WFMW- Angel Food Ministries

Feeding three growing girls and a hopefully shrinking Mommy and Daddy doesn't come cheap these days, y'all. Not to mention the persnickety canine boys with their own health issues.

One way we've found to save money on groceries is Angel Food Ministries. Angel Food Ministries is a non-profit, non-denominational organization that provides quality groceries at very frugal prices, distributed by host sites throughout the United States. This program is NOT just for low income families; it is open to any and everyone, regardless of your financial situation.

We place our orders by the monthly deadline for our state, and then return to the host site to pick up our boxes on the appointed date. Check out my Menu Plan Monday; most of the meat in this week’s menu comes from our Angel Food boxes.

A monthly box costs just $25 and looks like this:

JUNE 2007 MENU

(1) 2 lb. Salisbury Steak Dinner
(1) 16 oz. Sliced Frozen Carrots

(1) 2 lb. St. Louis Ribs
(1) 16 oz. Corn

(1) 2 lb. Chicken Tenders
(1) 24 oz. Steak-Cut French Fries

(1) 18 oz. Stuffed Manicotti

(8) 4 oz. Country Fried Beef Steaks
(1) 8 oz. Corn Muffin Mix

(1) 2 lb. Chicken Breast Fillets
(1) 1 lb. White Rice

(1) 6.5 oz. Lasagna Hamburger Dinner
(1) 14 oz. Peanut Butter

(1) 7.5 oz. Ranch & Bacon Pasta Salad
(1) 10 ct. Waffles
(1) 16 oz. Pinto Beans
(1) Dessert Item

There are also different monthly specials that cost under $20, and can include steaks, chicken, Italian sausage, or my favorite, 10 lbs of corn dogs for $18. I hope the corn dog special comes around before long - they sure make my life easier in the summer!

So. Angel Food Ministries - helping me save money on groceries every month. Works For Me.

Now, be sure to check out all the great WFMW tips at Rocks in My Dryer.

Recipes...sort of.

In response to my entry into Menu Plan Monday, a couple of you have asked for recipes. Well, I am about to show you just how slapdash my cooking is.

The most requested recipe was for Sticky Chicken. There are tons of recipes out there, and you can do it in the oven, crock pot, or on the grill. I haven't decided which one I'm gonna use yet, but here are a few I've found using Blingo, the search engine where you win prizes (shameless plug).

Baked Potato Casserole - Well, here's the thing. We were supposed to have baked potatoes, but I didn't get them in the oven early enough, and I didn't want to microwave them. So I sort of peeled the potatoes. And then I cut them into big hunks and boiled them in salted water. When they were cooked to the right consistency, I drained the water off, added some butter, salt and pepper and smashed to smaller hunks. Then I put some sour cream and shredded cheese on top of it all, and put the lid on it, leaving the burner on warm. When our steaks were done, everything was all melty and good.

So. Lori's seat-of-the pants cooking. What else do you want to know? I'll be happy to share my "methods."

Menu Plan Monday

Well, guys, I've been sucked into the organizational vortex that is Menu Plan Monday. Very willingly. I'm trying to get so many areas in our household organized, and our kitchen, pantry, freezer and stomachs are at the top of the list.

Big Daddy and I did an inventory of our deep freeze Saturday, made a menu plan, and then he went shopping for the few things we needed. Our plan is very basic, but it's gonna work for us this week. So without further ado, here goes:

MONDAY
Sausage and Peppers

TUESDAY
Turkey Noodle Soup

WEDNESDAY
Barbecue Ribs

THURSDAY
Sticky Chicken

FRIDAY
This Friday night we have Life Group at our house, so we usually just feed the kids a sandwich and BD and I graze on the appetizers.

SATURDAY
Ribeyes
Baked Potato Casserole

SUNDAY
Grilled Pork Chops
Corn Casserole

So there you have it. Hopefully now that I've stuck my toe in the water, I'll be motivated to continue this every week. It would certainly be a big time and money saver, and heaven knows we need help in both those areas.

For more menu ideas, be sure to visit Laura at I'm an Organizing Junkie!

Princesses in Combat Boots

Food Meme

I got this meme from dcrmom at Musings of a Housewife about a hundred years ago, and finally decided to trot it out today.

