the ground, and I'm super excited about the possibility...even if it's only a 40% chance at this point.

I'll keep you guys posted!  Oh and for the record:  Since the Pennington's have moved to Maryland, we have never had a snow event as big as the one they are predicting for tomorrow.  This may turn out to be the wildest winter ever (at least for those of us born and raised in the South). 

Also, good to note, that the first snow fall of the season, for the last 6 years, has been on December 5th.  Guess when we moved to Maryland?  Yep, 6 years ago!  Hhmmmm, coincidence?  I think not!

Madison the Ape

You guys have to see this.  I was dying laughing.  So last night, we're at church, and in all the hub-bub of getting ready for the Chili-Cook-Off, I just totally spaced on the diaper bag.  Of course, Madison decides to pee out of her diaper and all over her pants.  And since I had no extras, we just let her go pantsless.  Madison, the trendsetter.  Apparently, Grace has some pretty rough carpet, because this is how my daughter had to crawl due to the rug burn on her knees.  Why she didn't just decide to get up and walk is beyond me.  Enjoy!

The Case of the Missing Ipod Touch...Solved

Thankfully, I am writing this in an utterly blissful state.  I have a clean house, spic and span literally, and my Ipod in my hand (well laying beside me actually), but just 20 minutes ago, I was convinced it was gone forever.

Every morning at the Pennington house is a downward spiral into chaos (hence the name of the blog), and yesterday was no different; rushing around attempting to get all three kids ready, bags packed, lunches made, and myself put together enough to make it to the gym.  I thought, as I climbed into the van coffee in hand, that everything and everyone was along for the ride as well, including my brand new Ipod Touch (early Christmas present from my hubby).  Turns out when I reached into my coat pocket to pull out my Ipod, it wasn't there.  Oh well, I must have just left it at home.  Of course, as per usual, I fill my morning schedule will all sorts of stuff, and don't return until after lunch.  I get the kids down for a nap and go in seach for my missing item.  Time passes and I begin to realize this may not be as simple as I thought.  All the "usual suspects" seem to be Ipod-less.   Before I totally freak out, I decide to check with the boys.  However, it's a new toy, and they simply stare blankly at me.  I tried, "have you seen mommy's little computer?"  Blake pipes up, "upstairs."  So I follow him up to my room where he kindly points our the regular computer.  Duh, Hillary.  Time was running out, and I had to get ready for my first EVER campaign kick-off for Steve Whisler.  I had decided that Tuesday would consist of a top to bottom search of the house.  Dang it, I was determined to find it.

The event was awesome, by the way, but I'll post that to the PVRC blog later.  This post is about my beloved iPod.  I know it's retarded, but it's amazing how quickly it became an essential part of my life.  Anyways, this morning, I sprang up out of bed, made my coffee (keeping an ever watchful eye out for the missing object), had my quiet time, where I'm sad to say I actually prayed for God to help me find it, and got to work.  Literally, I worked from 8 am until Neil got home looking in every crack and crevice along the way.  Good news is that I also cleaned as I went.  I thought this would go over better with the hubby.  By the time Neil got home, I'd cleaned every room in the house and had managed to find some missing jewelry, an old checkbook, a lost croc of Blake's, and several random pieces to games we thought were lost causes...but no iPod.  This was not exactly the news I wanted to give Neil, but sadly it's all I could do.  Luckily for me, he was more focused on the cleanliness than the think, shiny, expensive piece of equipment that seemed to have vanished into thin air.

When we got home from Chick-fil-A, Neil joined the search.  We even missed watching NCIS.  He was combing the bedroom and I was down in the basement canvasing Mat's old room, the guest bedroom, and once again, the laundry room (praying I didn't somehow wash it). About 9 pm, Neil comes downstairs and says he's giving up.  Yeah, I'd basically given up myself.  I grabbed my computer and headed up the stairs to blog about my sad, missing iPod Touch.  As I approached the top of the stairs, I saw it, sitting there on the kitchen table, glaring up at me.  To myself I thought, "Please don't tell me that was sitting there the entire time."

