Five on Friday

Happy Friday! I can't believe it's the last day of July...where is this year {and summer} going?

How about a little Five on Friday? This might be one of my most random blogging weeks ever - lots of just random tidbits!

ONE

I bought a professional broom and it is life changing. We have wood/tile through probably 85% of our house and I was either busting out the vacuum {which is a pain} or using an old school broom to sweep {which took forever}...but this? I can go over the kitchen and living room in minutes! And it was only $20!

TWO

I just shared how much I hate to decorate, and because of that, there isn't much done in our house. I've made some progress in the kids' rooms, but that's about it. Until yesterday! I ordered an alphabet wall before Drew was born for Trent's room from an Etsy shop, and it took 18 months to get {can we say irritated?}. By the time I got it, we had the house on the market, so there wasn't any point in putting up, so I waited until we moved. YAYAYAYAY!!

THREE

I am finally trying Stitch Fix! I've been on the fence about it for awhile because it just seems so expensive, but I figured it'd be fun to try it at least once. If it sucks, I won't do it again, but I just wanted to try. {grin} I should get my fix tomorrow, so I'll be sure to share my outfits next week! I made a board of things I like from Pinterest and tried to be super specific with the stylist notes, so we'll see...

FOUR

I am a dork {shocker} and sleep in a mouth guard because I clench my jaw. I've used it for years and LOVE it. Well, I can't find it and can tell such a difference. I wake up with such jaw pain! So let's all hope I find it soon!

FIVE

I hit the big 3-5 next week {eek!}, and I've been browsing online for my next piece of Kendra Scott jewelry - I think I want a necklace this time. You just can't beat 50% off an item on your birthday!

My top contender(s)...

Happy Friday people!

10 *WEIRD* Things About Me

I saw this on another blog and thought it was a fun idea. I think I've shared a lot about myself over the years, but here are 10 things about me that are pretty WEIRD!

1. I have to have the space in between my front 2 teeth clean and wiggle my lips back and forth to achieve that. I've been told I look like a rabbit or Samantha from Bewitched when I do it. I don't even notice I'm doing it half the time. So if you ever see my mouth wiggling side-to-side, now you know why!

2. My feelings towards tomatoes and eggs are definitely weird - the disgust I feel for those 2 basic foods is pretty epic. I can't even think about tomatoes or eggs without feeling a little queasy.

3. I don't like dye-ing my hair {or doing highlights} because of the upkeep with hair as dark as mine, but I am getting gray hairs and freak out about them. I study my hair way too much in the mirror hunting for, and pulling out, the gray ones I find.

4. I am beyond indecisive. If I have too many choices for something, I am almost incapable of making a decision.

5. I have a scar on my tongue from where I fell in the bath tub as a kid.

6. I am the worst person in the world to try and sleep in the same room with. If you don't believe me - ask Brent. I am a very light sleeper, so every noise or little bit of light drives me crazy. I have 2 fans going... even in winter - one for circulation and one for noise. In our old house, our cable box had this teeny little blue light on it that I had to cover with a sock every night because the light kept me from falling asleep. If Brent breathes too loud, I wake up. I hate sleeping in other places because I have our bedroom just the way I need it, so it's terrible sleeping anywhere else. I told you - I am just the WORST.

7. Toenails that are the littlest bit long gross me out. When I see other people with long toenails, I want to just die. SO nasty.

8. I hate to decorate. This kind of goes along with #4 - I think my indecisiveness makes it hard for me to make decisions, and I am always second guessing what I've done, so it's hard to enjoy it.

9. I easily get obsessed with things - a TV show {hello Sons of Anarchy} or a book {have I ever told you about Outlander?} or author or online shopping for the perfect xyz or baby names...luckily it's usually short lived and I can go on about my life until the next obsession comes along.

10. I count in my head all day - my steps when walking, number of times I chew my food, I will count to keep myself entertained/pass the time {like waiting at the gas pump or something}. BIZARRE!

So what's weird about you?!

Life Lately

I have a bunch of pictures that didn't really fit into any particular blog post but are still worth sharing.

Trent did vacation bible school this summer and had a great time!

This sassy pants wanted to wear Bubba's helmet while 'driving'.

Because everybody should sit on the kitchen counter to read at least once.

I couldn't take another 'hold me' request while trying to make dinner one night.

I busted out the Ergo for my 2.5 year old and it was perfect! #winwin

Is it bad if I sing 'come on ride that train' when I see this pic? :/

I'd say he likes his new hat, no?

Her first ponytail! Can't wait until I can french braid her hair!!!

Yes, we are reducing our sugar intake, but you have to have cake at a birthday party.

Wearing it is not optional for this girl either. {grin}

Currently: Summer, Summer, Summer, Summertime!

Current Book

I just finished a book yesterday and am trying to figure out what I want to read next. I just put myself on the waiting list for The Boston Girl at the library to cover off a book with a place in the title. Then I'll be down to 1 book left in the book challenge! I also need to read our book club book before next Friday...guess I should look up what it is! {grin}

Current Song

I'm still jamming out to Kacey Musgraves on the reg, but I downloaded Flawless by Mercy Me after hearing it at church a few weeks ago. Love it!

