32 States

One of my friends had a cool map on her blog and I thought, "hmm... how many states have I visited?" So, here's my map:

UPDATE: I lied. I looked at a map and I have been to Iowa. I guess it was just that memorable. Oops. I guess it's 33 states!

Today's Teens

So, by the time I was in middle school, I guess Home Economics wasn't a cool name anymore... so at Theodore Roosevelt Middle School, it was Today's Teens. I remember one semester we learned to sew. I don't remember anything about that. Another semester, we learned to cook. I don't remember much of that, either...

but tonight, I went all the way back to 1999 in my mind and made dinner that I learned in Mrs. Mendenhall's 8th grade Today's Teens class. I just really wanted pizza, but I had to get creative with what we had. Mrs. Mendenhall would be so proud!

It's gourmet, for sure. Pizza Toast! Here's my secret recipe:

• 2 slices of bread
• pizza sauce
• mozzarella cheese
• pepperoni (or topping of choice)

1. put bread on a pizza stone or cookie sheet under broiler until toasty
2. flip over
3. spread pizza sauce, sprinkle cheese, put on pepperoni, sprinkle cheese
4. put under broiler for about 1 minute or until cheese is melty and edges are toasty

You're welcome.

Need a Toilet?

We took a family drive the other day (it was supposed to be a trip to the library, but G fell asleep). Anyway, we saw this at the end of someone's driveway. In case you can't read it, it says, "For Sale: Slightly used toilet. $5 or best offer" I think it had a phone number, too. We had to take a picture of it because it was at the end of a cul de sac that was seriously in the middle of nowhere. Which means that this person is basically trying to sell a toilet to 2 other houses on his street. Seriously... the street looks like this (that little blue sign says "fire water source" and was a small drain in the ground and the toilet was behind the tree to the left):

So, if you're looking for a "slightly used" toilet for $5 (or best offer), let me know! I know where you can find one!

DINOSAUR TRAIN dinosaur train

Want to see what's stuck in my head most of the time these days? Pretty catchy:

I do wonder how Mrs. Pteranodon explained Buddy to Mr. Pteranodon....

Love Love Love

I'm bad at taking pictures... like, really bad. Steve and I have about 10 photos together if you don't count our wedding. We just don't take pictures. Well, I love taking pictures of little G... but I still don't have many pictures of Steve & I. As much as I love pictures of G in any form, my new goal is to take more pictures of G with Steve &/or I. So here you go... and I promise many more:

A Visit from Dubs!

Auntie Dubada came to visit us last week and we had so much fun!

Dubada gave G his first Mountain Dew! What a bad influence! (Just kidding--it was still closed.. he just likes to chew on cold things. It was funny, he grabbed it and slobbered all over it!)

We went to the water gardens... that's about all the exciting stuff we did.. haha. It was nice to just hang out with Dubs and relax!

List Nine

Things I do on Friday Night:

1. Give G a bath
2. Put G to bed
3. Make dinner
4. Watch Dateline

George's Big Dilemma

A few months ago, when G was learning to roll over, he started rolling front to back. Then, he eventually could roll back to front. Well, once he starting rolling on to his tummy, he forgot all about rolling from front to back and would just cry until we flipped him over.

Now, G has pretty much mastered sitting up. So, the funny but sad thing is that when we put him down for a nap, he cries and cries... and then the cry changes. It changes from a sad cry to a scared/hurt cry. When I noticed the change yesterday, I figured he probably got his foot stuck in the slats of the crib again... but no! I went in to find my poor little tired baby sitting up... and he didn't know what to do! He has completely forgotten how to fall down... which is funny because he's been able to fall forward and backward for months now!

Still no crawling, but he's so close! Steve told him that today better be the day... so we shall see!