"You FOUND IT?!?!  Where was it," as I rushed back down the stairs and through my arms around my mystery solving, dignity saving husband.  "Please don't say you found it somewhere stupid!"

"I found it somewhere stupid," said Neil.

"Where?  Come on, tell me!"

"I don't know, I kind of like this whole missing iPod thing.  I come home to a spotless house."

"Seriously, where did you find it?"

"In my coat pocket hanging in the closet."

WHAT?  How in the world did it end up there?  I haven't worn it recently.  The only thing we could gather is that Blake was playing with it, as Owen's story goes, and he must have put it the pocket before I hung it up this afternoon.  Weird.  Why didn't I think to check there when I was cleaning?  Either way, it's found and I am absolutely exstatic.

Time now to go write up a post about the Whisler Campaign Kick-Off.  I can't believe I literally blew off everything, my blogs, twitter, phone calls, email, tv shows...everything, just to find an iPod.  I think I might have a codependency habit.

Fluff

I know, I know...three posts in one night. Crazy, isn't it? So many times I get these ideas in my head about different posts I want to do, but I rarely get to do them all. Since writing is so therapeutic for me, I thought it only appropriate to write about whatever floats my boat as part of my Sabbath. I don't exactly get a whole lot of chill time, so this is my excuse to sit back, kick up my feet, and go for it. So I hope you get a chance to read the other two entries from tonight. I'd really like to do one more, but I'm not sure my eyes will stay open long enough.

So fluff? What is fluff? Well, to be honest, it's a low calorie bowl of yumminess. Jen turned me onto it when I was visiting in San Antonio a couple years back. Okay, fine, I'll give you the recipe at the end. It's a perfect snack, especially for those times when I'm eating because I'm frustrated or bored.

My boys love fluff, and from what she's tasted, so does Madison. Sometimes, I'll dish out a bowl for their afternoon snacktime, and watch them go to town. I just have to tell you about today's fluff experience. It's not exactly a clean food. In fact, it's down right messy. Blake woke up first from naptime, so I dipped out a bowl, and put him in his seat with a large bib. This is what he looked like after a couple bites.

Then he says, "All done, Mommy." Yes, my boy is speaking in semi-full sentences. He gets down leaving almost an entire bowl of fluff behind. Man, I remember when that boy wouldn't stop eating.

A few minutes later, Owen arose a cranky mess. He didn't want to put on pants for church, so I said, "fine, then you don't get to eat the Fluff that is sitting on the table as we speak." Before I finished that statement, he was dressed and sitting at the table with spoon in hand. "Don't get any on you. Fluff can be quite messy." "Fluff is messy, Mommy?" I nodded my head and went back to what I was doing. Before I knew it, Owen had grabbed a bib and climbed up into Blake's seat.

Needless to say, there is never a dull moment at the Pennington's. These boys keep me busy, and most of the time, exhausted.

Fluff (1 pt per cup)

1 can crushed pineapple

2 boxes of Sugar Free, Fat Free Cheesecake Pudding (or Vanilla)

Mix these two together, then add:

1 can Mandarin Oranges

1 32 oz. container of Fat Free Vanilla Yogurt

Fold in:

1 8 oz container of Cool Whip Free

Voila...Fluff, my guiltless pleasure & a constant source of hilarity with my boys. Enjoy.

"I DO"

Seriously (Thank you Grey's Anatomy for increasing my vocabulary), it's wedding mania. I thought I was long past this stage of life, but seemingly it's back...and at a time when I need a much deserved break from baby showers and birthing stories. (Oh & I get to wear a totally cute $4 dress that shows off my butt-kicking weight loss).


