Take What Your Can Get

My Tastefully Simple party wasn't a raging success. Between TWO big Louisiana football games, my neighbor being out of town, and an art festival downtown ... it was a busy weekend for people. Who wants to come eat delicious food at my house when there are all these exciting things going on? Four people DID so up, for which I am grateful. It was very nice to get to know these people better, and my husband and I certainly won't complain about all the delicious leftovers!

I'll host another one in December, me thinks, and check the date against big football games :) I was hoping for a better turnout, but it certainly could have been worse!

I had a fun flower arrangement at the party, which I then toted to church on Sunday. I should take a pictures. It's flowers in a pumpkin with some apples on sticks.

While Sunday started on a high note, after a gallon of tea being spilled and cleaned up AND a gallon of water being spilled and almost cleaned up AND a glass scattering and getting cleaned up with the rest of the water ... I was quite thankful that the day was done. That sucked. I should be happy that tea and water are not sticky and it was small glass and not a big glass. See? It can always be worse.

Bean, of course, is at school. I received his outstanding progress report on Friday, where he got "mastered" on everything and where he needed an 8+ in initial sound, he got a 26 and where he needed an 8+ in letter naming, he got a 41. He's a genius after all.

Moose also went to school today. Let me tell you, four hours is not long enough. I ran to Kohls to exchange a pair of Bean's too-short pants and gather some shirts for our family pictures (for the three boys, of course, Mama got nothing), then came home and did dishes and watched The View, then met two buddies for writing, then it was time to pick him up. I need five hours. OR I could get a job and just send him full-time, but then I wouldn't have time for things like shopping, The View, and writing. Oh, the dilemma.

I had this very vivid dream last night that we had another baby and it was delivered on the early side by c-section, and I was mortified. I did not want drugs, let alone a c-section, and I did not get to see the baby after it was born, but I had been all blacked out the entire time and had no idea how the delivery came to that point. The baby was healthy (and a boy) but much tinier than my other guys. I also had wicked PPD (which I did not have with either boy). I woke up exhausted. It's cool to have such vivid dreams sometimes, but it sure doesn't make for a restful night's sleep.

I am reading Confessions of a Shopaholic, and I'm really enjoying it. I thought it would be very light and chick-lit and almost embarrassing to read, but it's not. Sure, she loves nice things, but she's certainly dealing with the consequences of her actions (in this in this first book). It has a nice vocabulary going on (or, at least, anything taking place in Britain always sounds a bit smarter). I think I'll give the whole series a go. So nice not to be bogged down by textbooks.

Another round of speech, karate (where Bean just tested for his High White Belt - he's no longer the "new" kid), writing group, etc. I have no clue how parents balance several kids in several activities. They each have one lousy thing outside of "school," and I feel like we're jammed-packed.

We might go the art festival for an early supper and then check out some bunk beds a family is selling in the neighborhood across the street (nice quality, mattresses included). There is also a good-sized home in the most perfect location for us that just went on the market. It is very hard to resist. Right size, nice lot size (.3 acres), private backyard (for chickens!), even closer to the school, end of cul-de-sac, in our price range ...

Great Way to Start a LONG Weekend

We raised lots of money last night - more than we expected. Sales were very good. I was also able to unload quite a bit of my inventory. Somehow, I've created a huge stash of inventory ... pound cakes and beer bread and out-of-season items and end-season items. They take up a lot of room. Thank goodness for Mrs. House of Toys' friends.

Bean spent the last two afternoons and evenings at House of Toys. He's been very happy about that. He needs his R and C fix before they disappear for a few months (they take off to North Dakota and Canada for a few months this year). Mrs. House of Toys was actually born in Canada, but she was raised in the states. She still has that "happy for no reason" vibe, though, and her mom has a cute Canadian accent. Oh, Canada!

Anyway, Husband is away to Phoenix for the weekend for a cross-country flight. I have two kids, two dogs, and a yard to contend with. Spike the Pug is spending the weekend here, so thankfully I have a trained guard dog on hand. Ha ha. Mrs. House of Trees in going to wrangle children while I mow our front lawns.

Also, Moose clicks his tongue now. It's pretty funny ... a little loud, but mostly funny.

It's a Wrap!

Well, the open house is over. The planning and the party itself went over pretty smoothly. I only recall a mild stressed out moment once, which is far less than usual. The new items are delicious.

I made up the Asian Zen Noodles for lunch, both Husband and I were surprised at how much it made. There was plenty leftover. I added some chicken to make it more "entree" and less "side dish." It had a great taste to it, and I think we'll be making it again! Yum.

Both grilling sauces, the Samba Sangria and the Smokey Bacon are awesome! I'm not a big BBQ person, but these two sauces are great for grilling. The Samba Sangria has a bit of a fancy sweet and sour flavor, while the Smokey Bacon has, umm, a smokey flavor. Regardless, I couldn't dip nuggets into those guys!

The Pomegranate Blueberry Margarita Mix is obviously tasty!

Oh, and I almost forgot to mention the Strawberry Sundae Chiller. This is usually a drink mix (like the Vanilla Bean Chiller of the past), but I made it up as a fruit dip ... wicked good (as my MIL might say). Husband loved it! My neighbor was sloshing it on top of fruit, pound cake, you name it! Best of all, you get about 16 cups of dip out of the canister, which is a real value.

If you like toffee, then you'll love the For the Love of Cookies! Mix. They're a traditional chocolate chip cookie played up with toffee. I'm not a toffee person, so they don't really rank high for me, but still good. Also, Tastefully Simple donates $1 to hunger relief for every box we consultants sell. Since February 16, Tastefully Simple has donated more than $32,000! Crazy, huh?

It was nice to get those house cleaned up and pull out all my hostess stops. We caught up with neighbors and friends. I even had a couple "random" people swing by, and they really enjoyed themselves and the products and hope to host a party soon and possibly do a fundraiser (one of them works for the organization, the other is on the board of directors).

So, I think it was a success! The party is open for a week, so please feel free to order through your email invitation. If you didn't get one, but would like one, let me know!

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Moose is clapping like crazy nowadays. If you belt out "Patty Cake" he really goes to town. It's cute stuff.

Right now, we're watching the boys from House of Toys. They played through most of the open house and then played outside for a bit ... until they decided to do more hitting than playing. So, they came inside for dinner and a movie and some popcorn. Bean and the boys have been together all day (he spent the late morning and afternoon over there while I got the open house together), but they're still getting along pretty well (aside from all the hitting).