When Daddy's Away, the Kiddies, They Play

We drove down to Houston with Brent last weekend to send him off on his Man trip... Luke and I stayed to visit with Granna and Pops.

Luke only had eyes for the outdoors... it was pretty funny! Breakfast is over and Pops is taking Luke to get on his swimsuit:

Playing in the sand- burrying Granna's foot:

Adult Swim: Patiently waiting for Pops to clean up the sand for round 2 swim time :)

Reading "Baby Animals" to BOTH Horsies:

Playing with cars:

Luke kept going to the front door saying "Buddy, Buddy"... I finally realized he was saying Bunny so he thought it was fun to pet the bunny in the window :)

Last night, we were eating dinner. I had cut up bit sized apples with the skin off on Luke's plate and left the other half on my plate... Luke decided he wanted to eat the big slice... this crazy boy eats his apples skin side up- what a goof ball!

Stay tuned... Momma and Luke have a play date at the Safari park this weekend :)

Lady Gaga

The Lady Gaga Monster's Ball was SOOOOO Fun! I felt like I was watching a young Madonna!

But let me first rewind to give you the back story... here are my favorite work friends, Kathy and Jennifer. Jennifer is the one with the 1 inch feather eyelashes and the mastermind behind getting our tickets and driving us there in high fashion limo style!

We have been anxiously awaiting the concert due to the fact that Jennifer would send us Gaga Daily News updates every day for the last 4 months! So, after a trip to Sam Moon and many bedazzles later, we were ready to go to the "Ball"!

The fishnets were a last minute addition ;)

Some adoring fans:

Tight security! LOL!

And a flaming piano:

15 costume changes:

And a 7 foot woMan

It was a crazy night to remember!

What I would like to forget, however, is this: I spent the night at Jennifer's house so I wouldn't have to drive across town with the crazies... she let me sleep on her temperpedic with her (Insert plug for temperpedic mattress here! Awesomeness!)... in the middle of the night I felt eyes on me, so I peeked and not 3 inches from my face I was being stared down by one of these little monsters...

Drewcilla was so close, I could feel warm kitty breath in my face. I used to have a cat, so they don't freak me out per say, but they do put me slightly on edge because no two personalities are the same-- most kitties are pretty moody, so I just resign to stay away. I slowly turned so as not to disturb the judging kitty, then kicked another at my feet... Jennifer failed to mention I was sleeping in the kitty spot. How convenient ;)

Men vs. Wild

Brent is hiking across TX and CO this week with his dad before he turns into a Horned Frog in August... here is a message I received:

Guadalupe Peak is a cruel mistress. We started up the mountain around 12:45 and got off to a great start. We weaved our way up the mountain. But as we progressed clouds started rolling in. We soon found ourselves literally in the clouds. But we pressed on. As we reached about 3/4 the way up the mountain it started to thunder. We were still in clouds and could not see which direction the storm was moving. We went a little further and heard thunder again, this time closer than before. At that point we decided to turn around and make our way back down the mountain, a little upset that we got so close but did not reach the summit. At the bottom I cursed the mountain, vowing to return. We reached the campsite in time to warm up some chili while fighting off swarms of gnats of biblical proportions. We finished just in time before the skies opened up and poured rain upon us, also of biblical proportions. Needless to say we slept in the car.

I talked to him last night and they had made it to the Brewer condo without any bear sightings! He was looking forward to a shower after 4 days... yuck!

Coupon Queen

I am no coupon queen, in fact, I would NEVER have a coupon if my MIL didn't mail me some or let me raid her Sunday paper every now and then.