Clare's getting married and I have the pleasure of being her Matron of Honor. Yay, how fun, but her wedding isn't until September, right? Doesn't matter, there is lots to plan and four months is going to fly by. So while we're in the midst of that, Joyce's daughter gets married (this past Saturday). Totally surreal moment for me. Why, you ask? Because I'm a friend of the Bride's mother. See what I mean. But it was a beautiful wedding, and I felt blessed to be able to be there for Joyce...plus Clare and I picked up tons of fun tips and ideas for her own wedding. Thanks Kristin (& Congrats). Did I mention that Kristin and her new hubby live in Warner Robins, GA. I KNOW, right (spoken like a true Monica from Friends)? For such a small town in Georgia, I have way too many random connections to it, the main one being my grandparents (though they are not at all random).


So it doesn't end there. This Friday, Joyce and Tim get married. How fun is that? At first they were going to do a small ceremony in the back of TJ's (our pastor) yard with no guests. Appalled that I wouldn't be invited, I simply made the point that I'd crash the wedding and hide in the bushes (not that TJ has any) and Twitpic the entire thing. Clare quickly jumped on board with my plan, and then voila, we were all invited. But of course I could not accept the invitation because I'd already gotten so hyped up about the whole mission impossible theme. So now there are going to be a few guests and two crazy ladies hiding in the bushes.

To keep in sync with our fun plan, Carly (TJ's daughter) and her friend Audrey decided to sell tickets in the blessed event at Fusion tonight. Deck tickets went for $2 a piece and were gone in a jiffy. "Nose bleed" roof seats were $.50 but you had to bring your own ladder. Mat, our roommate & Clare's fiance, bought the bridesmaid ticket for $3, and Mandy became the groomsman. Clare and I opted for Tree #1 & #4. I was able to negotiate the tickets down to $.24 a ticket, but was upset to find that they didn't have change for my quarter. TJ came by and decided that in order to help out with his daughter's college fund, he'd auction off his position as minister for a whopping $100. Sold to Jeremy Smith, a philanthropist with a soft spot for Cupid's finest. All in all, the girls made off with $112.43. Joyce & Tim attempted to lay claim to the proceeds, but Carly & Audrey were long gone, half way to Mexico by now.








The thing is that it will be a beautiful ceremony because it involved two of my favorite people. And oh do they have such an amazing story to tell. I'd spill it to you, but it's not mine to tell (and I don't have a box of tissue beside me). Let's just say it's a story of redemption & faith, heart break and healing, love and grace. I'm honored, truly freaking honored, to be part of that day, whether it's from behind a tree or in a seat. Congratulations Tim & Joyce. You've earned it!

Have You Lost a Shoe?

So Tim the Magnificent (AKA The Pennington Pond Boy) took care of our minivan for three days this past week at the Chrysler dealership. He fixed a few warranty issues, hooked us up with a couple new tires and some new brakes...but we didn't expect to find an added bonus when it came back to us last night.

Neil comes in this morning with a lone black shoe and asks if it's mine. "Not so much. What about your girlfriend? Nah, she probably wears a size 7 or something petite like that." (Disclaimer: this is not "Big Love." Neil does not have a girlfriend and that was fully intended as joke).

Now we have a mystery to solve. Whose shoe is it? Joyce wears a size 8 so we know it's not hers (nor can I see her wearing this type of shoe). Tim can't figure it out either. I have my own theories about cross-dressing mechanics or a scenario that involves a forbidden make-out session in our van (but that just makes me shudder). I just can't figure out who wouldn't notice that they left a shoe, a high heel for that matter, in our car. The point is that no one knows where it came from. I'm pretty sure it wasn't there when Neil took the car into the shop, but just in case, if any of you lost a shoe in our car, you are more than welcome to come and claim it. All rewards will be accepted.

On a side note (or mainly so I don't have to do another post): Do you like my new hair cut? Oh and my two beautifuly children? Adorable aren't we (I mean "they").

How Hilarious is This? Merry Christmas!