1. What do you like on a hot dog?
Just mustard, or
Mustard, chili, onions and cheese

2. What do you like on a hamburger?
Mayo and tomatoes, or
Hickory sauce, mayo and shredded cheese, or
Bacon, swiss and grilled mushrooms

3. What do you like on a baked potato?
Butter, sour cream, shredded cheese, chives, bacon bits, salt, pepper and more butter.

4. What do you like on a slice of toast?
Butter and nice jam or preserves - no jelly, or
Plain, sopping up my eggs over easy.

5. What do you like in a cup of coffee or tea?
No hot tea for me, thanks. Coffee - I like lots of sweet, flavory stuff in there. Not much of a plain coffee person. I'm hoping for one of those pod coffee makers so I can make one cup and doctor it to my heart's content.

If you're reading, I tag you! Leave me a comment if you decide to play.

Happy Birthday, Scooter Pie!

It’s been an emotional week for me, y’all. My baby turned 4 on Sunday, and my diva graduated from kindergarten this morning. And I can’t believe how blessed I am, and how much God has changed our lives since bringing these three crazy little girls to me two years ago. It seems like a lifetime ago.

Here’s Scooter the day we met her. She was 20 months old.

See that look of confusion and discontentment on her face? Yeah, that’s all we saw for 3 or 4 months. Scooter was so upside down emotionally that she had tantrums several times a day. Food was pretty much the only thing that made her happy. I don’t think that she was starved as a baby, but I think that people gave her food to shut her up or pacify her. So. Screamed all the time.

Except every now and then I would tickle her under the chin, and she had the most incredibly delightful laugh that you’ve ever heard. Just magic. And I would thank God for giving me a little glimpse into what could be.


But Big Daddy and I were so discouraged. We fell in love with Pooh and Tinkerbell almost immediately, but Scooter wasn’t letting us get close to her. One night we lay in bed and cried and prayed and wondered what on earth we were going to do. And as an immediate answer to prayer, the next day the tantrums lessened to the point where we could see a little light at the end of the tunnel.

The real turning point came when I stopped working full-time and took Scooter out of daycare. I kept the big girls in daycare until they started big school, so that maybe Scooter and I could work things out. And we did. And what I realized is this: Until then, my baby had never realized that we were her family. Why would she? We were just another house to live in. We took her to daycare and left her all day long. But once she and I were able to spend 24/7 together, she let those walls down and decided to trust us. And things have never been the same.

Here she is in the courthouse on the day of her adoption.

Now, my Scoot still has a tantrum every now and then. But that’s what kids do. But now we’re talking once or twice a week instead of once or twice an hour. And when I tell her to knock it off, she does it. And I can handle that.
So. Happy 4th Birthday to my Scooter. She loves to sing. She loves to dance. She wants to be just like her big sisters. She tells me she loves me 40 times a day.

She runs screaming to the door when her daddy comes home. She loves, loves, loves her Grammy and Grandaddy. And she still loves food. But she doesn’t throw fits about it any more.

Me Tutu!

Y'all, I love tutus. So much that I have vintage pictures of ballet dancers in long tutus hanging over my bed. So imagine the joy when I came across this contest at 5 Minutes for Mom!

Tutu Fantasy is a company that makes...you guessed it, tutus! True, they're just for kids, but I think I can bribe my girls to wear one around the house all summer long just to make her crazy mama happy.

So what you want to do is go on over to 5 Minutes for Mom and check out this contest, and then if you win, be a sweetheart and give them my address. Or not. Either way is okay. We'll still be friends, I promise.

American Idol Finale Results

Still feeling random, cause I got about 4 hours of sleep last night, but I really enjoyed tonight's Results show, so here we go with some thoughts.

I loved Blake and Jordan in the opening number.

Kelly Clarkson rocked. And isn't her back kind of sexy? In a non-lesbionic sort of way.

Top 6 Guys and Smokey Robinson - I heart that MoTown stuff! The dancing just tickles me, and I thought most of the guys sang good. Sure made me miss Chris Sligh. That guy can sing.

Blake and Doug E. Fresh - I liked this performance; it was so fun! That beat boxing is really a talent, isn't it?

