In Honor of National Doughnut Day {17}

We NEVER let Mr. JD have sweets (except for when you saw here the chocolate pudding, oh yeah and when I give him gummy snacks when he pees in the potty)...okay so we RARELY let him have anything good. Anyway...today has been a fun filled Friday AND is National Doughnut Day so I thought what the heck, a boy his age should get to enjoy himself some chocolate every once in a while!! No doughnuts for us, but we did have some of momma's chocolate chip cookies to indulge, enjoy, gorge, etc. :)

Whats funny to me is that even though we don't allow him to have goodness pretty much ever he totally knows what the goodness is! So when he saw me get the cookie out he immediately started yelling and pointing to it, like PLEEEEAASE mom? I am thinking this is because I fed him lots and lots of dessert while he was growing inside of me...you think?

Cop Out {18}

I have to be honest with you and say that today I have no idea what to write about. So I tragically I turned to Facebook for inspiration from a few of those lovely quizzes people take freaking daily that I complain about all the time. I am apologizing up front because I realize this is a cop out blog...but I just got nothing else today people. :)

This may be useless information...but it also may entertain you. So you decide whether to read on...I promise never to be offended! :)

THE MOST RANDOM SET OF QUESTIONS IN THE WORLD:

Do you read the labels on shampoo bottles?

Yes, to see if it smells good. I don't buy the expensive stuff though. Unless it is found at Marshalls or TJ Maxx

Have you ever brushed your teeth in the shower?

yes, and I don't find it particularly fun at all. However, it is efficient

How old do you look?

I don't know...younger than 35 because I still get carded at the grocery store when purchasing booze

.

How old do you act?

Older than my age in most cases for sure. Or at least I think so...I feel very grown up most of the time and too grown up some of the time.

Whats the last song you sang?

"Jesus Loves Me" to JD before bed tonight

Whats the last song you heard?

"Free Fallin" by John Mayer and its lovely

Have you recently become a member of anything?

Delta Gamma, Alpha Tau chapter House Corporation

What are your plans for the weekend?

Girls night with my future sister in law tomorrow that I am sooo excited about, pool time, the gym, mowing the lawn, church...pretty much the usual!

What is your mood at the moment?

Good and relaxed!

Have you ever ridden a mechanical bull?

No...but secretly I think this would be fun

If you were working on a pirate ship, what would you most likely be?

The Captain

Have you ever called anyone a slut?

Yes I certainly have...and I meant it to

Have you ever smuggled something into Canada?

No but mostly just because I have never been to Canada.

Does playing guitar make someone more attractive?

Umm, no not at all. But golfing does... :)

Do you live in a city with a good sports team?

Yes-GO COLTS! and GO BULLDOGS!

Have you ever finished off the popcorn?

Yes, all the buttery and salty goodness is at the bottom! Oh and I heart the half popped kernels too!

What's your favorite super hero?

Not sure if this answer will age me, but I don't have a current one (because I am not that kind of girl) but back in the day it was SHERA

!

Do you have more enemies than friends?

I don't think I have any enemies actually. There were probably a few in the sorority from time to time but we all know that was ages ago! :)

Have you ever sent anyone an anonymous letter?

no but I have totally thought about it.

Can you fix your own car?

Absolutely not

Are you smarter than your friends?

I am pretty sure I have blogged about the sense of entitlement most of my college friends had about being way smarter than me (they had no faith those girls...), so I don't mind saying that they were WRONG and I am smarter than a fifth grader. :)

Have you ever stolen anything from your friends?

Deliberately no...but I am quite sure that I have ended up with a random tank top or shirt from the many closets I have shared with friends.

Have you ever been to jail?

No and I plan to keep it that way thank you

Last thing you bought over $50?

Groceries

Have you ever died or killed someone in a dream?

No, but I frequently have dreams where close loved ones die or are dying...I think I am just scared to lose them though.

Have you ever given to a charity?

yes both monetarily and as a volunteer

Do you ever get depressed?