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

Random Comment that will most likely not enrich anyone's life

Confession of the day: I watch a few chicky flicky, teeny bopper, guilty pleasure TV shows (like One Tree Hill, Gossip Girl (thanks to my lil' sis) and Privileged).

Anyways I just have to say that I was watching the previews for next week's Gossip Girl and the character Chuck Bass, played by Ed Westwick, looks super hot. Completely pointless, I know, but the thing is that this same character normally has this slicked back Norman Bates look that makes me want to cringe...just not sexy.

But the sad part about it all, the reason for the disheveled cutey patooty look, his dad's death. See how I am not at all enriching anyone's life by posting this blog. But it was on my mind, and I felt that in order to free myself from it, I needed to get it out.

There, I feel all better. Of course now my secret is out of the bag, I will probably berated by everyone I know...oh well. Who's brave enough to mess with a hormonal pregnant woman on her last nerve (and brain cell)?

Case Solved

It's not exactly your typical Sunday. Today is jam packed from start to finish. This is how it was supposed to go: I would head out to the grocery store early and by myself. Then I'd take the boys with me to church for my camp vision team meeting. While I was gone, Neil would hit the river kayaking with a few friends from his boating club. Then we'd meet up at Fusion tonight to help out in the nursery. We scheduled everything to the tee...except a sick baby. Blake has a fever and all your typical cold symptoms which puts a slight wrench in our day since we can't take a clearly sick child to church. Thankfully Mat volunteered to watch Blake in the overlap time. Yay for live in friends.

So what does this have to do with the case of the missing black box? Well, I'd glad you asked. I head out to the grocery store feeling naked and unprepared without my coupons. I decided to give Target a call, just in case. I pulled out a recent receipt and dialed. Side note: isn't it a little weird to get a recording when you're calling your local store? After being shifted from place to place, they gave me the bad news...no black box matching my description was found. Defeated and depressed, I parked in front of Safeway and was about to turn off the car when I realized I'd called the wrong Target. A glimmer of hope seeped into my soul. I shuffled through a few more receipts until I found one for the Columbia Target. Again I got a stupid recording, but it was all forgiven when the fantabulous lady at Guest Services said she had my box. "Great, I'll be there in 10 minutes." Of course, she probably was wondering why I would rush down there for a stupid box. I was starting to wonder that myself. Is there something seriously wrong with me that I can't just shop without coupons? Probably, and for that I have to blame my mom. Craziness aside, nothing was going to stop me from retrieving my little black box. Being that I was in a time crunch, I didn't get all my shopping done, but I did save an extra $7.50 on my $30 bill. See, it was all worth it.

Granted I didn't get much sleep last night, but I do have my black box back. (BTW, I didn't sleep because Blake was up most of the night, not because of my missing coupons). Now I hope to enjoy an hour or two of naptime (kids, not me) and then decide whether I'll be going to church tonight or not.

The Case of the Missing Black Box

I know it's been a while, and please forgive me for my absence. In the wake of a very disappointing election (for which I can only hope America doesn't regret), I wasn't quite sure what to write about. It's funny how there is so much build up and then "pfflllluuufff", a big let down (kind of like a whoopee cushion deflating).

So I've spent the last week of in mourning. OK, not really. I've actually been quite busy planning an event for camp that went off with a bang this morning, and was fantabulous. We decided to host an event just for our campers and their friends to thank them for trusting us with their summers. With between 75-100 people there, I'd say most of our campers from last summer were in attendance and having a blast. "Fall into Camp" was a huge success. Yay!

