Legally Lesmann

Jameson and Gage now legally carry the Lesmann name. What a relief to shed their old one. And Lesmann is a lot easier to spell. We celebrated yesterday with horns, poppers, a Transformer pinata, dinner and a Lesmann cake. I'm not sure what Jameson had in mind when he told me he wanted a Lesmann cake but this is what we ended up with. All three boys seemed happy with it and as usual, only ate the frosting off their pieces.

Couldn't Resist

I bought this in Colorado Springs for Sarah's new baby, knowing full well that when and if he ever gets to wear it, he'll only cry when I'm holding him.

God Bless Nintendo

Allison's sitter took today off, so Stella and I arrived on the scene at 7:30AM with sausage, egg, and cheese McGriddles. We dropped Jameson off at school at 8:25AM. The day went a lot better than I anticipated, however, once Jameson got home from school, all H*ll broke loose. I captured this picture during the short 2-1/2 seconds they actually kept their hands to themselves. I must have lost my mind when I invited Allison and the hellions... errrrr... boys out for dinner. At any rate, I'm pleading temporary insanity. I'm so glad today is over and I'm sure Stella's relieved to be home too.

Just Call Me Cheap :)

So, I lied. I didn't make Limoncello Zabaglione for dessert tonight. Although I found fresh raspberries for only $2.99 a half pint at Marketplace, the Limoncello was $25 a bottle. I just couldn't spend that much on an unknown dessert. If I'd made it before and loved it, I may have been more apt to take the plunge. Or, if I'd even known I would like drinking what was left of the Limoncello, I may have coughed up the $25 but I choked and just couldn't do it.

I had vacuum packed some fresh Boyko peaches last year, so I took a couple packs of those out of my freezer. And even though the rest of my meal is Eye-talian, the dessert is good old warm peach crisp with vanilla bean Haagen Dazs ice cream. The aroma of warm cinnamon is wafting through my house even as I type :)

Hey Sharon, ask Tom if his Grandmother would've been ok with peach crisp.

White Bread Vanilla

Yep, that's me and my favorite candy of all time proves it. I'm just happy that the stores only seem to carry it around Halloween.

Italian :)

I invited Jane, Marty, Clancy, Bridget and Anna for Spaghetti and Meatballs tomorrow night. I can't just call it spaghetti and meatballs however, so I've decided to call it an Italian feast... or EYE-TALIAN (that's for you, Sharon).

At any rate, I'm going to add hot Italian sausage to my meatballs and sauce, make an antipasto chopped salad with a red wine vinegarette, Bonnie Berntson's garlic toast and Limoncello Zabaglione for dessert.

I'll get to use six of the twelve pasta bowls that match my dishes that I absolutely had to have two years ago for the first time :)

The zabaglione should be interesting. I've never made it before, plus you cook it in a double boiler which I don't have :) Hello, Mom??
And to top it off, you put 4 raspberries in the bottom of each serving dish. I checked yesterday and fresh raspberries are $7.99 a half pint. YIKES!

BLAH!

That's all, just Blah!

A sign in town says procrastination gives you something to look forward to. If that's the case, I have a lot to look forward to!

Three Rotten Bananas

When I walked in the door last night at midnight, I was greeted by the smell of ripe bananas. I spied three of them on the island and knew immediately that Allison was hungry for banana muffins. I swear, when she buys bananas, she puts three aside to get black and then she invites me out to her place so I see them. I can't stand to see them go to waste, so I invariably take them home, make muffins and send them home with her. Last night, she brought them to my house when she brought Stella home. The bananas and Stella were waiting for me when I got home from Colorado Springs. Guess what I made today? :)

Home, Home on the Range

Where the deer and the antelope play... thank goodness the only deer we saw when we drove home from Bismarck last night, were fawns, crossing Crescent Drive when I was only going 2o miles an hour. I was able to stop with plenty of time to admire Bambi and her two sisters :)

12:53 PM

Mission accomplished. Wahoo!! All I have left to do is get dressed and take Stella to Allison's. I'll be back late the 24th.

Rocky Mountain High

It's 9AM. I'm leaving the house at 2PM to pick up Mom and drive to Bismarck to catch the plane going to Colorado Springs. So far, I have fed Stella, made myself a breakfast sandwich consisting of egg, bacon and swiss cheese on a toasted onion bagel, read the paper, walked 1.5 miles with Stella, taken a bath, clipped my toenails and started load one of two loads of laundry.

I still have to:
Finish the laundry
Haul my suitcase up from downstairs
Pack said suitcase
Fix my hair
Do my makeup
Paint my toenails
Water the plants
Haul out the garbage
Wash up my breakfast dishes
Print boarding passes
Take Stella to Burlington

And somehow, I don't feel the slightest bit rushed. However, you can sure tell what's most important to me.
Yep, pretty much Stella and food. In that order :)

No Explanation Needed

School Supplies

A local credit union was collecting school supplies for underpriviledged kids in our area yesterday afternoon. I bought three cases of spiral notebooks, 6 backpacks, a case of 24 count crayons, 80 glue sticks and 200 pencils. Allison also bought a ton of stuff and we were planning to take the boys along so that they could get into the spirit of giving.

Allison had a migraine so I picked up her supplies and headed over to day care to pick up the boys. It was snack time and they were having ice cream sandwiches so they were a little reluctant to leave. After Irene promised they could have the ice cream today, we were off.