Clinically, no. But I have my days where I am down in the dumps for sure.

Do you live with your parents?

Nope, been off the tit for quite some time now and am proud of it

Do you have plans for your future?

Yes we do

Two names you go by:

mlouise

momma

Two things you are wearing right now:

my wedding rings

the sweet bright orange DEE GEE t-shirt from college-HA!

Two places you want to go on vacation:

Jamaica, and I think we are gonna make that happen very soon!

Punta Cana, Dominican Republic-just cause its amazing and it was our honeymoon and the most perfect vacation I have ever been on.

How many pairs of jeans do you own?

7 I think, but never enough people...never enough

What colors do you wear most often?

Black, khaki, and white...I look like a waitress most of the time. Its a curse...I go to the store to purchase color and I just gravitate to black, black and more black. At least it goes with everything?

Hows the weather?

Beautiful, 60, sunny and breezy!

Favorite pair of shoes?

Black flip flops

Do you own big sunglasses?

Currently I own no sunglasses because JD loves himself some of his mommies sunglasses and ends up breaking them. If I did own sunglasses I think they would be medium as I have a big fat face and big ones don't look so hot on my mug

What are you doing right now?

Thinking about what I am going to have for dinner, watching Jeopardy and writing answers to these random questions.

What should you be doing?

nothing, isn't that wonderful?

What's your favorite sport to play?

Tennis

What's your favorite sport to watch?

College Basketball or College Football

When was the last time you saw your dad?

A few weeks ago...but we talk all the time

What did you have for dinner last night?

Roselli's pizza

Look to your left, what do you see?

JD's toy area all picked up and ready for him to destroy again tomorrow!

What's your favorite Starbucks drink?

Grande, Non fat, French Vanilla Latte...yes I am high maintenance when it comes to my coffee drinking

Do you hate being alone?

Not at all. Sometimes its wonderful to be alone, close your eyes and hear nothing but silence.

Do you think the drinking age should be lowered to 18?

Yes. I think kids drink more because it is a forbidden pleasure. No because I believe there is some serious research out there that 18 year olds brains aren't fully mature and chemically unbalanced because of all the hormones so they won't/can't make sound decisions. In the end, I am glad its not my decision. Although I do think we should be a bit more consistent. Drive at 16, Vote and purchase tobacco at 18, and drink at 21. I say maybe drive at 16 and the rest at 18. And the answer to whether or not they should legalize marijuana is yes. Not because I enjoy, but because others do illegally and the government could make a whole lot of cheese and tax the hell out of this and maybe get us out of the enormous deficit single handedededly (that was a stutter) because of the weed. See...I totally am smarter than a fifth grader.

What's a bad habit you have?

Cussing...a lot of cussing

What is the one thing you would like to happen today?

A good nights rest...and peace in the middle east of course! :)

Butter Makes Everything Better {19}

I have mentioned before that while prego I discovered a love for baking (and lets be honest eating those baking efforts). One of my forte's is just regular old chocolate chip cookies. I have secret tricks (and every time I say this I silently think of the line in Mr. Deeds "never underestimate the power of my sneakiness"). Anyway...my secrets shall remain with me but the recipe below is for you and yours. :)

I recently got a little bored with just plain old chocolate chip cookies...so I played with the recipe a little and found that these cookies/cookie bars not only work, they are positively scrumptious!!

White Chocolate Chip Almond Cookies

Ingredients:

2 1/4 cups all purpose flour

1 teaspoon of salt

1 teaspoon baking soda

3/4 cup brown sugar

3/4 cup granulated sugar

1 cup butter, softened (2 sticks)

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 eggs

1 package white chocolate chips

*1/2-1 cup of toasted almonds

**********************************************************

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

Combine flour, salt and baking soda in a mixing bowl and set aside.

*Spread 1/2 cup-1 cup of sliced almonds onto a baking sheet. Lightly toast in oven (or toaster oven), approximately 2 minutes should do. Set aside and let cool to room temperature.