Top 6 Girls and Gladys Knight -
Love Gina's hair and dress.
Why does Haley have to act like a hooch all the time?
Tink: Mom, what's a hooch?
Me: (Looks at BD)
BD: You cracked that egg, now you gotta scramble it.
I was laughing so hard I don't remember what my answer was, but I'm certain it was well-thought-out and mature. Just like the word Hooch.

And Ho. Ly. Smokes. I love the heck out of this song, and there is nothing that could make me happier right now than Melinda, Gladys and KiKi singing the heck out of it. Wow.

Tony Bennett - Meh. Until the end. Then it was A'ight.

Why does Paula have to stand up and dance through the entire show?

Melinda with BeBe and CeCe Wynans - Holy Schmoley, I am totally buying this girl's CD when it comes out.

Carrie Underwood - I'll Stand By You. I like this song oh, so much.

Sanjaya is a joke.

Taylor Hicks - Yeah, baby. Love me some Taylor.

Jordin and Ruben - You're All I Need to Get By. Oh my goodness, don't I love this song, too! Do I sound like a broken record or what?

Bette Midler? Holy crap, what a show this is tonight! She sure does look good for 50++, doesn't she?

Sergeant Pepper. Loved this too, mostly. Ruben might not have been comfortable with it, but the rest of them sang it right. This is pretty much the only Beatles music I like, so I enjoyed it.

Get this: The show must have run late, because our DVR cut off before it was over. So we had to cut to the news to find out who won. Talk about anti-climactic!

So. I think this was the best Finale I've seen so far. I wasn't bored much at all. I will confess to FFing through Gwen Stefani and much of Tony Bennett. But mostly I just enjoyed all the beautiful music. And like I said last night, it really didn't matter who won, because I think they'll all be successful.

Dirty Laundry Out.

I'm a Winner!

I won the neatest Chore Chart Set last week at My So Called Perfect Life. And just in time to keep ourselves in line for the summer! Thank you, thank you, thank you!

My So Called Perfect Life is a cute blog with fun stories and great little giveaways. So be sure to go over and check her out. And tell her Lori sent you!

I am so excited; this is the second time I've won something online, and it's just as fun as the first time! By the way, the first thing I won was $50 Amazon Gift Card from Blingo. Check out my link on the right and you can win there too!

Works For Me Wednesday - Fixing Myself

Y’all, I am a control freak. And I am also sensitive. And perhaps moody. And that’s just scratching the surface. Imagine being married to me.

Big Daddy and I have been married for over ten years, and I spent at least nine of those years trying to fix him. Then I repented.

BD and I were raised very differently; I was taught to be independent and take care of myself, and he was taught…well, nothing. And he’ll tell you that himself, so I’m not criticizing him. It’s just the truth. He was raised by wolves. When we met, I had been single and self-sufficient and on my own for several years, and he was…not so much.

So from the beginning, I handled the “business” of our lives, and he provided the muscle. Which led to me sort of “wearing the pants.” I'm not much of a nagger or griper, but here’s the problem: I gave my husband my opinion about his actions and clothes and his job and just about everything. I usually did it sweetly, but I did it way too much.

But did I mention I repented?

About a year ago, one Sunday we were on the way to church, and a radio preacher said, “Ladies, stop trying to fix your husbands. That’s God’s job.” That same morning our pastor taught about changing our own hearts and habits rather than focusing on others’ faults. You know how you can hear something 100 times, but suddenly one day your heart is ready to receive it? That was the day.

So what Works For Me now is this. I’m gonna let my husband worry about whether he’s being the man God wants him to be. My husband does not need me telling him how to act or talk or mow the yard or load the dishwasher. My husband needs me to support him and love him and help him and laugh with him and pray for him and…you get the idea.

So Big Daddy got his pants back, and that Works For Me. And by the way, IT REALLY WORKS FOR HIM!

Now, get on over to Shannon’s and check out today's tips. Cause I'm bossy like that.

American Idol Finale

WARNING: THE FOLLOWING POST MAY PUT YOU TO SLEEP

Well, y'all, for some reason, I'm not feeling American Idol tonight. Not sure if I'm tired or lazy or both. So instead of the usual review, I'm just gonna throw some random thoughts out there.

In my opinion, Blake's the better performer. I think he could be more commercially successful, win or lose. But he stunk it up on that last song.

Jordin definitely has a beautiful voice, and oh yeah, she's gorgeous, too! But have I mentioned I can't stand dresses worn over jeans?

