Author: Big Mama

All the leaves are brown and the sky is gray

Well, the weathermen are saying that we’re about to get hit with the coldest weather of the season. AND, there is even talk of snow. Or at least snow flurries. I realize that many of y’all have had your fill of snow this year, but I would welcome snow with open arms because we’ve had approximately between zero and none inches of snow. Nary a flake.

But I’ll believe it when I see it because our meteorologists tend to get a little bit excited at the thought of an Arctic Blast. They even originally predicted we might have some snow by tomorrow, but by the next night they recanted with a “there have been rumors of snow but they are false” at which point P talked out loud to the T.V. and said, “YOU’RE THE ONE STARTING THE RUMORS”.

I also made the mistake of mentioning the possibility of snow to Caroline and now she is convinced she needs a snowsuit. Bless her heart.

In other non-weather related news, I cannot thank you enough for all the book suggestions yesterday. I seriously started to get stressed out that we won’t have time to read them all before her childhood is over. Clearly I don’t have enough things to worry about.

Also, while I was out yesterday afternoon, I noticed that our entire neighborhood smells like skunk. I don’t know why that made me feel better, but it did. Stinky misery loves company.

Lastly, I’m going to leave you with a few pictures I took of Caroline playing in the leaves last week on one of the days she was home sick from school. What can I say? The weather was gorgeous, the yard was full of leaves, and it just seemed right. Croup or no croup.

If you want to really make these pictures come alive, just imagine a little voice yelling, “MAKE THE PILE BIGGER! KEEP RAKING, MAMA! KEEP RAKING!”

And that’s why I sent her back to school the next day.
Walmart, basketball, skunks: three words that sum this up

There is so much I could write at this moment. Actually, that’s not true. I have very little to write about right now because we had a pretty non-eventful weekend. But I could write paragraph upon paragraph about the smell of skunk I smell outside my window right now. It is horrendous.

This is the third time this week that I’ve been inundated with eau de frightened skunk. P says it’s because they’re mating right now. I’m all for love, but I wish they’d take their business elsewhere. Far, far away. Also, and it seems the skunk population should be aware of this, I live IN THE CITY.

But enough about the skunks. On Friday I went to eat lunch with Caroline and stayed at the school because they were having a little program and an award ceremony. Caroline received an award and I told her that we could go pick out a new Wii game after school as a reward for a great report card and for the award. Which is how we ended up at Walmart.

It wasn’t my first choice. We initially went to Target, but she had her heart set on Epic Mickey and they were all sold out. So we went to Walmart where I had the chance to renew my vows to avoid the Walmart at all costs. Especially on a Friday afternoon.

Then we came home and she immediately wanted to play her new game. And this is where I have to admit that I do not understand these new high tech video games. The whole playing board is so dark and I don’t understand. I DON’T UNDERSTAND. Where is Mickey going and what is he trying to do?

Fortunately, Caroline was able to do a google search and find a helpful site that explained the game. I didn’t even know she knew how to work the google. She has officially passed me by.

On Saturday she had another basketball game and scored her first basket of the season. I wish I had it on video because she was just SO proud of herself and skipped all the way back down the court while looking in the stands to make sure we all saw it happen. It made me so happy. Of course I’m just impressed that she doesn’t put her hands over her head because she’s scared the ball might hit her which might be the way her mama always played the game.

Later that night we had some friends over for dinner and then on Sunday morning we went to church. And that pretty much sums up the high points of the weekend.

I told you. UNEVENTFUL.

And now I’m going to make an awkward transition to ask a question because I know y’all will have some helpful suggestions. Gulley and I had a long conversation yesterday about good books for the kids to read or for us to read to them. Specifically, we were talking about Caroline and Jackson (He just turned 9). It’s not that we don’t think Will should read, but he’s five and we’ve crossed that bridge before.