Beat brown sugar, granulated sugar, softened butter, and vanilla until creamy. Add eggs and continue to beat until mixture is fluffy. Slowly stir in the dry ingredients. Add the white chocolate chips and COOLED almonds. Stir together until well blended.

Drop spoonfuls onto a baking sheet and bake 8-10 minutes (or until your version of cookie doneness) :) Move to a cooling rack and wait patiently until they are perfectly cool and them eat the entire tray. Do not pass GO, do not collect $100, just EAT THE WHOLE TRAY! It won't be hard, I promise! HA! Just kidding, I should be a comedian, I know... HA!

I have also done this same recipe and baked the entire mixture in a greased 9x9 square pan to make cookie bars. This version is equally as good. :) In this case you may want to turn your oven to 375 degrees. If you feel the center isn't getting done, turn that baby up!

Enjoy!

**Note, I used the Nestle Toll House recipe for their chocolate chip cookies as my dough batter. I am not trying to get in trouble for copyright infringement or anything. Just trying to make a cookie people! :)

Curb Appeal {20}

Today, P-Daddy got his early birthday present (I won't tell you what bday it is...not yet at least)...our home was LANDSCAPED! We have had a "work in progress" landscape thing going on since we moved in THREE YEARS AGO! P-Daddy and I both like things to be done, finito, complete (lets be honest here, perfect)...so as you can imagine this has been driving us crazy.

We have done little things here and there but we are by no means landscape architects so it kind of looked like amateurs had done it. Fortunately, because of my past life we have a hook up with a professional who does an EXCELLENT job for what I consider a very reasonable price!

We hired our main man a while ago but we couldn't get on his schedule until now. So water we will because planting new plants and transplanting existing ones in 85 degree heat isn't always the best thing. But we have proven that WE CAN keep things alive. :)

This is one of our little things...and it is those little things in life that make you feel all warm and fuzzy inside. :)

Before (or during rather)...

The crew

And After...

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Not that this will be the only time I say this on this here blog but HAPPY BIRTHDAY P-DADDY!

I never want to forget this... {21}

I recently held the newborn baby boy of a friend of mine. He was 7lbs and a few ounces when born and when I held him he was 2 weeks old making him 8 or 9 lbs I am guessing. He was UNBELIEVABLY lite and soo little though. I couldn't believe it! JD was 6lbs 13oz when born...just a little peanut. I look at pictures from that time in JD's life all the time and feel like I remember...but after holding my friends child I realized I soo don't remember. And I have an amazing memory. Seriously. Amazing. So you know its gotta pain me that I can't remember something like JD's littleness.


But it just happens...not gonna be dramatic and say that its overnight because its sooo not. Basically because of those long sleepless days and nights. But it does happen (too quickly) and then you forget how they smelled or how soft their baby hair was, or how little little little they were. And precious. And little. And smelly good. And little. And the most precious things in existence (not to say NOW isn't the most amazing time in our lives with JD, cause it is...but little gives me the sniff, sniffs cause I can't believe its almost been two years!!)! :)

So I don't want to forget anything tangible...like his laughter. His amazing giggles that fill whatever room he is in. And now I can't forget. Can I get an Amen from the crowd for technology? :)

We are BIG KIDS now (how did this happen?)! {22}

I recently spoke here about Aimee and how we have had some pretty phenomenal times throughout our friendship. Still having them. Had one today actually. P-Daddy, JD and I packed up the family truckster this afternoon to head over to the Ash household for a nice Sunday playdate and dinner! I have to say this gets more and more fun (and interesting) each and every time we do this.

I must go back in time though to a moment where Aimee, Jeremy, P-Daddy and I did weekly dinners. This came to a screeching halt when we both found out we were prego...we both had just recently moved to our homes we reside in now and that happened to put us 30 minutes (on a good day) a part and we were some tired beaatches after long days at work and the fact that we were growing babies (she was growing TWO). Regardless of our many excuses I think I speak for the group when I say we were truly sad to see this tradition go. Truly. I think I may have even shed a tear about it. If you, as a couple get the opportunity to do this with another couple that you enjoy spending time with, I would encourage it big time!

