I steal great craft ideas too!

This was so hilarious! I don't know how many of you read "White Trash Moms" (link on the right) but if you don't read it....you missed out on the perfect craft for Halloween. Take a look at the cute little ghost that is waaayy easier to make than the tissue over a sucker ghost we are gonna do for the MOMS Club Halloween party. Do you think Jenni would go for it? (Please keep your comments on the clean side....we don't wanna get gross!)

I'm starting a new recipe series!

Even though I am going out of town.....I still have a recipe to share with you! Thanks to everyone that voted last week, and the winner is clearly the Side Dish Series. We all get to bring some kind of a side dish to the many holiday parties that are headed our way! I will be highlighting some of my faves the next few weeks starting with this: Cheesy Veggies- From the Neighborhood Recipe Book, submitted by Greg Miles 2 pkg. California Veggies (Broccoli, Cauliflower and Carrots) 1 stick butter 8 oz. Velveeta 1 can cream of chicken soup Topping: 1 stick butter 1 tube crushed Ritz Crackers (or similar cracker) Cook Veggies. Melt Cheese and 1 stick of butter. Add cream of chicken soup. Mix with veggies. Spread in 9x13 pan. Melt second stick of butter and mix with crackers. Spread topping over mixture. Bake in a 350 degree oven for 25-30 minutes or until light brown and bubbly. This is such an easy dish to make! You can use the 2% Velveeta, a light soup, and the reduced fat Ritz to make it a little less fattening. You can also make most of it ahead of time, then finish baking it when you get to your pot luck dinner. If you make it all ahead of time, I recommend sprinkling a few crushed crackers on top just before serving, to give it the crunch the topping needs. Next week: Awesome Scalloped Potatoes

I enter contests too!

I have a habit of entering some contests to win great things on mulitple blogs. I almost always enter PW's contests, I enter some on YHO, and I have more recently started looking at Prizey to see what cool prizes are being offered around the web. Today I looked at a cool talking dollhouse that I know Lilly would love.....I went to the site to enter, and low and behold...the people giving the dollhouse away are also giving one to a local Children's Hospital, Primay Children's Medical Center. I thought it was a wonderful sentiment, I thought I would share the site with you...lots of cool stuff even without the giveaway...and get me two more entries into the contest. Check 'em out! http://littlewindowshoppe.com/help-giveback-and-enter-to-win-a-mrs-goodbee-dollhouse#comment-5129

I am picking my jaw up off the floor!

I have read a few articles about Nebraska's Safe Haven law not being specific enough, and people taking advantage of it. It seems that the law doesn't say that babies are the only ones that can be taken to an area hospital and taken in with no questions asked. The law says "child" which to most people means 12 and under. To others I guess it means any aged offspring. People are dropping their teenagers off at Nebraska hospitals, abandoning them because they can't handle them anymore. Officials have said the teenagers don't seem to be in any immediate danger, so the only reason they are being abandoned is because their parents are too lazy to finish raising them. I have my rough days with my kids, and there are times I just want to leave the kids at somewhere because they are driving me nuts. And I also know I don't have teenagers yet, so I'm not sure how rough that would be, but there would be no way I would just leave my teenager in the hands of strangers just because they were a little wild. There are programs to get them help for substance abuse, or even schools that give them some tough love to put them on the straight and narrow. What I want to know is what makes those parents that abandon their teens better than the rest of us that have to deal with the crap that comes from having a teenager? If you have kids, you deal with it like the rest of us! I know there are other sides to each story, but this is the way I see the articles, and if you want to let me see it differently, let me know! Here is the most recent news article: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20081013/ap_on_re_us/safe_haven

I'm a "Cool Broad" too!

I stumbled upon the website that cool broad after googling "homemade fingernail polish remover", and I love it! I have only read a few posts, but will be reading more. Not only will I add the blog to my daily reading list, but I will add the "cool broad" button to my gadgets too. I took the "cool broad" quiz and challenge you all to take it too! That said, after taking the quiz(my results are below), I think all of my friends that read my blog, are considered "cool broads" too, even if the quiz tells you otherwise! Check the website out and let me know what you think!

Your Result - You're so cool.
Congratulations! You're a Cool Broad all right! You've got the empathy, grace, and sense of humor needed to sweep people off their feet. You also appreciate the best in everything (and everyone) and you're a joy to be around. I wish I could be like you:) Thanks for visiting ThatCoolBroad.com. Please come back and comment often. And make sure to snag a badge for your blog or website. xoxo tcb

Are you a Cool Broad?

Do you have what it takes to be a Cool Broad? Take this short quiz to find out! There are no right answers (though there are a few wrong ones), so just go with your gut!