But that's not the point of my post. What could have possibly driven me out of my blogging black hole? Yes, it's the case of the missing black box. What black box you ask? Let's just say that I don't leave home without my black box, at least not if I'm going shopping. Inside this box of wonder are hundreds of little scraps of paper alphabetized by product name and worth (at least to me) an infinite amount of money. If you know me at all, you have just gasped at the revelation of what I've lost...my coupon box. I know I had it on Tuesday when I was shopping for the camp event, but I haven't seen it since. I figured it was sitting innocently in the back of Neil's truck, but quite disappointed when he came back empty handed. Literally, it has vanished. The only thing I can think is that I left it in the cart at Target, but I just can't imagine how I could have done that. It really is an epidemic for me. Some people don't understand why I even bother. They should have been with me on Friday when I swung by the store to pick up a few items. All I could see were the items I could be getting for free with the coupons I couldn't find. It was depressing, and I couldn't even enjoy the fact that I was down a kid (Owen was at school).

Luckily Saturday comes every week, and with it comes the paper filled with coupons for me to clip. Normally, I'm excited to sit down and start cutting, but tonight it was tainted with a hint of sadness (mourning even). Tomorrow I'll swing by Target in hopes that some cart guy didn't throw away my little black box. Of course I can't even guarantee that it was in fact there that I lost my precious friend. Wow, I type the word "precious," and all of a sudden am catapulted into a scene from "Lord of the Rings." I think I can now sympathize with Gollum and his torturous loss. Now if they are gone forever there is only one thing to do...buy a new box, alphabet dividers, and start sorting the fresh cut coupons sitting next to me as I type. But when do you let go? Inevitably it is in that moment of weakness, when I've sorted the last General Mills coupon and am about to walk out the door on the way to the store, that my other black box will simply "show up." You know that's how it goes. It is the "oath of all things lost." Don't believe me? What happens the second you go out and buy a pair of sunglasses after you lost your old ones? Just ask my friend Clare...of course when she loses them, they are normally at my house with the rest of them, but that's not the point.

There...I feel much better now. I've vented, gotten it all off my chest. If anyone see my little black box, please send it home to me. I promise I'll throw a "prodigal box" party.

Feeling Pretty "Spoiled"

Despite some pretty sad & humbling stuff going on in my life right now, I have to say that this particular morning, I am stoked about an opportunity that has come my way. Some of you have heard of Twitter. It's like a group text messaging system where you can "tweet" all your friends/followers at the same time, which now includes my sister. Anyways, I follow this TV spoiler site called Still Spoiled. A few days ago, they put out a tweet wondering if anyone knew any writers. Jokingly at first, I tweeted back, "I know me and I like to write." And to my surprise, they (well Ben really) got back with me. Seriously, me?

Now I don't talk much about my TV habits, mainly because I watch some shows that my teenage sister would more likely watch (but ironically doesn't), like One Tree Hill, Greek and the new CW show Privileged (which I love by the way). The other reason would center around the fact that I watch a lot of shows. Actually it's more like I stream a lot of shows on the Internet since I rarely get to watch them in prime time. I also happen to be addicted to spoiler sites, like stillspoiled.com & spoilerfix.com. So maybe it's a good fit for me to begin my writing career in the world of TV, plus I get early scoop on my favorite shows. (Disclaimer: I do like normal shows too like Heroes, Grey's Anatomy & Chuck. ) Since my dream is to one day write for a TV show, at least this will look good on my resume (that I don't have yet).


This morning Ben (who lives in New Zealand) offered me a trial for a couple weeks to see if it would work out. I'd be jumping on the couches right now, but then Owen would see me and think it was okay for him to do it, and I'm just not sure that is the example I want to be setting. Either way, I am super stoked about the opportunity, and wanted to share it with all of you.

Now if other areas (well really just one) of my life could iron themselves out, this might turn out to be one great day. This is definitely one of those prayer days, filled with praises and requests.

Really, it's not that hard to please me.

