Holy Crap

So I was just looking at my pay schedule and matching that with what bills need to be paid this pay day verses next pay day...you know the ever present rob Peter to pay Paul dance we do every month.  And when I clicked on the pay check date after this next one, it pulled up effin' 2013!  Can you believe that it is almost (by one pay check) the year 2013!!!!!  Holy Crap.

We hosted our Friends Thanksgiving/Toy Drive for the Safe House on Sunday and I am very happy to announce that we took in a record number of toys this year.  The haul is truly amazing to look at and I am driving it down to the Safe House this afternoon to greet what I am sure will be some very happy case workers.   This year we made a turkey, ham and a 10 pound prime rib and STILL ran out of meat.  Not sure if that's because we have the meat eating-est people you've ever met as friends or if because without a doubt dinner is always served at least an hour late...no matter how much I try it always falls behind.  Although I realized this year that at least when the main course is late everyone eats all of the appetizers. :-)

Joe wanted to have a nice low key birthday (probably because we had hosted the party the day before) so we just hung out at home and he got to experience why I cook so much.  At about 5ish when Joe was uncontrollably yawning since it was dark out and the girls need either direction or discipline, I looked at him and laughed and said why do you think we do a craft and I cook elaborate dinners every night...it's either that or we all fight and fall asleep. 

Tadd just bought this awesome house that is much bigger than ours AND it was very cold on Sunday so everyone was locked inside all party long...that being said all both Joe and I could think about was the fact that we have outgrown this house.  I am hoping that feeling subsides because we both like our relatively small house payment but we will have to see if it does.

A picture of the toys we brought in, this is just the first row the whole underneath of the tree is covered in gifts.

Joe helping the girls build a gingerbread house on his birthday...I am sure the 21 year old Joe would be very proud of the 33 year old Joe's ability to "really let loose". LOL

When we bought the boat we had them order the wake board tower that we wanted and they just got done with the installation, here's our first glimpse at the beast that is going to rip our arms off next summer.

Things I could have only learned from being a parent.

On a daily basis my kids teach me about as much as I teach them.  They have taught me how I talk to other people which has been hard to take...I tend go from one extreme to other, one side bossy and just about rude and the other patronizingly sweet with the "you can do it sweeties".  Other than those type of obvious things they have also taught me that the wood they make dinner tables out of should be featured in the Smithsonian.  We paint, draw, scratch, etch and last but not least eat off of that poor piece of furniture.  Some nights I don't know how it is still standing, perhaps it is the chunks out of my daughters heads that it gets to rip off that allows for the table to get some joy out of life.  Also, I have learned that everything you sleep with or on besides the mattress can be washed in a home washing machine. The last two nights in a row Austin has gotten into a coughing spell that then turned into throwing up in her bed.  I promise you that I would not have known that you could wrap up bedding including pillows and stuffed animals and throw it in the wash.  In fact I am pretty sure if I had puked in my bed when I was single I just would have thrown it all away and started over.  On a side cute note, Austin calls it "pick-up" not puke, which I guess is her mixture between puke and throw up...so I can't help but smile when she comes out of her room and says "Mommy there's pickup in my bed.". :-)  Cracks me up every time.

My Mom and I have started calling Lil' Bit "Me Too", since everything that Austin gets Tyler says me too.  Our real challenge will be to keep Austin doing good and Tyler should just follow right along behind her.

Here's Me Too and her idol decorating Christmas Tree rice krispies.

Joe's Awards

For those without Facebook, below was Joe's Facebook status for the day.  He competed in the second annual "Best Buds Inter-dispensary Competition" and took home a ton of awards for Briargate Wellness Center.  I am super proud of him and the hard work it takes to get to this point.

So proud of my company right now! We cleaned up in the best meds II contest last night. Taking 6 of the 15 awards with Cataract Kush and Cheese Wreck. The awards were Grand Champion Indica, second place Hybrid, Most Potent, Longest Lasting, One Hit Wonder and Best Experience!!! If my high school teachers could see me now:-)

Budget

So I'm curious...what does a "normal" household spend on groceries every month.  I hate to play "I'll show you mine if you show me yours" but I am completely willing to give it a go for some answers.  My bank started this new thing where it will automatically track where you spend your money and I thought to myself, short of the tin-cap theories of we are one step away from them just putting ankle bracelets on us, what a great idea I can finally see where I spend my money. Only to be shaken to my core to realize on a regular basis our grocery bill is between $1,500 and $2,000 a month.  That seems high to me although I wouldn't really know without something else to compare it to.  The only thing that has kept me off the ledge of despair is that we try to eat as organic as possible without preservatives so I know we spend more because of that but WOW is that a chunk of change.  *** Also, in those numbers are laundry detergent and everything like that since it's not just food that I buy at King Soopers or Wal-Mart.

Cooking

I have been cooking up a storm lately probably in part because it is getting colder and also because it gets dark so early rather than getting tired or restless I like to stay busy in the kitchen.  Although whenever I get knee deep in something I tend to take it a bit too seriously so when Joe's employees called in sick on Monday and prompted him to be an hour and a half late I found myself just about in tears as my from scratch homemade spinach ricotta ravioli with prosciutto white wine cream sauce, salad and bread sticks sat on the stove becoming less of a master piece and more of a "wow I bet this was really good a while back" kind of meal.  Or last night when I left the burner on while grabbing the chicken off the grill only to find my pad Thai noodles now soggy...again less of a mater piece.  Sigh.  I should learn to take it worth a grain of salt (complete pun intended) but that is not quite my personality.  The one thing that I have to say is my absolute favorite part about trying new recipes and food (last night I cooked with fish sauce, I mean com'on who has that kind of stuff in the fridge?) is that the girls eat everything we put in front of them even if spicy like last night.  Oh yeah and they both drink my Italian salad dressing after their salads are done. :-)

I just finished up my cooking list for this weekend's Friends Thanksgiving/Toy Drive, I've got some new ideas to try out that I am super excited about ***bracing for soggy disaster now***.  I think I will probably just start drinking earlier, after all a couple beers should make the new green bean casserole taste that much better.

Last but not least...

November 30 - Last but not least...I am thankful for Gingerbread.  I had a stressful Thursday that seeped into a very stressful Friday and sort of had "that look" on my face for two solid days.  I found a recipe for gingerbread cookies on line, turned on Christmas music and decorated cookies while taking deep breathes.  It didn't take long until I felt much better.  Of course just when I felt better Joe allowed the girls to play on the stairs which lead to numerous heart attacks as they accidental cart wheeled down them while horsing around...so then I felt much better when we put them to bed. :-)

In other news Tadd picked out a house and became an official home owner on Friday afternoon...yahoo!  So if you would like to see his new home here it is.

http://www.zillow.com/homedetails/4745-Rustler-Ct-Colorado-Springs-CO-80918/13575100_zpid/