1. What's your favorite magazine?

People

InStyle

Business Week

Town & Country

Parenting

2. One of your girlfriends is dating a man that you (and her other friends) don't like. At happy hour after work, she opens up and begins to share some of the misgivings she has about him. You...

say, "Honey, you're too good for him. Dump him, quick."

tell her that you don't want to discuss him because you don't like him and you're afraid that if she ends up marrying him it'll ruin your friendship.

try to relate to her feelings and say, "Honey, that's just men. Have you tried asking him to close the door when he pees?"

tell her that you don't know what she expects, he's a pig and she shouldn't be wasting her time on him.

3. What style jeans do you wear?

I don't wear jeans, they don't look good on me.

Whatever style is "in" at the moment. I'm very stylish.

Whatever style flatters my body shape most.

The ones with pleats in the front, a really high waist, and tapered legs.

4. You're driving through a crowded parking lot and a car starts to back out of its space a few car lengths in front of you. You...

Stop and let the car pull out (it's clear to you that the driver can't see you (otherwise, why would he/she pull out in front of you?)

Tap your horn and keep driving because you think that the car probably sees you and pulling out in front of a moving vehicle is rude.

Don't do anything...you have the right of way.

Slow down, you're not sure whether the driver can see you or not and you'd rather not get into a wreck this morning.

5. How many of the following types of groups do you belong to? (i.e., Junior League, PTA, Tennis league, Neighborhood or Community women's/mother's club, Bunco group)

None...I don't like people that much.

All of the above...I'm VERY social.

A few...only the ones I enjoy the most.

As many as I can get into...I'm trying to improve my social status and being involved is one way to do it.

6. You're walking your dog and she unexpectedly poops in a natural area between two yards. You...

go home, get a bag, come back and scoop it up.

act like you don't notice and keep walking...dragging your dog by her leash as she pinches off her BM.

knock on the door of the nearest house and ask if you can borrow a bag to scoop the poop.

look around to see if anyone is watching...if not, ignore it. It IS a natural area for pete's sake.

7. One of your friends confides that she has quit breastfeeding her newborn because she and her baby never seemed to get the hang of it, and the baby was still hungry even after nursing for a half an hour. You...

shrug and say, "That's what formula is for."

sympathize with her, even though breastfeeding came naturally to you, and tell her that she's a great mom and shouldn't beat herself up over it.

tell her that the American Academy of Pediatrics says that you should breastfeed for at least a year and that formula-fed babies have been found to get sick more often and develop more slowly that breastfed ones.

don't say anything, but later, shake your head about your friend's bad decision (and apparent inability to do something that should come naturally) to your other friend (who is still breastfeeding her child and he's 3).

8. You're at a neighborhood party and one of your neighbor's begins to rant about how the presidential candidate you support is a complete idiot and doesn't know the first thing about running a country. You...

tell your neighbor that he's the idiot and explain how typical it is that someone of his background/gender/socio-economic level would buy into the propoganda of whatever political party isn't yours.

agree with him. Your neighbor is a senior executive at a company that you'd like to get a job with.

excuse yourself to refresh your drink...no good ever comes of talking politics at a party because you won't change anyone's mind and the issue can create a divisive atmosphere.

if asked, respectfully explain that you disagree with his assessment of the candidate's qualifications but that you don't like to discuss politics when everyone is just trying to get their drink on.

9. At the same party, someone introduces you to a woman who says, "Oh, we've already met...it's nice to see you again." You don't know this woman from a hole in the ground. You...

act like you remember her but apologize that you don't remember her name and ask if she minds refreshing your memory.

act like you remember her and hope that the person introduces you (or someone else) says her name, quickly.

be honest...you can barely remember what your husband looks like, so she shouldn't really be offended.

tell her that you think she's gotten you mixed up with someone else, because you have no idea who she is.

10. One of your co-workers has been married for 5 years but hasn't started a family yet. You suspect that they don't want to have children or are having a hard time conceiving (and you're incredibly curious). You...

wait for her to bring up the subject, if she wants to discuss her childbearing plans with you, she will.

drop subtle hints in your conversation hoping she'll bite and bring the subject up.

ask her...it's not that big of deal.

ask another co-worker who may know, thus avoiding potential awkwardness.

11. Your kid just got selected to participate in an honors program at school, and your dying to know if your best friend's kid got the same recognition. You...

tell your kid to find out which classmates of his made the program.

go to the orientation for parents (even though you wouldn't have gone otherwise because your oldest kid was also in the program so you're familiar with it - you just want to see who shows up).

ask her, you're friends, after all, and she'll be excited for you even if her kid isn't brilliant like yours.

ask around behind her back to avoid potential awkwardness if her kid isn't very bright.