Current Show

Brent and I are halfway through Mad Men but are taking a break to start True Detective season 2. We just got HBO again, so I have Game of Thrones season 5 to watch, and I'm slowly working my way through Outlander. Lots of fun TV to finish out the summer!

Current Drink

Holding strong with H2O! Working on that stupid sugar habit and making good progress!

Current Shame-Inducing Pleasure

I have been drinking 1 Spark/day, which I know is terrible, but I am trading one set of chemicals {Coke} for another, but I feel like it's a step in the right direction.

Current Outfit

I am showered and in my pjs - an old t-shirt that was Brent's and a pair of boxers. Yes, Brent IS a lucky man!

Current Celebrity Crush

My favorite biker got a new gig!

Current Mood

Content. Life is good.

Current Anticipation

My birthday is in 10 days!!! I am already planning my day. Spoiler alert - it will involve Starbucks and Kendra Scott.

Current Film

I really want to see Trainwreck and unfortunately, I still haven't made Magic Mike XXL happen yet!

Current Picture

These 2...they wanted to share a towel after a bath. So sweet.

SIX...By the Numbers

I finally had Trent's well check today. I am such a numbers person and love getting his stats. So let's see how Trent's sixth year went, shall we?

Stats:

Height: 45" {42%}

Weight: 44 lbs {31%}

BMI: 15.3 {46%}

By the Numbers:

Pounds gained: 5.5

Inches grown: 2.5

Teeth lost: 3

Number of shaved heads: 2

Levels of cuteness gained: Too many to count!

I have to say year 6 was a lot less eventful than year 5. No mysterious leg infections, no new schools, no surgeries...overall much calmer and better. 

We have a boy who learned to read {and loves to be read to}, is doing math, has 2 best friends at school, loves his sister, is obsessed with Legos and Star Wars, thinks the Minions are the greatest, is mastering swimming, tried karate {still undecided on that one}, is almost ready for no training wheels, could wrestle all day, is trying more new foods, loves to tell jokes, and is overall so much fun. 

And now...a look at 6 by the pictures. {grin}

Fed Up!

I just finished watching a documentary called Fed Up. Y'all. 

THIS IS A MUST SEE.

The description on IMDB says 'An examination of America's obesity epidemic and the food industry's role in aggravating it'. But it is about so.much.more.

Did you know that 80% of schools have a partnership with Pepsi or Coke? Did you know that 75% of healthcare dollars go to treat metabolic disorders? Did you know that, if things don't change, in 2 decades NINETY FIVE % of Americans will be overweight or obese? And by 2050, 1 in 3 people will have diabetes.

Did you know sugar is as addictive as cocaine?

I have always prided myself on how I feed our kids. Sure they have fast food here and there, sure they drink juice a few times/week, sure we give them candy on occasion. But I am about to overhaul our pantry and fridge. I didn't know what the recommended allowance of sugar was for a person or a child and found out there's a good reason for that - SUGAR ISN'T LABELED ON FOOD LABELS WITH A % OF THE DAILY FOOD ALLOWANCE. 

See? Not labeled. 

Wonder what % it would be? Well, for a woman, it would be 163% of the recommended daily allowance. Yes, 163%. I'll let that sink in...

So while I was patting myself on the back for not giving the kids french fries very often, I wasn't recognizing that I was likely still giving them too much sugar. One statistic in the documentary stated that there are 600,000 food products in a grocery store and 80% of them have added sugar. That is sickening. And there are 56 names of sugar {list here}, so there are numerous ways manufacturers can trick you into thinking your food is healthier than it is.

Our children belong to the first generation that will have a shorter life expectancy than their parents. Why? Because of the way we eat, and the way food is prepared and marketed to us. I could go on and on and talk about this documentary longer than the actual length of it - so many parts of it struck a chord with me. Being a teenager and being obsessed with 'low fat' or 'no fat' foods {even though now I know they were just really chemicals in a food facade}. Being in my early 20s and drinking diet soda because it had no calories but made me feel like I was getting sugar {and I now know was tricking my body into craving sugar}. One mom in the documentary {the mother of an obese teen} showed her kitchen and she talked about how they eat cereal because it's 'naturally' low in fat and is a great meal replacement - yup, been there. Another mother talked about buying her obese son Lean Pockets instead of Hot Pockets - yup, ate those. 

The bottom line - We are killing ourselves. 

We are the richest society in the world. We have failed because we have placed private profit and special interests ahead of public health. - Fed Up

I am Fed Up. Are you?

Besties

I think my favorite thing about having 2 kids is watching the bond between them grow. I turn into a giant pile of mom mush when I see them playing and laughing together. Nothing would make me happier than watching them be best friends for years to come.

