I found myself at Sam's Club again today, much to Tess's ecstatic joy.  (Seriously, why couldn't she be obsessed with some place with better food, like Moe's or Noodles & Company?)

Highlights of the trip included eating lunch with Daddy, getting GIANT chocolate covered strawberries as a free sample, and Tess FREAKING OUT in the bathroom because she had to go potty but so far refuses to go anywhere else but home. (Anyone have any tips for that?  Because I'm baffled.)

But the biggest excitement was when I found 480 count snack sized Ziploc bags for only $1.71.  What a fantastic deal!  So I put one in my cart.  And then another.  And then I ended up with four boxes, because, man, what a deal.  And you can use those little bags for all sorts of things.

As we were checking out I paused for a moment and rethought my purchase.  Did I really need 1920 snack bags at one time?  Well, no, no one needs that many at once.  But over the next few years I am sure I will use them.

Then it dawned on me: I have turned into my mother.  (Again.)

Mom used to buy all sorts of stuff like this when it was a good deal.  Quite frankly, she bought a lot less useful things than Ziploc bags, on the off chance that she would need them later.  She wasn't a hoarder or anything - just more of a mild pack rat. (As my father can attest to!)

As I mulled this over, I had another thought: Mom wouldn't have bought just 4 boxes - she would have bought 10.

I left Sam's feeling quite pleased with myself, and deciding that there are much worse things than (mildly) taking after my mom in purchasing habits.

Seven Year Olds Are Super Cute

Out of the blue I found this.  

How I love this boy. 

(And not because he's apparently paying me off.)

Life With A Little Girl

I used to find action figures and underpants in random places.  Now I find things like this:

Perhaps the donkey just needed a little bling.

Valentine's Day 2014

For Valentine's Day I got my first bad cold of the season.  Lucky me.

It began on Thursday.  I felt gross.  But not gross enough for a mom to get out of doing all her momly duties.  What's up with that?  Moms should get sick days.  Federal nannies should be called in to take care of the house and kids until mom starts feeling better.  If I ever ran for president that would be on my platform.  I'd win the mom vote by a landslide.

Anyway.  Thursday.  Tess got invited to a little preschool/nursery Valentine's Day party at the church.  I was hopped up on decongestants and wasn't all there, which is why I didn't take any pictures.  I was also consumed with worry that Tess would have an accident because she refuses to go potty anywhere but home.  She didn't, though.  Hooray!  (But what are we gonna do at church tomorrow?)

On Friday I felt a little better.  Cole and Tess and I went to a playgroup cookie decorating party that was pretty fun until Cole and Tyrus decided to have a battle royal.  These two kids have a sordid and aggressive past; they just can't seem to leave each other alone!  So we left a little early, but that was okay because it gave us time to go to Sam's Club for lunch!  Tess was only 2 stickers shy on her chart, but I decided to make up the difference.  (Plus, there had been several times we hadn't put stickers on the chart, so really she could have gone much earlier.  I'm a bad mom.  Whatever.)  

Tess was SOOOOO happy to go to Sam's Club.  Seriously, Cloud 9.  She kept yelling "MY Sam's Club!  MY Sam's Club!" as we pulled into the parking lot.  (Although she actually pronounces it "Cree's Club".)  The fact that daddy met us there made her Valentine's Day complete.  She was in heaven.

That night we had our traditional romantic Valentine's Dinner courtesy of Papa Murphy's.  The kids dined on this heart-shaped pepperoni while Lance and I feasted on the Gourmet Garlic Chicken.  So good.

As per usual I had the table set with little gifts.  (Don't worry - Lance put a gift on there for me later.)  Everyone got books, chocolates, a Valentine, and a new cup with their name on it.  (Names courtesy of Deidra and her cool Silhouette cutter.  Thanks again, Deidra!)  Now everyone will have their own cup and there will be no more fighting or whining and there will be peace in the world.  Haha.

Okay, now you have to indulge me because I'm going to show you pictures of each place setting.  This is mainly because I would be most happy to find a place setting like this for myself, but I know none of my children appreciated it.  At all.  Those punks.