So, I am left to my own devices of finding off brand products that I like just as well. Here is a list of off brands that we love around our house:

Toothpaste: Ultrabrite- this is made by Colgate- it is paste (I hate gel) and tastes minty clean, not all baking soda-esc, just plain old yummy toothpaste. It's $1.00
Tortilla Chips: We go through tortilla chips like water in our house, so we have tried most brands... we LOVE the Walmart Great Value white tortilla chips! They are crunchy, have a little corny to them, salty and dippable. It's under $2!
Coffee Creamer: Walmart wins again... the Great Value Chocolate Caramel Creamer is just as creamy and dense as Coffeemate (International Delight is a watery looser for me!) . It's $1.44!
Dog Treats: Poor Allie gets whatever is on sale... just recently we have had to switch her to an all Venison and potato diet, so we will no longer be taking advantage of cheap treats :(
Paper Towels: Anything... it's paper... it goes into the trash, not my body, so I REALLY don't care about this one! When they get too lotion-y, they make streaks when cleaning mirrors, etc.

Industry standards in the food area are comparable and most off brand products are co-packed (meaning Mrs. Bairds may produce hamburger buns for another company), so where there is low risk, it is easy for me to switch around.

Try them out and see what you think!

Here are the items I will not compromise on:
Salsa: A Brent fav-- Joe T Garcia's Medium Salsa. Too hot for me, but he loves it!
Laundry Detergent: Tide Period. If I can't stomach the price, I will occasionally settle on Cheer.
Dish washing Detergent: Ivory Liquid-- this goes back to my Granddaddy when we used to catch fish with Ivory bar soap I think... My mom has always used it and it just cleans grease better than Dawn or any other brand.
Meat: I DO NOT buy meat at Walmart... I will not go into details here, but I interviewed a girl who did her thesis on Walmart meat, so she let me in on many secrets after I was already on the fence from a college microbiology class. Just don't.
Diapers: I am a Pampers girl through and through-- they had me at Swaddlers.

What are your fav's?

Tax Cuts

How the Expiring Bush Tax Cuts Will Affect YOU. Click HERE.

Bubbles with Granna

Doesn't Luke look old in his muscle t-shirt that Granna bought him! Summer time is so fun!

July 4th Fun!

We spent Independence Day with the Brewers and had a great time!

The most amusing moments of the visit were popping fireworks-- the "Primary Brewers" as Christy (Chris's wife) lovingly referred to them were a sight to behold!

Chris became a pyromaniac! He was drawing on his former employment at a fireworks stand for his firecracker knowledge. Every time I looked over at him, he was pulling "the big one" out of a brown paper bag! I am most certain this is why they bought a house on a cul-de-sac after seeing him in action!

Jamie was pirouetting around the street with sparklers ablaze in both hands!

Brent was slyly lighting the loud ones that pop to try to scare people as they went off- then he would act all innocent with the box of firecrackers in hand ;)

Dwight was looking on with a scared Bailey

Maybe the funniest moment of the night was when the Primary Brewers got out their cell phones and looked at the constellations-- yep, there is an app for that! Christy and I looked on and vowed that we were in the "Cool Girl Club"-- no Primary Brewers allowed after this moment:

Luke popped a few fireworks before bed time too!

Somehow, Brent talked me into popping one in my hand-- Don't worry, I used my left hand in case my fingers blew off:

Luke's highlight was the slip and slide!

The boy was in water heaven

We also went over to the Allison's house for hamburgers, homemade ice cream and swimming too! The plan was to eat and THEN swim, but Luke would hear nothing of it! He took a dip before and after dinner :)

Christy is laughing so hard there because Luke said "cheese!" right as my mom snapped the picture... which begs the question-- Do I take too many pictures?!!!

Granna had sand for Luke to find buried squirt toy treasures! She said we should get him a sand box... I think we will let sand be a Granna's house treat :)

Then, Luke pooped in the pool and well, I was outta there! Last group picture... pre-poop.

The next day, we had more fun with a bubble gun that Grandma found for Luke:

Watching Veggie Tales with Uncle Chris:

Hugs from Aunt Jamie:

Tickles from Aunt Christy and Uncle Chris:

Shuffling cars with Granddaddy:

And playing with hot wheels!

And our biggest news this trip!!! Luke picked out a name for Grandma Brewer... Until now, we referred to her as "Grandma" but she was waiting to see what Luke wanted to call her:

We took a vote and decided MeMaw it is!.. Spelling TDB :)

My Little Helper :)

A little house work:

A little laundry:

A little yard maintenance:

You might say, we start them young at our house :)