Depending on who you ask, everyone has their own favorite Halloween candy. Jo loves those peanut butter things that I can't remember the name of right now. Neil's favorite is...well, let's face it, he like anything with sugar in it. Clare loves Reese's, both the peanut butter cups and her daughter (who share the same name). And for Joyce it's all about the Milk Duds. But for me (& Katy), it's candy corn & peanuts. So today I go out...my sole mission, to get candy corn & diapers. I figure the best place to accomplish those tasks is good old Target. I go in, strap my little monsters into their "special" cart, and go off to find my items, and peruse the clearance racks of course. As I come up on the Halloween candy aisles, I begin my search for those delicious orange & yellow cone shaped candies. Hhhmm, that's weird, they are no where to be found. There were caramel flavored ones and chocolate flavored ones and the pumpkin shaped ones, but no plain old candy corn. So, I thought I'd ask someone. Maybe they have them stashed in another area of the store. In the very next aisle, there's a lady dressed in a red shirt, with a name tag that says "how may I help you?" I ask her where I can find candy corn. She says in broken English, and I'm not joking, "Um, I on da research team...dunno," then turns back to pricing packages of Dentyne gum. That was useless. I turn the corner to find another stock guy, so I ask him where I can find candy corn. He literally scratches his head and says, "I know we carry them, but I haven't seen any in a week or so."

Brief Pause: In the middle of all this, my husband calls equipped with a concerned voice. "What's wrong, Neil?" "Well, honey, it seems there is something horribly wrong with your blog. You finally post pics of the family, but there is not one of the dog." WHAT? I'm in the middle of a candy corn crisis, and he's worried about me posting a pic of the dog. I swear he is turning into his parents. But for those who care, here she is enjoying a little scratch and torture from Owen. But really, Neil, if you want me post more pics of Reese, then take more pics of her. This one was taken months ago in our old house, and it's the most recent one I could find. Now back to my story...

Am I really in Target, or have I somehow managed to wonder into Walmart without knowing it? You might be saying, "Hills, what's the big deal? Just go to another store." Okay, if you just thought that, you are clearly not pregnant with two toddlers in tote. That is so easier said than done.

Luckily, I managed to swipe up the last box of size 4 diapers, so my trip wasn't a complete waste. Now I'm home, the kids are fed and down for nap, and all I can think about is how I have plenty of peanuts and no candy corn. Such a sad day. If only I could have a tree like this one...

I'd be in heaven. Better yet, check out these sweet turkey treats. Aren't they cute?

Up For Grabs!

We have a toddler picnic table that needs to go. It's in decent shape, but needs a good cleaning. I'm offering it up to my friends before I put it on Freecyle. By the way, it's free! We also have 2 wood stool with black covers, but they need to be recovered...free! I have a bunch of stuff going to Goodwill, so if you're thinking about these things and want to check out the rest, you're welcome to sift through and take what you want.

FOR SALE:
TV Armoire: made by Broyhill, good shape: $60
Desk w/hutch, 2 file drawers: $30
Small Black Chair, great for accents: $2
Pampered Chef Colander & Bowl Set, w/lids, it was just replaced with a new style & I don't need 2 sets: $6
Set of 4 blue wine glasses: $4
Vintage Coffee Urn/Perculator, needs plug in cord: $8
Real Crystal Vase: $3

I have more, but it's early and I can't think right now. Don't forget to read the post below about the new home prospect.

Moving Sale Tomorrow...

Not sure where we're moving yet, but we're definitely moving somewhere. It might be under a bridge somewhere, but we can't stay here, so Katy and I are gearing up for a day of fun selling off all our extra stuff.

We'll have furniture, baby & toddler items, a toddler outdoor picnic table, household decor, kitchen stuff, Stair Baskets, Plate Racks, baskets, etc... So if you're not busy, come check us out.

3344 Cranberry S, Laurel, 20724
Saturday, June 28th from 8 am - 12 pm!

Pampered Chef Inventory Blowout

I've finally gotten around to this. See sidebar for complete details and items for sale. I will update as items sell, but keep in mind that it might not be completely up to date.

Email orders to pamperedpenny@gmail.com!

Happy Shopping!