8 Months!

George turned 8 months old yesterday!! That means that he has officially been out in the world as long as he was in my tummy! (That's right--he was in my stomach about 8 months, remember?) Crazy, huh?? It seems like just yesterday I got a stomach ache that made me say, "This feels different. I think I'm pregnant." Life has sure flown by this past year!

Doesn't he look cute in that picture? We had fun tonight right before his bath time. He is totally exhausted, but we were having a good time and he was laughing up a storm! He's had problems sleeping this week, so we're trying something new. If it doesn't work, it's because I'm not very good at it. I have got to get my baby on a decent sleep schedule... and myself, too. He's not napping as much, which also means he's not sleeping as well at night! He used to come into bed with us around 4am... but lately he has been waking up earlier and earlier and now he comes into bed with us at midnight! As a result, I get almost zero restful sleep these days. So, wish us (me) luck!!

List Eight

Things I like about Texas Summers:

1. 
   
   

Monster Baby!

When we lived in Ohio, there was a baby at church that we called "Monster Baby." Not because he was bad, but because he was huge. Seriously. His parents were both tall, and I'm pretty sure he's probably a 6ft. 3 year old by now.

But we have a different kind of "monster baby." In fact, we've been suspecting that he might be trouble all along... because although he's so mild-mannered, he's very curious. He likes to push buttons and grab things off of the rack at stores, and he's starting to lunge for things when we're holding him (which has lead to a few bumps on the head and his very first goose-egg!). Well, he can't quite crawl yet, but he's getting pretty decent at scooting (at least I assume so... I've never actually seen him do it... but he always manages to move from where I put him).

Today, I sat him on the floor with a few toys to go do something and Steve yelled, "come see this!" I quickly returned to the living room to find that G was not where I sat him... and he had pulled over his whole basket of toys! He was so excited at all of the options that he could hardly contain himself! He just kept pulling out toy after toy and throwing them when he was done! It's starting! It's the beginning of our adorably curious little boy's "monster baby" phase!

Repo Games!

So, I usually don't allow Spike TV in my home. With that as a disclaimer, I can't believe that I haven't blogged about "Repo Games" yet!

It's a quiz game show where repo men show up at someone's house to repossess their car... but wait! If they answer 3 out of 5 trivia questions right, their car won't be repossessed... and they'll pay off the loan!

Needless to say, this show is hilarious. Seriously. They ran a mini-marathon a few weeks ago and... surprise... I think I watched the whole thing!

Some highlights....

Name 5 states that have a cardinal direction in their names....

(North/South Carolina, North/South Dakota, West Virginia)

Are you sure that one of the states isn't Westconsin??

(to be honest, I was surprised this guy knew what a cardinal direction was!)

What 5 states touch the Gulf of Mexico?

(Florida, Mississippi, Louisiana, Texas, Alabama)

What?? Atlanta doesn't touch the Gulf of Mexico? Wait... it isn't even a state?

So yeah... it's a good time. And a great premise for a game show!

Like Mother, Like Son...

We have developed somewhat of a Binky Addict in our home.

It was an accident, I promise.

But it started when we switched from the Soothie to a "big-boy binky."

Last night we realized we didn't have a binky after we had left the house.

"Oh, well..." I thought.

Big mistake. We certainly learned our lesson.

I guess I can't be too surprised or disapproving... after all, I had a binky until I was about 4.

List Seven

Six Funny Things My Nieces & Nephews Said Last Week:

1. "Ah, shiz, Mom!"
2. "I mean, I'm pretty chesty..."
3. "Are you going to make me get the small slurpee or will you let me get the bigger one? Because if you make me get the small, it's not even worth it."
4. (About inviting a friend over) "I wish I hadn't. I'm reallllystarting to regret it."
5. "THOSE AREN'T FIREWORKS! QUIT SAYING THEY'RE FIREWORKS!" (they were fireworks)
6. "And the lifeguard kicked me out of the hot tub! Because I'm not 14! It's going to be a long time before I'm 14! They let me in the hot tub before... she must have forgotten."