My Monday Mind Dump...

1. I never...ok, hardly ever, cook. I do enjoy cooking, and I LOVE cooking shows. I can tell ya the difference between chopping, slicing, and chiffonade. I know how to blanch something and how to sweat something. But, the problem with my lack of cooking is my lack of budget. I have a filet Mignon taste on a Beenie Weenie budget. I don't really do casseroles (large amounts of mayo creep me out), which limits me a lot, and if I can't sit down to a pretty plate of food (complete with a starch, a green, and a protein) I just don't bother. Which is why we eat A LOT of cereal. But not this weekend! We grilled out......And I made something yummy with the leftovers (which I typically don't eat either)!2. Best 2 bucks I ever spent...3. If you would like some conviction that causes your hiney to sweat, pick up this book...

...otherwise, don't!

4. The Kid can rock some sunglasses...5. I had some requests to see my post "hair show hairdo"...















6. Here's the "after I fixed it" hairdo:7. 9 months old and my baby boy is standin' all on his own! He doesn't enjoy it, but he'll do it for a few seconds anyway...Please ignore his nasty onesie and the sweet scrape down the front of his nose, and the squash on his cheek. Ah, to be a boy.8. My closet is a mess again...9. The next couple weeks are gonna be pretty busy as I prepare for a VERY busy June! Kidd-O gets to take his first trip to see Mickey Mouse, his first visit to Kids Camp at church, his first trip to the Zoo...and not just ANY zoo, the San Diego Zoo, and then we'll take our first family trip to Destin! Can't wait!

Happy Birthday, Blog!!!

Well, It has been exactly one year since the "birth" of my blog, and I had no idea how much I would grow to love it! It has been a wonderfully fun and sometimes challenging experience. I started this blog for me and as a way to document this really great time in my life, but I have truly enjoyed sharing my life with whoever wants to read it and to date I have:

• 63 Followers
• 17,250 total pageviews
  
• Readers from Canada, Pakistan, Russia, Slovenia, Germany, India, UK, Japan and Singapore, Saudi Arabia, Australia, Hungary and Ukraine.
• Readers from over 40 States!
• 100 Posts!!!! This one makes 101!

I am really proud of this blog and what it is becoming! I had no idea how much I would enjoy the writing process, and although the mechanics need a LOT of work, I have really enjoyed writing most of the content! I have also discovered a love for photography (which needs EVEN MORE work than my writing) through blogging. I have found that I love weaving words with photos and music. So,thank you, dear reader, for READING and your sweet feedback, thank you for laughing with me and crying with me over the past year, and thank you for following Mr. Clean, Kidd-O and me, The HouseWife Rookie. I appreciate you more than you know!

Click "here" to read my very first post on how I became The HouseWife Rookie!

My Monday Mind Dump...On Tuesday!

1. I LOVE fun-filled weekends, and ones that include my bestie...
2....and of course when they include yummy food...

3....and don't forget cake!4. I bought the cutest dress for mother's day...and then I ironed a hole in it. Typical.
5.Kidd-O went on a real swing for the first time and he l.o.v.e.d it!6. My first Mother's day was pretty darn good. My loved ones know how much I love food, so we had BBQ, cake, Key Lime pie,a cheese danish and then Mr. Clean took me for mexican, and it was yummy!7. The new Pampers commercial makes me do 2 things:

#1: Cry...every.single.time.

#2: Want another baby...PRONTO!

8. Kidd-O has a new hiding place

9. I got mah hairs cut (in my best country voice) last nightby a real life celebrity hair stylist. He usually charges 500$ for a haircut, but because I'm a brave soul and I'm married to El Cheapo, it was free...what's the catch?? I have very little say in what I end up looking like...which is why I ended up looking like Danny Zuko from Grease. I will say that it isn't so bad now that I've gotten to mess with it. Hair Grows.

10. Did you take a whiff outside yesterday? Or this morning even? That's the smell of Summer my friends, and I love it. Love it, I tell ya!

Happy Week!

Motherhood...

When I was a kid, I had a big imagination. Big hopes. Big dreams. I wanted to live in New York. I wanted to be a news anchor. I wanted to be an actress. I wanted to DO SOMETHING. ANYTHING. I wasn't sure that I wanted to be a mom, let alone a stay-at-home-mom.

The years passed by, those dreams began to fade, I grew older. When you grow up, life begins to happen. Marriage. Rent. Bills. Reality. You gotta do what you gotta do to survive.For a while, I felt lost. I didn't know what I should be doing with the life that the Lord has given me. I was incredibly discontent with where the Lord had me, and if I'm being honest, I was embarrassed. I became desperate for change.

...Then I became pregnant (you can read about that here)...
It did take me 9 months to warm up to the idea. A lot of reading. A lot of asking for advice. A lot of praying. And on July 30, 2010 with a final push, I was pushed into the role I never really thought I would have. Motherhood.
Can I tell ya somethin? This is it. This is the life. I'm so glad that the Lord has His plans (Jer. 29:11) and knows what's best.I am doing what the Lord designed for me to do and I'm thriving. I have flourished at "my new job," enjoying every moment! It's gonna get harder, I'm sure of it, but for today, it's about savoring the small things. Taking an afternoon break for sandboxes, reading "I Love You Stinky Face" half a million times, letting Kidd-O take 2 baths in a day (one that is very necessary, and one that's just for fun), leaving messes until tomorrow so we can go for a walk... all because I can. No, it's not the glamorous job that I had always dreamed of, and no, I haven't finished college... and maybe I'll finish someday... or maybe not, but for now, I am exactly where I am meant to be. Serving in my home, being a mom and still working at becoming more than a housewife rookie...

My Monday Mind Dump...

1. Parties are waaaaay better when they come with their own Crepe Chef...2....AND when they have bottled Coke's...
3.... AND when they have yummy cake...with fruit on top...ya know, to make it healthier...4...AND when you get to celebrate someone special! (My great aunt turned 70 this weekend, and that was pretty much the best party ever...seriously...I'm in love with crepe's)5. One of the best things about being a mom is that you get to see the world through your little one's lives....When even bubbles are magical.
6. Kidd-O went to visit his aunt, uncle and their friends for lunch at school...7.... I don't miss school lunches...except for Friday's when they have mac-n-cheese.8. Over the past 2 weeks I have fished sand, mulch, dog food, bubbles, and a reeses aluminum wrapper out of Kidd-O's mouth/hand-going-in-mouth, only needing to call the Dr. once. I'll be ready for this phase to be over.9. This is what love looks like.10. Kidd-O loves dogs (unlike his momma) and food (very much like his momma), and sometimes dog food...don't worry, I rarely give him dog food ;), so just pick that jaw right up off the floor please!

Monkey See.....

....Monkey Do....