(I also feel like I need to disclose that our entire conversation wasn’t about books. We also discussed hair, a shirt I saw recently at Charming Charlie’s, the cold front coming in on Tuesday, something dead inside her wall, the frisky skunks at my house, chicken pot pie and twice baked potatoes. Clearly we have very stimulating and interesting lives.)

Anyway, Caroline and I just finished The Magician’s Nephew and have big plans to read through the entire Narnia series. And I can’t tell you how fun it was to watch Caroline put the pieces together about how the first book ties into The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe. But then what? I need to plan ahead. I want us to have reading goals and ambitions.

So, I’d love for y’all to throw out suggestions for great books for second and third grade boys and/or girls to either read alone or have read to them. What books have your kids loved the most?

Thank you. May your yard remain free of skunks looking for love in all the wrong places.
Fashion Friday: Edition now with 100% more giveaways

Wow. How boring was yesterday’s post? When I looked at it again it was very reminiscent of Will Ferrell in Old School.

“Well, um, actually a pretty nice little Saturday, we’re going to go to Home Depot. Yeah, buy some wallpaper, maybe get some flooring, stuff like that. Maybe Bed, Bath, & Beyond, I don’t know, I don’t know if we’ll have enough time.”

In case you’ve been dying to know how yesterday turned out, I’ll tell you. I forgot to buy paper towels and milk. And by “forgot”, I mean that I didn’t feel like going to the store. I did, however, make it to Nordstrom and feel confident about my decision to go with a pair of rainboots in green. I know you’re so relieved.

But enough about that because I have BIG EXCITEMENT today. BIG EXCITEMENT. It’s another giveaway. A fashion-related giveaway.

The nice people at Ruche, which is one of my favorite online stores and purveyor of all things darling, contacted me and said they would love to give away the uptown elegance red cashmere scarf that I featured a few weeks ago.

But wait!

There’s more!

(I’m sorry if I’ve led you to believe I’m about to offer a set of Ginsu knives.)

They’d also like to add this fly away home indie necklace in sterling. Which I didn’t feature but I totally would have if I’d seen it.

To enter the giveaway, you’ll need to click over to my giveaway page and leave a comment there for a chance to win all the cuteness.

And, oh, I had big plans to do another scarf video tutorial about how to wear an infinity scarf, reminiscent of the one I did a few years back. But then Caroline got the croup and I have been exhausted and it just seemed like a lot of effort to put on makeup and look presentable. I realize we’re all friends here but no one really needs to be subjected to the sleep-deprived version of me sans makeup. It might make children cry. Or cause them to make comments about the lady with the mustache on the internet.

So, here are a few cute things I’ve seen this week.

1. tribal earrings

Well these just look like spring.

2. up in the heirloom top

I love this. So delicate and feminine. It would look great with jeans and cowboy boots.

3. tie-back cross-front jersey dress

I was leery of this dress but I tried it on yesterday and actually really liked it. I don’t think I’d wear it by itself, but I’d definitely wear it over leggings. I like the gray.

4. perfect rib-knit tanks

I’m such a fan of the Old Navy tank top. They’re cheap and come in an array of cute colors. And this year they have some fun patterns as well, including a stripe that I LOVED. But I can’t find a picture of it online.

5. Aerosoles Mezzotint boots

Several people have emailed me recently about boots. It’s so hard to suggest a pair of boots because boots are kind of like a husband. You don’t really know exactly what you’re looking for until you find it and then you may think it looks different than what you thought you wanted, but then you try them out and think MAN, THAT IS COMFORTABLE and maybe he won’t continue to ask me to try to purchase Zyrtec D even though there’s a good possibility I’m going to get arrested for manufacturing meth.

What was I talking about?

Oh, the boots. These are cute and they come in black and brown and they’re on sale and they’re Aerosoles so I bet they’re comfortable.

6. tanbitha cowl neck sweater

Something about this appeals to me. It looks cozy.