12. You're sitting next to a woman at the pool who you know socially and you notice that she's got quite a few spider veins on her legs. You...

get a good look at them and thank your lucky stars that legs veins don't run in your family (and wonder why on earth she's in a bathing suit, exposing them for all the world to see).

you say to her, "I noticed that you've got veins in your legs...do they run in your family?"

tell her that you have a good friend who got her veins removed with lasers and ask her if she's ever considered having them treated.

act like you don't notice them...why make her feel self-conscious?

13. A woman you don't particularly like, shows us to Bunco with a killer pair of jeans on. She has your body type and you'd love to try that brand, but you don't know what brand they are. You...

try to read the tiny label on her ass when nobody is looking.

ask her, even though you're not excited about giving her a compliment. But if your butt looks as good as her butt does in those jeans, it's worth it.

don't say anything...there's no way you're going to let this woman know she has something that you covet.

memorize the pocket stitching and hope you recognize it the next time you go shopping.

14. The same woman, is also toting an expensive designer handbag. You happen to have the same style, but notice that hers has some of the tell-tale characteristics of a knock-off. You...

chuckle to yourself and silently enjoy the fact that you have the real deal and she doesn't.

point out the obvious blunder to your best friend, so you both can laugh at the woman behind her back.

tell the woman that you looooove her handbag and have one just like it, hoping to make her uncomfortable and maybe even cop to the fact that hers is a fake.

ask the woman if her bag is real, because you have the same one but hers looks a bit different.

15. You found a terribly cool website called That Cool Broad that you enjoy visiting. You...

subscribe to the site's RSS feed.

comment on articles that you have thoughts about.

digg, kirtsy, stumble, or e-mail articles to your friends that you think others would enjoy.

All of the above!

I've been tagged!

When one of Katie's friends tagged her (I read her friends post), I knew it was only a matter of time before she tagged me too! Here it is:

This Picture Tag involves taking the 4th file of photos on your computer and posting the 4th picture from that file. Since my husband is a computer nerd (hi honey!) I have access to 2 sets of picture files, so I am going to give you two pics!

#1

This was from a photo shoot at my parents house. I was trying to get a pic of the kids for the December page of a calendar I was making for Christmas gifts.

#2 (this one is a way better one!)

This is tiny, tiny Colin when he was less than a month old, and home from the hospital for only a week. (Collective "awwww!") He wiggled his hands out of the swaddling and just looked so adorable sleeping like that.

OK.....so I now tag Allison...she's gotta have some great pictures!

I'm continuing to Fight the Frump by following my daily checklist

Last week I fell off the "Fight the Frump Wagon". It was a crappy day and it felt so good to stay at home wearing sweatpants and having my hair in a ponytail, no leaving the house for anything but to drop off and pick up my kid from the bus stop.

I then started to get back into the swing of fighting the frump by going through my own checklist in my head. So this week is kind of a Fight the Frump Review, just to keep us all in tip, top Frump Fighting shape!

Fight The Frump Checklist

1- Wear make up whenever you leave the house :OK so I have been a little slacking on this front, I'm gonna add, "or your car" to that statement, just so I can get away with having no make up on when I drop the 5 year old off at the bus stop.

2-Find clothes that fit your body type: I think I'm still doing pretty well in that category...some of you may beg to differ, but don't let me know about it here, please tell me about the ill fitting shirt I wear in private.

3-Always wear Jewelry: I have no problems there! I at least have a cute pair of earrings on all the time!

4-Wear your sunglasses as a hair accessory: Have you ever seen me without my sunglasses? Even if the time of day changes while I am out, my sunglasses are still on top of my head, holding my hair back!

5-Take care of your hair style: OK well....um....if you have seen my hair these days you know I have "No Comment". Gonna take care of that one after I get back from Vegas!

6-Wear great shoes: I still have great shoes to keep me in style, but ones that I can still chase the kids around in.

7- Wear Color: I try to make sure there is some color in my outfit. Even if it is in the necklace I am sporting, or in the shoes I slip on.

8- Keep your toes pedicured: So I have been doing my own lately, but am still keeping my toes maintained AND I am hoping to get a great one while on vacation in Vegas next week!

9-Try to keep stress free: A few times I day I try to take some deep breaths, and re-center myself.

10- Spend time with friends: At least two times a week I take the time to spend with friends and it helps keep me laughing and unfrumpy!

Keep your own checklist in your head when you go out of the house, or even when you stay in, and you will be Fighting The Frump!