I gave Lance a goofy little book called "All My Friends Are Dead".  It's pretty funny, although I think Spencer loved it the most.  (Must be 10 year old boy humor.)

Fancy Nancy for Tess, of course.

The Flat Stanley series for Josh, who promptly told me he didn't like or want any of it.  It was Christmas all over again.  The punk just can't be pleased, so I don't even try - I just get him what I want.

Spencer got the Big Nate comic book series.  I knew he'd love them.

Cole got a cute book called "Parts"; he was indifferent to it and much more interested in the cup and the candy.  As a four year old should be.

Grandpa ElRay and Grandma Susie also sent some candy and clothing for the kids.  Tess was by far the most excited.  She LUUUURRRRVVEESS her new "sparkle skirt".  She wore it for a while last night after dinner and has worn it all day today.  I suspect we will have to fight her tomorrow about this.

The boys liked their clothes but were much more interested in "All My Friends Are Dead".  Sorry, Grandparents Roper.

Wait - Cole was pretty happy that his shirt was green.

After dinner it was time for our "stuff your face with cheap chocolates" tradition.  Cole dug right in.

(Notice the snow outside?  Yeah, we got another several inches during the day.  Curse you, never ending winter!)

Tess had a... different... approach.  Yes, she tried to peel her chocolate.

She also made some great faces.

Josh didn't want anything to do with it because he's a punk.

Here's Tess in her tutu.  Oh my goodness, cuteness.

And it's so great for twirling!

Everyone went to bed hopped up on candy.  This was good because the cherry pie dessert I made did NOT work out well.  My excuse is my kitchen "helper", Tess, who probably distracted me at some inopportune moment.  I was supposed to put in THREE cups of flour.  I put in ONE.  You can imagine the goopiness.  I didn't think anything of it because the recipe mentioned how sticky the batter would be.  Dang.

I tasted it, just to see if we could use it for something else.  No.  Kinda greasy and tastes eggy.  (I hate eggy tasting desserts - custards, flan, meringues... blech.)

Lest you think Lance was forgotten this year, think again.  I finally finished his VMWorld t-shirt quilt!  Woo-hoo! (Only took me 5 months.  Sheesh.)  It is huge and soft and warm and will keep my IT Man toasty in his man cave this winter.

Here are my 2 favorite shirts.  Because zombies and bacon are cool.

As are dancing sumos.

Lance gave me a foot-themed gift, which sounds a lot weirder than it is.  It included a pedicure gift certificate and lots of stuff to keep my tootsies soft.  Which is probably a (well-deserved) hint.  My feet have had a rough winter.

Rough Math

Head cold + whackadoodle hormones + new medication dosing + potty training Tess + never-ending winter + stuff = drained Maren. 

(And an obvious lack of blogging.) ((Once things level out I'll get back to it.  Promise.)

Generations

My dad sent me this picture of my mom the other day, taken when she was around 18 months old.

Here's some of me around the same age:

And here's some of Tess:

Genetics are fun.

Sunday Polka Dots

I have a thing for polka dots right now.  They're so cute!  Not on purpose, Tess and I have matching opposite polka dot outfits for church:

I'm in white with black dots and Tess is in black with white dots.  We're pretty cute.  (Not sure what's goin' on with my bangs there.  Dang.)

Tess is cute and she knows it. I'm dying over that dress and the red sparkle shoes.  Every little girl needs a pair of red sparkle shoes at one point or another.

And that red ruffle coat?!  Oh my goodness, I'm dying. I'm going to be so sad when she outgrows it this year.  I bought it last year a size too large with the hope she could get two seasons out of it.  I remember rationalizing with myself because it wasn't on sale but I knew Tess had to have it.  Darlingness abounds.

It's gonna be a sad, sad day when she gets old enough to have opinions about what she wears.  I'm pretty sure my mom felt the same way when I was growing up.  Quite frankly, I can't believe they were willing to be seen with me in public during middle school. 

Yikes.