I digress though...back to today. So our kids are big kids now. They hug, they laugh at each other, they laugh with each other, Addy and Lilly know JD's name and say it frequently. He thinks they are the neatest girls he has ever seen. And the parents...well we laugh, referee when needed and try to have some adult conversation in there some where. We used to joke that they would go to prom together, or be boyfriend and girlfriend, or just be friends. But that was then...

Lilly, JD, Addy

Addy, JD, Lilly

The start of the baby conspiracy to become BIG KIDS

And now...well I see this all as a possibility. That our friendship will give our children the potential to have life long friendships together too. Sure they will most likely go to different schools and have their own neighborhood friends...but these girls will be the ones that JD literally grows up with. I didn't have that and am so glad he will.

Addy, JD, Lilly

Their first lunch date...awwww

Probably not the only time JD will make Lilly cry...JD will get his though, I am sure of it!



First trip to the Children's Museum together

First hug with Addy

And finally...the reason this blog was written today...the little (BIG) ones eating together at table, with plates! Time flies when you are having fun!

JD, Addy, Lilly

Thank you Aimee, Jeremy Addy and Lilly! We always have a great time with you...all of us!!

Its just one of them days... {23}

...that I want to be all alone, just one of them days, that a girl goes through(aooo), you know you are singing this sweet sweet song along with me! On a side note, I had this on an answering machine message once...yes I was singing it and yes this wasn't the only song I sang on that there message. It went something like..."Hey this is Mamalouise and I am glad you called and plan to call you back unless (insert break out in song) its just one of them days.... and so on and so forth. Everyone who left me a message was laughing out loud (at me) as they left their message. If this doesn't confirm that at heart (or in general) I am a big fat dork...I'm not sure what will. :)

I'm having one of those days too mom...quit taking pictures and come and play with me!

Its really NOT one of those days in general...but it IS one of those days that I don't want to blog. But I have to blog. Because I made a promise. To you. To me. To God. Okay the last one was just for dramatics but you get the point. Saturday should not be a day for blogging. Saturday (and Sunday) for that matter are days for resting away from blogging. But I am here. Sigh...

I am really tired today actually. P-Daddy and I both dragged our butts out of bed this morning (who am I kidding, JD dragged our butts out of bed) for Spinning at the gym (we dragged JD to the gym though...). I was WAY excited to drag him there because the gal that teaches the class I go to on Tuesday mornings also teaches today. EXCEPT SHE WASN'T THERE and the class totally stunk. The lady that taught it played slow songs the whole time from the early nineteen sixties. Miserable. If you have never been to spinning before...believe me when I say you need FAST, LOUD, UPBEAT music to get you through the pain and sweat. So P-Daddy and I just made fun of the ridiculous music and worked through it. :) My teacher, in case anyone cares is AWESOME and plays tons of amazing music while kicking your butt and you leave feeling extremely accomplished and in a great mood! What a great combo that would have been awesome to start a Saturday off with! Next Saturday it is!

I had some alone mommy time today too which was AWESOME! I placed myself on a chair at the pool, by myself (literally no one was there but me and the lifeguard), with an earful of either my girlfriend or my ipod. It was wonderful bliss that brought me back to a time where I would do that all the time AND DIDN'T APPRECIATE IT ENOUGH! Which brings me to...maybe I should appreciate this blog MORE and quit my bit*h*ng eh? :)

P-Daddy didn't have AS good of day as me though. He came to the pool a little later with JD and right when he plopped himself on a chair...a bird pooped directly on him! HA! That has never happened to me before so I was cracking up for some reason! I know, its just bird poop but its so gross and so funny that more of us don't get crapped on more often as those suckers are flying around all over the place just dropping deuces whenever they please! Hilarious.

I hope YOU are having a great weekend! I will see YOU here tomorrow (or maybe its that you will see ME)?! :)