I really don't care who wins, at this point. I do think they're both good, and that either one could be as successful as any of the past winners.

RANDOM COMMENTS OVERHEARD DURING TONIGHT'S AMERICAN IDOL

Tink: Randy Jackson's hair is so curly!

Tink: Oh, the bald guy got to come back! (Phil)

Tink: The way Blake paints his hair is awesome. Isn't it cute?

BD: Looks like a skunk.

Tink: How dare you say that to my guy!

Yeah, like I said, I got nothin' tonight. Check back tomorrow when I'll hopefully be in a better frame of mind, and can crack us all up dishing the finale.

Y'all have to go look at this hilarious video! I'm too lazy to figure out how to put a YouTube video here, so just go to Chiliheads to look at it.

I promise it's worth your time!

What? Another Contest? Count me in!

Leave it to 5 Minutes for Mom to come up with another giveaway perfect for Moms!

This time they've got Nexcare Bandages from 3M - at least A Whole Year's Worth!

Check out their post to find out how to enter.

Good luck, all!

I was so blessed by this post of Shannon's today.

Please go check it out.

It's not a bad thing, really.

While I am surprised and a little sad about the results of last night's American Idol, I don't think it's really a bad thing.

What I told Big Daddy is this: Melinda was the best, hands down. Everyone knows this. But. Is she really suited for that American Idol mold? The past winners who have done the best commercially are young and mainstream, whether pop or country. Melinda's not really pop-ish, you know?

Now. I think that Melinda will have a wonderful career, but I think she's better off with 3rd than 1st place, although I would have preferred to see her in the final two.

Is this making sense?

And now, although I think that Jordin has a better voice, I almost think that Blake should win, just cause he seems so commercial to me. And because I love it when he says "baby girl."

So long Melinda. We'll see you again real soon.

Certainty

Q.
Would that have been within a couple weeks of moving into this house?

A.
Exactly. Somethin’ like that. Or maybe right away. I’m not sure exactly. But I know it was immediately.


Nothing like knowing exactly what you're talking about, right?

Persistence

I'm sitting in here moving things around on my Blogger template, like I do obsessively about once a month. All my sweet angels are in the kitchen eating breakfast, following instructions and not making messes. I hope.

My bedroom door is closed, and Buster does. not. like. that. Because he is on the outside. So here's what I keep hearing:

Click, click, click, click, click (his toenails on the hall floor)
Thud! (his head hitting my bedroom door)

Buster's used to my door being partially closed, so that he can push it open whenever he wants, preferably when I'm standing in plain view changing clothes. But today, I closed it all the way, On Purpose.

It's driving him crazy.

Y'all, I am a little mean, I guess, cause this is cracking me up. He's done it at least 10 times so far.

Click, click, click, click, click (this is my favorite part, cause he's getting a running start)
Thud!
Whine (this one makes me feel a little guilty. Just a little)

Oh, here he comes again...

WFMW ~ One Thing at a Time

Girls (and boys?), I am not a good housekeeper. And my strongest personality trait is unfortunately a negative one: Procrastination. Now, my house is not nasty or toxic or anything, but as I may have mentioned in the past, we do have some teeny little problems with clutter. And I would much rather read or blog or read or play games or read or play with my kids than pick up the clutter.

This tip will hopefully be helpful for my fellow procrastinators, but those of you who are organized and tidy may find my suggestions obvious or trifling.

Here's one thing that's working for me, little by little, when I absolutely, positively do not want to clean. Pick up one thing at a time. Don't wait until you can do a whole room. Every little bit helps.

For example, this morning when I walked in the front door after dropping the big girls off at school, I did not leave the living room until I had picked up the things that were out of place. Since we don't spend much time in that room, there were only a couple of things out of place. So one room now looks great. Too bad we can't say the same for the rest of the house.

Later on while I was waiting for my bagel to toast, I put away the cooking oil and wiped off the stove.

Just now when I went to the restroom, I picked up some trash and pony tails from the counter and put them in their respective homes.

The next time I leave my bedroom (where my computer is) I will take a basket of clothes to the laundry room and throw them in to wash.

When I go to let the dogs out the back door, I'll wipe off the kitchen table and put out clean napkins for dinner.