7. winter cabin sweater leggings

I nearly featured these last week but they were sold out. But now they’re back and I just think they are the cutest. I would ADORE a pair of these with some sort of sweater dress and tall boots that don’t ask me to go buy Zyrtec D.

8. tiered ruffle tanks

A ruffled tank is just a great piece. It can be worn alone or under a cardi or a jacket for a little bit of flair. Love it.

That’s it for this week.

Don’t forget about the giveaway! Click here to read more about it.

Y’all have a great Friday.
Just another day in paradise

I am so happy to report that Caroline is much, much better. Ultimately, I think old school Benadryl helped her more than anything. I don’t know if it’s because of the antihistamine properties or the fact that it knocked her stone cold out, but I’ll take it. She took a turn for the better just in time because she was beginning to enjoy her ill health a little too much as evidenced by the multiple forts she asked me to build while she laid on the couch and watched movies.

So it’s back to school for her and back to whatever it is I normally do around here for me. Which means I have a big day ahead of me because we’re out of paper towels and a little low on milk. I also have tentative plans to go to Michael’s to pick out a frame for my new map of Texas and perhaps Nordstrom to check out their selection of rainboots because I’m having a dreadful time deciding on the color I want by just looking online and I’ve decided I don’t care that the weathermen are saying we’re in the midst of a drought.

In other equally unexciting news, I’ve been inspired to add Jenny From the Block to my Couch to 5K playlist because I am genuinely enjoying her on American Idol and I’m not fooled by the rocks that she’s got. Now I just need to make myself get out and, you know, run.

Other than that, I’m processing the realization that I may not have been eating meat all those years I enjoyed crispy beef tacos from Taco Bell. I knew the hot sauce could take the tarnish off a penny courtesy of serious boredom in college, but it never occurred to me that I wasn’t eating real meat. All I know is it’s the best water, isolated oat product, wheat oats, soy lecithin, maltodextrin, anti-dusting agent, autolyzed yeast extract, modified corn starch with sodium phosphate I’ve ever tasted.

And so that’s what’s going on here. How about you? Feel free to share with the group. Or with me. Whatever.
It’s Tuesday and I reek of VapoRub

Well, Caroline’s cough that I mentioned in yesterday’s post decided to get even worse on Sunday night. And I’ll spare you all the details for now, mainly because I’m too tired to recount them. I need sleep. And to get the smell of VapoRub off my hands.

On the plus side, after a long bout of procrastination, I finally hooked the Wii that Santa brought up to the internet on Sunday afternoon. (Do you hook something “up to the internet”? It’s like I’m writing a guide to technology for the Beverly Hillbillies. “And then we’ll all hook up our computing machines to the internet and go swim in our cement ponds.”)

This turned out to be a good thing because we spent most of her day home from school yesterday making the most of our Netflix membership as we watched one movie after another. Although if I never have to watch The Care Bears Big Wish Movie again, it will be too soon.

Then, at some point in the late afternoon, I began to explore the other Wii Shop features and discovered that I could download old school Donkey Kong right to our Wii. Like the kind I played on my Colecovision when I was in sixth grade and thought computers were only big machines used by the Department of Defense as seen in the movie War Games.

“Would you like to play a game?”

OH YES I WOULD.

So I introduced Caroline to the wonder of old school technology and she was totally amused for about three minutes until she realized that 1984 Donkey Kong is totally lame compared to 2011 Donkey Kong because “all Mario does is jump over those barrels”.

Whatever. Wait until she sees the level with those elevators.

And I didn’t even mean to ramble along like this because none of this is the point of today’s post. It’s just a lot of nonsense you get because I might be a little high on the VapoRub.

The point is that today is a giveaway day because I am continuing to be like Oprah and give things away.

Everyone in the audience is getting A FREE JAR OF VAPORUB!

Not really.

But everyone is getting A CHANCE TO WIN A COPY OF FINDING GOD’S WILL BY GREGG MATTE!