One thing they always want to do is try and sleep together. And it is always a big fail. Yesterday Trent started asking really early in the afternoon if they could try again last night. And we let them. And it ended at 10:30 with me rocking Drew to sleep and putting her in bed with Trent. Every time we tried to separate them, they clung to each other and begged to stay together. Sweetest thing I've ever seen.

After they left the bed for the floor...they needed reading material.

Like any true slumber party, not enough sleep was had by anyone. So today? The siblings that party together nap at the wrong times together.

8:30 AM

6:00 PM {and he's still asleep as I type this at 10:41}

I think we're going to wait awhile before their next sleepover?

YA Trilogies aka Books All 30-Something Moms Read

I think I've established a few things about myself that should be pretty obvious to anyone whose read my blog for a little while. 1) I like to read. 2) I like YA books...and Dystopian trilogies. 3) I love lists and comparisons. 4) I am a nerd.

With all that said, I wanted to talk about all the YA series that I've read over the past few years because I realize it's quite a few!

Hunger Games - Hunger Games was the first Dystopian trilogy I read, and it is probably still my favorite. I know some people thought the second book was a little boring or they weren't crazy about the ending, but I enjoyed all 3 books A LOT! I have also thought all the movies were really great.

Matched - I randomly read about this series on a blog a few years ago and gave it a try. I liked the first book, was a little bored with the second book, and I thought the 3rd book had a really strong comeback. I read that {big surprise} the film rights were sold, but I haven't heard anything more about a movie being made. This is probably my second favorite series - maybe tied with Legend.

Divergent - ugh. After staying up until 4:00 AM the day I got Divergent, I thought this series would be my favorite. The second book wasn't quite as good but was still really good. Then the 3rd book just took a 180 and was so slow and boring and had just the worst ending - it literally took me 18 months to read the 3rd book, and the only reason I finished was because I felt like I needed to! So disappointing. I did like the first 2 movies and will be curious how they make the 3rd book into a movie given the controversial ending...

Legend - I just heard about Legend this fall when all 3 books were already out - definitely made me happy to not have to wait in between books.  I thought this one lacked some character development and there could have been more about the backstory, but overall I really liked it. The ending of the series was a little bit different but I dug it. Definitely near the top of the list for me.

The Giver - I quickly read all of these in about a month and found them fun. Definitely {in my opinion} these would be geared towards the youngest of YA readers - I felt like there could have been a lot more character and overall plot development. If Allegiant hadn't killed all my liking for the Divergent series this would probably be at the bottom of my list, but I definitely liked them.

Any other YA books I should be reading?

The Rest of the Story Weekend

Sidebar: Anybody out there ever listen to Paul Harvey? If so, my title should be slightly funny. If not, your loss! {grin}

So I blogged about our busy day last Thursday for my DITL post and figured since we were out of town, I would recap the rest of our weekend at the lake!

Friday started off a little too early with Mayer waking Drew up with his extremely horrid lovable screeching - he started his day at 5:30, so he was off to an excellent start!

Friday consisted of lounging, fishing, checking out the pig that lived at the resort, visiting with more cousins, eating, catching minnows, playground playing...just lots of fun! 

My cousin, Ryan, brought me a coke with a great message!

We sent the picture to Brent who made a derogatory comment about Aggies {Ryan and I both graduated from A&M, whoop!}, so we sent him back this picture. I won't show you Brent's response. {grin}

The boys thought this was so neat - they kept catching the minnows and throwing them back.

The boys are being bandits, and Drew is just copying them because she loves these 2 boys!

There was a pot-bellied pig that lived at the resort. 

The kids were constantly wanting to see the pig.

All that pig did was sleep, and it was pretty sad, but that didn't stop everyone from constantly wanting to go see if perhaps the pig was doing something. Nope, never.

The front desk also had movies you could borrow, and I found Despicable Me 2. I think we're all aware of Trent's love for minions, so I won't a mom prize for that one!

I should have known when Drew went to bed willingly and fell asleep in my arms something was up after our 2 hour adventure the night before. I was just contemplating laying her down and getting to my book when up came her mac 'n cheese from dinner...ALL on my chest and herself. I quickly hollered for my mom, and we got Drew cleaned up and back asleep for this routine to be repeated 8 times over the next 12 hours. We decided to head home Saturday morning to save everyone else from the same fate.  {I think she actually got sick from a stuffed pig she found on the grounds that we washed and dried - no one else got sick, so that's a big mom fail if that's really what did it to her.}

After a car nap and then an almost 4 hour nap at home, she felt much better! We spent most of Saturday relaxing and watching movies - we all needed a rest!

'Coloring'

Brent ended up not being able to play in his golf tournament on Sunday {his partner's wife went into labor Saturday night a few weeks early so new babies trump golf...although Brent might not agree!}, so that was a nice surprise for me to have him home.

Drew really wanted to go to the playground, so we went just for about 30 minutes.

Didn't want her getting overheated since she was still a little puny.

And then we ended our day with haircuts and more lost teeth for this guy!

So sweet when he's sleeping!

And now that it's almost the weekend again, I'm finally done talking about last weekend!