You get the idea. Instead of being overwhelmed by all the things that need to be done around here, I'll just do them one thing at a time, as I go through the day. That way I don't feel guilty for being a lazy butt, and I find that the more I do, the more I want to do.

As I mentioned above, this may seem obvious to those of you who don't have problems with motivation and keeping up with housework. But for those of us (and I hope I'm not the only one!) who are slow starters, every little bit helps.

So. Picking up one thing at a time. Works for me. Be sure and go on over to Shannon's and check out all today's great tips!

American Idol Final Three

Good evening, all. Welcome to this evening's late recap of American Idol - Final Three. We're happy to inform you that Miss Tinkerbell is once again joining us for our broadcast.

At the risk of starting off tonight's commentary on a sour note, Ryan Seacrest needs to grow up. For real. He is not good at the cut-downs, and he needs to stop it. He just looks stupid. But I mean that in the nicest way possible.

Remember in the first seasons when the finalists went home and you actually saw their home, families, school, place of employment, etc.? I miss that. Governors and mayors are boring to me. I mean that in the nicest way possible, also.

And now off we go...

Jordin
Wishing on a Star

Great dress. Nice start. It was a'ight.

She Works Hard For The Money

Wow, her legs are long! Y'all, I like Jordin. I think she's a great performer with a wonderful voice. But so far tonight, her songs are doing nothing for me.

Tink: Good! I like the guy that I love and I like this girl, too.

I Who Have Nothing

Now this song does something for me. I. Love. It. Just jaw-hanging-open, can't stand it, Fab.U.Lous.

Simon says it's old fashioned, but so am I.

Tink: Mom, do you love it? Me too, and Daddy does. I can't believe she's so good today! It's so cute!

Blake
Roxanne

Eh. I agree with Simon - it sounds like Sting to me. I'm not a fan of all the sweater vests that he wears. And is it just me, or is Paula totally hitting on him?

Tink: I like his songs. They're so cute!

This Love

This one is definitely better! But did he borrow those clothes from Chris' old wardrobe? Way too many layers going on there.

Tink: Oh, that's good. Even better. Better.
BD: Enough already.

Don't remember the name, but it's a song by Robin Thicke, I think. Isn't that the nerdy guy that sings R & B? Anyway.

I love it when he says "Baby Girl." My favorite of his tonight.

Tink: I loved it! I wanna marry him when I grow up.
BD: Ack!

Melinda
I Believe in You and Me

I don't know why, but I don't like the way she looks for this one. The dress is boring, she needs some lipstick, and I don't like her hair like that.

Now that I've got that out of my system, I Love This Girl. Seriously, she's a pro. Like non-crack Whitney, or even Barbra Streisand, Dionne Warwick, Gladys Knight, Patti LaBelle...ya know? No gimmicks at all. Just beautiful, controlled, gorgeous music.

Tink: A little good.

Nutbush City Limits

Please refer to this post for my opinion of dresses over jeans.

Are you kidding me with this song? Y'all, I couldn't disagree more with the judges. I didn't like this one at all. I love my girl, but I do not love this song.

I'm A Woman

Wonderful. I love the way she showcased her back-up singers. Symbolic and all that crap.

Wrap-up: So. I don't know who should go home. Probably Blake, I guess, even though I like him, too. Who's best? Melinda, hands-down. But I think maybe Jordin or Blake should be The American Idol, because they fit the mold better. And Melinda can go on and do her own thing, because girlfriend will definitely have a career after this.

Night, all!

Rainy Days and Mondays

Okay, it's not rainy, but it is Monday, and why am I always so tired on Mondays? I've spent all morning telling myself I can not have a nap until I get some stuff done. So far nothing is done.

Our weekend was nice and sort of relaxing. Except it's hard to relax when Big Daddy thinks a knee injury means he doesn't have to get up unless he feels like it. For real, he can get up just fine to find his cell phone to play Phil Helmuth Poker, but becomes incredibly lame if he's thirsty or the dogs need to go out. BUT I AM NOT COMPLAINING. I am merely stating the facts, people. I LOVE MY HUSBAND. I have laughed at his pitifulness all weekend. I AM NOT CRITICIZING. Cause I love that man o' mine.

Have I mentioned yet that Big Daddy has a knee injury? He really does. He messed it up last Monday, and we spent the week at doctor appointments and MRIs and fun stuff like that. Wednesday we find out if he has to have surgery. Ack!