I am so excited to have a copy of Gregg’s book to give away. In case you missed it, I wrote all about it in this post I wrote back in December. It is one of the best books I’ve read in a long time and is just so thoughtfully written. I can’t recommend it enough.

For a chance to enter the giveaway for Finding God’s Will by Gregg Matte, please click over to my giveaway page and leave a comment there.

See y’all tomorrow.
Just another wild weekend

Here’s a direct quote from P, uttered on Saturday night as we watched a repeat episode of Duck Commanders, “It’s Saturday night and I’ve taken my Zantac. The possibilities are endless. Bring on the Double Chocolate Milanos”.

And that, my friends, is a glimpse into the glitz and glamour of our lives. Don’t hate.

I think you can hold this truth to be self-evident, we had ourselves a pretty uneventful weekend.

On Friday I went to Caroline’s school for lunch. They have opened a room by the cafeteria where parents can eat with their children without having to endure the entire school cafeteria experience which can feel a little bit like an insane asylum but without the peace and the tranquility and medication. Not that I’ve ever been to lunch in an insane asylum, but I’d imagine it might be the only other place where you see people drinking the juice from their pinto beans with a straw like it’s a perfectly normal thing.

I brought Caroline a BLT from Subway since it’s her favorite right now for reasons I don’t really understand. I’ve never been a fan of Subway because I have a hard time smelling all those different meats when I walk in the door. But I’ve learned to tolerate their Veggie Delight with spicy mustard. I don’t know why I think you want to know all this. Stay tuned for tomorrow when I will list every fast food establishment I frequent and list the items I enjoy from the menu.

As we sat and one of us enjoyed our sandwich, Caroline explained to me that this room was one of the rooms they would use “in case the school goes into lockdown”. She asked me if I knew what lockdown meant. I said I didn’t because I wanted to hear what she’d say and find out her understanding of a lockdown situation. She explained, “Well, we have to go into these rooms if the alarm goes off because something bad is happening. Like maybe a wild skunk or a robber has walked into the school.”

You cannot be too careful when it comes to wild skunks.

Friday night she spent the night with Mimi and Bops. P was at the ranch so Gulley and I ended up having a last minute girls’ night out where we caught up on all the things we hadn’t talked about during the last sixteen times we’d talked in the previous two days.

On Saturday we didn’t do much of anything until it was time for Caroline’s basketball game. I continue to think that watching seven-year-old girls play basketball may be one of the most entertaining things ever. The sweet socks the team wear as part of their uniform definitely adds to the experience.

Later that night we picked up Mexican food because I am embarrassed to say that I couldn’t even remember the last time I ate it and that’s completely unacceptable. It’s like I didn’t even know who I was. But I remedied the situation with some chile con queso and puffy tacos and the world seemed like a happy place again.

And I believe you already know that P enjoyed Double Chocolate Milanos with wild abandon. That’s not even a euphemism for anything.

Caroline had a cough all day Saturday and it got worse when she went to bed. I gave her some cough medicine and ended up sleeping in her room. Or, more appropriately, not sleeping in her room. Because when she wasn’t coughing, she was grinding her teeth. I don’t know why she grinds her teeth when she’s congested, but it happens every time. And I laid there and daydreamed about how peaceful it would be to sleep on the landing strip at an airport or anywhere else that might be quieter than next to my snoring, coughing, teeth-grinding princess.

She felt totally fine the next morning and didn’t seem fazed by all her nocturnal respiratory goings-on, so I decided we should go ahead and go to church even though I felt like a lesser version of death on a paper plate. Truthfully, there might have been a moment when I bowed my head to pray during worship and realized five minutes later that I was in the middle of a catnap, as evidenced by the fact I’d begun to have a dream. I don’t think God took it personally.

After all, between the Double Chocolate Milanos, the coughing, the reruns of Duck Commanders and the teeth-grinding, we’d had ourselves a pretty wild Saturday night.

Albeit the version of wild that only applies to middle-aged married couples with children.