As soon as I lifted the hatch on my car, two men came over to help carry the supplies to the big yellow school bus. Jameson and Gage each brought in a bag and were so cute, a lady there asked to take their picture by the bus :) Unfortunately, Grandma left her camera in the car.

That done, we headed over to the front of the credit union where they were painting faces, applying tattoos, tossing bean bags and jumping in a bounce house. The boys had fun and even got to visit with a local cop who was all decked out in uniform, handing out trading cards. It's kind of funny to see the local police on their own trading cards but Gage thought it was cool.

After all the fun, we were treated to hot dogs and Sprite. Gage ate almost a whole hot dog and Jameson ate one without the bun.

When it was time to go, Jameson insisted he was still hungry and wanted to stop at McDonald's next door for a double cheeseburger. The little stinker ate a whole one and half of Gage's along with some french fries, while Gage ate the other half of his double cheeseburger and a whole bag of apples.

After climbing on the playground equipment for awhile, we headed to K-Mart for the Ben 10 watches I promised them for babysitting Stella next week. Shopping done, we came home, picked up Stella and dropped over at my Mom's house for a few minutes. My sister Mary was there which is a whole other post :(

Finally, we were on our way home. I sure hope they were tired out, because I sure was. And I sure hope they learned a little about sharing what we have been blessed with.

Therapy Dog

When I'm holding Stella, she sometimes lays her head on my shoulder as if she's giving me a hug. She'll lay like that for a long time. She always seems to know when I most need a hug :)

Progress

On Stella's walk both tonight and this morning, she walked about 90% of the time with a slack leash! The other 10% of the time, all I had to do was say no or come and she pretty much fell back in step :) She still has a hard time if we come upon another dog or kids, but she's getting there. YAAAY, Stella!!

Delicates

It's laundry day and Stella is helping :)

Summer Fun

Artist!

Jamie Pete has been drawing pictures for me lately. Why he feels the need to write my age on the top, I'll never know but nonetheless, I'm displaying them prominently on my refrigerator. Some days I have hands and some I don't but he always includes Stella :)

Not Again!

I have a blue duffle bag I use when I leave for a weekend away when I'm not going to need dress clothes. I took it out of the closet on Friday, laid it on my bed and started putting clothes in it, in preparation for a weekend at the lake.
Stella jumped on the bed, laid next to it and stared at me as if to say, "you aren't leaving me again, are you?" I felt so bad. I felt even worse later when she literally cried as I walked out the door. It practically ripped my heart out :(
I went to the lake anyway like a mean Mommy and had a good time. (I know, how dare I??) However, I missed my baby more than I usually do when I'm away from her :(
I'm leaving again next Sunday when I go to Colorado Springs for a week. I may have to take her to Allison's before I start packing.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY DAVID!!!!!!

I can't believe you're already two! Papa Aiken would've been so proud of you! Love you, little sweetie!

Drunk at 4:00PM

Allison and I went to Applebees for lunch. We shared spinach and artichoke dip and nachos. We had three perfect margaritas each. Yeah, each! Oh, and we split a brownie hot fudge sundae.

I brought her home and she went directly to bed. My bed. When her husband called 20 minutes later, saying he was home but didn't have keys to get in the house, I was the one who had to drive all the way out there to rescue him. When I got back home, she was still in my bed and hadn't moved a muscle. Stella and I joined her.

Didn't take long for my doorbell to ring... several times, letting me know it was the boys. Sure enough, I got up, opened the door and in rushed Jameson and Gage. Karter followed. After dumping the sand from their shoes (on the entry floor), they jumped into bed with their mother. She got up and I ordered pizza for the troops.

After I cleaned up the pizza mess, we went to the dog park to run Stella. Later, I took the boys and their mom back to their house and came home to the quiet peace of mine, trying to avoid stepping in the sand all over the entry way. I decided to pretend it wasn't there and leave it for the cleaning lady today.

So, I settle in at the computer to play a few games of Sudoko. Stella curled up in a ball, sleeping at my feet. All is right in our little world again. Yawning, I decided it was time for bed. I washed my face, took Stella out one last time, locked up the house, put on a fresh nitegown, turned off the light and crawled into bed. ARGHHHHHHH, there is sand all over my sheets!!!!!!!
Grandkids!! Gotta love 'em!! :)

Guess Who?

Marty Bars For Marty

Caramels For Jane

YUM!

I need to try this one!!

Flirtini
1 fluid ounce raspberry vodka
1/2 fluid ounce Cointreau liqueur
1/2 fluid ounce pineapple juice
1/2 fluid ounce cranberry juice
1 dash fresh lime juice
1-2 raspberries
champagne

Directions:
1. Muddle the raspberries in the bottom of a martini glass.
2. Combine the raspberry vodka, cointreau, pineapple juice, cranberry juice and lime juice in a shaker.
3. Shake and strain into glass.
4. Top with champagne.
5. Garnish with a sprig of mint.

One Flirtini is plenty
Two at the most
Three, you're under the table
and
Four, You're under the host

YIPEEEEE!!!

I just made reservations to attend this with my best scrapping buddy ever, Sharon!!! Hope they know how to make good margaritas in North Carolina!!!

My New Motto

Live your life in such a way that when your feet hit the floor in the morning,
Satan shudders and says...
Oh shit....She's Awake!!!!