If you're a praying person, please say a little one for us, because finances are gonna be tight around here for a while, and I'm going to be spending much more time typing those lovely insurance statements that sometimes entertain me but just as often make me want to put a hole in the wall.

Speaking of, I guess I'd better start on one of those insurance statements. Check back later when I will be much more entertaining and you can hear about my lovely Mother's Day.

Pooh, Tink and Scooter run breathlessly into the room.

Tink: Daddy, Pooh wants to ask you if she can give us one of those stickers that she got in her birthday card that Grammy and Grandaddy gave her when we had her birthday party at the carousel and all our friends and cousins came and we rode on the carousel and she got the card with the stickers in it and she wants to ask you if she can give us one of the stickers.

Thank goodness we've got Tink here to tell us what everyone wants to say. The rest of us just get to sit back and rest our big mouths while she does all the work.


NOTE: You'll notice an extra chica in the photo above. Number 4 is our girls' Best Friend, New Baby's big sister.

ANOTHER NOTE: You'll notice Tink's mouth is open in the photo above. She takes after her Mommy with the talking business.

They moved the line and I crossed it again.

Y'all. I wore my slippers into QT today. That's right. I did it. I told you it was a slippery slope!

I dropped the big girls off at school, and had a hankerin' for a 44 oz. Cherry Diet Dr. Pepper with rabbit ice. The choices are Sonic for $2 or QT for $1. So QT it is. Plus I can be a wonderful mother and get my 3-year-old a hot dog for breakfast for another dollar.

So we whip into the QT, maneuver through the hoards of morning QTers' cars, and hop out of the van. And Scooter goes, "Mommy, you wear yours slippers in QT?" Well crap. I look down and think, "Screw it, I want my soda. I'm goin' in."

Thank goodness school's over in two weeks, y'all. Cause who knows where things might end up if I don't get myself straightened out soon.

WFMW - Controlling Toy Chaos

As you may recall, Big Daddy and I became the parents to three daughters at once in January of 2005. Talk about your culture shock. One of the things we realized almost immediately was that if we didn't think of some way to organize the toy chaos in our little house, we would quite possibly lose our ever lovin' minds.

It's really simple, and has always Worked for Me (Us), but you'd be surprised how many people are appalled at the idea when I suggest it. I mean, you'd think we were recommending [insert something horrendous here, cause it's late and I'm drawing a blank].

I suggest this often to people who are bemoaning the toy clutter in their kids' rooms, and the responses I get range from incredulity to horror to disbelief to scoffing. I just don't get it. But here goes. Get ready, cause it's drastic!

Our girls are allowed to play with one toy (or category of toys) at a time. What that means in a houseful of girls is this: You can play with Polly Pockets. All of them. Including the Polly cruise ship and Polly's horses. Cause the horses, they love cruising on the high seas. But please do not get out puzzles in the middle of the Pollys.

When you're done with Polly and her paraphernalia, put her up and then you may get out the puzzles.

We have three girls, and they may not all be playing with the same thing at the same time. But if they're playing with different things, they're also playing in different rooms. That way, Barbie and her minions don't get into a turf war with The Littlest Pet Shop gang. You don't want that crap going down in the Texas suburbs.

Y'all, this has been the rule in our house since day one, and the only time our girls have a problem with it seems to be when we have company, or when they're at someone else's house. Stray from our regular routine, and then civilized life as we know it flies out the window on Fairytopia wings. But we make allowances for brain farts.

So. Big Daddy and I were at a marriage retreat for adoptive couples a couple of weeks ago, and one of the topics of discussion was messy kids' rooms. We were so excited to share our successful way of handling this, and oh my goodness, the two couples at our table looked at us like we were rip roaring crazy. "Oh, that wouldn't work in our house." "Our kids would never do that." "Our guys like to dump everything out at once." Okay, don't gripe about it if you're not willing to fix it.

I didn't give them my suggestion for guaranteed success. Take all the toys out of their room until they do what you say. Oh my goodness, it's crazy, but it just might work!

So there it is. Our solution may not work for everyone, but if you want to simplify that area of your life, it's definitely worth a try. Now go on over to Shannon's, and check out all the wonderful ideas.

Mother's Day Giveaways

Hey, Moms, check this out! 5 Minutes for Mom has all sorts of great giveaways going on right now in celebration of Mother's Day.

Be sure to go check it out and enter to win the prizes you like!

And Happy Mother's Day!

American Idol Final Four

Ladies and Gentlemen, we regret to inform you that Miss Tinkerbell of Dirty Laundry is unable to join us this evening with her renowned commentary, due to getting too big for her britches after her Birthday Weekend Extravaganza.

In other words, her butt is in bed.

We are, however, very fortunate to be joined by the lovely and elder Dirty Laundry sibling, Miss Pooh of Dirty Laundry. Without further ado, I present Pooh.

Okay, now let's get down to business.

People, I love me some Bee Gees. I'm dating myself here, but I was so in love with Barry Gibb, and prior to his untimely demise, Andy Gibb. Both their music and their looks. So. But does Barry look like he's got dentures or something?

Melinda Doolittle
Love You Inside and Out

I Love This Song. And I love the way Melinda is singing it. Oh. My Gosh. I think every one of the judges are wrong, but it may just be because I love the song.

Do her jeans have to be that tight?

Pooh: I love this girl!

How Can You Mend a Broken Heart

I loved this one, too. And what the heck was Paula talking about? Sounds like she's trying to make sure Blake stays in this week, so she's just making up crap to criticize on the other contestants. I Loved It.

Blake
You Should Be Dancing

This one is a little too "techno" or whatever for me. I don't know all those trendy terms, but you know what I mean. Randy's right - that much beat boxing wasn't necessary or welcome in this song. Paula's also a little right - he does have a talent. In my opinion, though, I'm not crazy about it in excess.

Pooh: I love Blake! (She's been listening to her little sister a bit.)

This Is Where I Came In

Love the rainbow lights on the stage. That's about it. He's more talking than singing at times, and I'm just bored.

Paula's crushing on Blake, and she's afraid he might go home this week.

LaKisha

I'm a big retard, cause I can't even remember the first song she sang. I just know that my notes say, "Why didn't she sing it in the higher range like Barry suggested? It wasn't bad. A'ight."

Okay, I cheated and looked at BooMama's - it was You Should Be Dancing. Yeah, gotta have some high notes in that one, KiKi.

Pooh: Good.

Run To Me

It was great when she wasn't yelling. Very sultry.

Pooh: Inappropriate. Inappropriate dress, because we can see half of her boobies.

Jordin

I have a confession: I don't like dresses with jeans. Reminds me of when I was young and visited an orphanage in Mexico in the winter. The girls had to wear dresses all the time, but since it was so cold, they wore pants underneath the dresses. And since it was an orphanage, many of the clothes were ill-fitting and didn't match.

There, I've gotten that off of my chest.

To Love Somebody

I love this song. She sang it good, of course, but she didn't have to go all crazy at the end.

Pooh: Wonderful

Woman in Love

Is she wearing a prom dress? This is not as good as her first performance, and it should have been better.

I agree with Randy - it was pitchy.
I also agree with Simon - it was pageanty.

Random Thoughts:

I get so tired of Ryan trying to cut on Simon. Although I'm sure it's somewhat scripted, he just appears petty and mean, sort of Little Guy Syndrome-ish.

I also do not like it when the contestants hold up their fingers to correspond with the phone number to vote for them. Childish.

Pooh is much more diplomatic than Tink. "They're all my favorite!"

Who was best? I know I'm boring and predictable, but it's Melinda for me.

Who's in danger this week? Blake or LaKisha.

Go on over and check out all the other great commentaries linked up at BooMama's.

May Day Weight Loss Challenge

I have been trying to get here all day long to write a lovely, motivated and inspirational post about the May Day Weight Loss Challenge. However, I have been sidetracked by many things, both trivial and important.

So I'm throwing this post up as my commitment to this challenge.

My first change today is simple: No sweets after dinner. If you knew our usual unhealthy routine, you'd know that this is major.

So. Off we go.

Oh my goodness, in honor of Mother’s Day, Jules at Everyday Design is giving away a free Typepad or Blogger design! You can enter your own blog or a friend's.

Just take a look at Jules' portfolio; her designs are gorgeous!

Go here to find out how to enter.

Good luck!

Monday Update

Have you noticed I do a lot of updates? Oh well...

For those of you keeping score, I have not begun typing yet. And I have about 40 pages to do today. Instead of typing, I have been:

Catching up on blogs
Fighting ants
Vacuuming my bedroom floor (to suck up the ants)
Doing laundry
And did I mention fighting the ants?

Y'all, we have had the worst ant problems here for the last two years! In the living room and now the bedroom, we have these big honkers that are as big as fire ants, except they're black. In the kitchen, we have those little tiny ants; are they called sugar ants?

Last year I fought these guys valiantly with orange oil and baby powder. I just can't spray poison all over my house that has five humans and two dogs in it. I just can't. So I sprayed the orange oil everywhere but the floor, and sprinkled baby powder on the carpet. Both of those were "natural" remedies I found online. They didn't eliminate the ants, but thinned the herd a bit.

Well. The latest invasion is almost exclusively on my bedroom carpet, and I can't find where the little suckers are coming from. And I can't find the baby powder, and I don't want to spray orange oil on my carpet, because I think it stains. So I've been spraying Bath and Body Works body spray on them. And Renuzit Super Odor Neutralizer, Orchard Garden scent. Not working so great.

Any ideas?

Morning, all! I've got a busy day of typing ahead of me, but I wanted to do a quick update of Miss Tinkerbell's birthday weekend. We had a great, busy, busy weekend! Since I don't want to go on and on about it, I'll do a timeline.

FRIDAY

We had Life Group (small groups from church) at our house Friday night.

Big Daddy, Pooh and Tink also had a T-ball game, so we divided and conquered. They almost beat the best and most cutthroat team.

After Life Group, we put Pooh and Scooter to bed, and Tink's Birthday Weekend Extravaganza began. We ate desert in bed, watched a movie, and Tink got to sleep in our bed, which is one of her very most favorite things in the world to do.

Mommy and Daddy did not sleep so well.

SATURDAY

We got up early and went to my niece's soccer game in Southlake, where it misted/rained the entire time. My van is now full of mud.

After the soccer game, we went to Barnes and Noble and let Tink go crazy. She chose a Tinkerbell charm bracelet, a fairy book with matching wings, and a kit for making cards.

We met my mom and dad, brother, sister-in-law and nieces at a great hamburger place called Kincaid's. It was noisy and a perfect place to celebrate a family birthday. Tink opened her presents from the rest of the family there, and then we headed home.

Saturday evening, our friends came over for dinner and Birthday Cake. We watched Night at the Museum, which I loved!

Tink slept with us again, as the Birthday Weekend Extravaganza was still in effect. Oh, and did I mention that she stayed up until 1:00 a.m.? Yeah, good times.

Mom and Dad still not sleeping well.

SUNDAY

Church in the morning was a special children's church presentation. Pooh and Tink came into our service with us, and loved it.

After church, naps for all the Dirty Laundry kids, including Big Daddy.

After naps, BD and the big girls were off to T-Ball practice while Scooter and I chilled at the house. Well, actually I typed some, but also watched two episodes of Flavor of Love Charm School. That's right, I watch Trash TV!

Back to church in the evening for Kid Jamz musical and ice cream sundaes. Then home and ready for bed.

The Birthday reign of Miss Tinkerbell of Dirty Laundry has now come to an end. It was great while it lasted.

And now we get to do it all over again in two weeks with Miss Scooter Pie of Dirty Laundry.

Stay tuned.

Happy Birthday, Tinkerbell!

Today is my sweet Tinkerbell's 6th Birthday.

Here she is on the day I met her, when she was 3 years old. She stole my heart that very day.

Even though you can't tell it by the clothes BD is wearing, this is Tink with her Daddy on her adoption day. She was 4 1/2 then.











And here's one of my favorite pictures of Tink, also taken when she was 4 1/2.












This Tinkerbell of mine loves life. She loves God.


She loves to laugh. She loves to mess with her Daddy. She loves to boss her sisters. She loves to suck up to her Mommy. And she's good at it. She loves fancy clothes and pretty hair things that never stay in her hair. She loves to be the center of attention. She is the most special girl in the world, and she won't let you forget it.

And just now she told me, "I love you high as the sky. I love you high as the tree. I love you high as the grass. I love you high as the flowers. I love you always." Me too, Tinkerbell. Me too. Love, Mommy