Amber Waves of Grain

Merry Christmas in July !! I know some of you are early shoppers, so here are five of your must-have items to buy your loved ones this year. 1. LL Bean Slippers ( LINK ) - For the man in your life! They are cozy and quality. And, LL Bean has free shipping now. Nathan has the moccasins ($59). There are a variety of styles. They are wicked . Am I using the word wicked correctly? I'm trying so hard to be hip and with it these days. 2. Olliegraphic - Personalized Placemats ( LINK )! I saw these on etsy.com from a shop called saratams for $18. I think they would be cute gifts for kids or families. First, you create a custom character (like your Wii character!) that looks like the person you want to give it to: You can also choose the colors and other details. Then, they turn it into a placemat: Fun, right!? 3. Passport Covers . Know someone who travels? Etsy.com has several shops who make cute passport covers, for a variety of prices ( depending on the fabric an...

I have a new lover in my house. He's tall, slender, and very tan (some might say burnt orange even). He moves with smooth motions and agrees with everything I say. He's powerful and never makes a mess. His best quality is that he CLEANS for me. Now, that's hot. Who is this new lover, you ask?? It's my new Electrolux ErgoRapido Cordless Stick Vacuum. I bought it last night and after one use, I was ready to marry it. I compared it at Target to the Shark stick vacuum but the Electrolux seemed nicer. It's on sale this week ($90) which made it comparable in price. It even has a handheld vacuum that attaches: I can't believe I didn't buy one sooner. I've always used a dustpan and broom in my kitchen, getting on my hands and knees after every meal. This is a life-saver. It includes a brush tool and crevice tool too. Last night I tried it on some rice that was on the floor. You know, the sticky kind of rice that's hard to sweep up. But...

My regular blog readers know how I like to invent things ( in my mind, at least ). I wondered if Keegan got my genes for this so I asked him what he'd like to invent. He came up with this: a trampoline that you jump on and it takes you to the moon and back down again . I thought this was an excellent invention. I can't compete with my 5 year old's ideas, but here are some of my own latest ideas. 1. The CLOCK SOCK . It's a sock that fits around your alarm clock to muffle the alarm. It's for people like me who have a heart attack every time the alarm goes off. 2. POCKET SOCKS. Why don't our socks have pockets? I think socks should have little pockets where we can put change..... or a handful of Skittles. 3. The CAR SEAT STRAPPER. How about a button in the car that allows a mom to tighten your kid's car seat straps every time they act out in the car? No more pulling the car over! Anyone? 4. PINEAPPLE UPSIDE DOWN CAKE POP-TARTS. They...

Nathan's out of town so I thought, " Why not take the kids to the ghetto for a mini photo shoot? " So, we did. My models are sometimes less than cooperative.... but they did great all things considered. They get better all the time ( and bribing them with candy also helps ). Savannah watched from the comfort of the van, ready to drive our get away car if someone tried to mug us. Here are my favorites: I can't wait until all 3 kids are old enough to take on photo shoot adventures!

I recently blogged about the new State Fair food options for this year and asked you to vote. ( LINK ). The winner has been announced today! This year's special fair food will be: DEEP FRIED ICE CREAM . Here's the description, according to the Indy Channel: "The dish is a sizable portion of vanilla ice cream covered in soybean meal that's deep-fried in soybean oil and served in a waffle bowl, also deep-fried in soy oil. It is then topped with chocolate , caramel and whipped cream." It will cost $5. Winning the competition means they get the best booth location and all the special marketing. The foods that didn't win will still be available.... if you can find their booth! Enjoy!

I love putting my wedding ring in flowers and taking photos. Is that weird? Here is a sample of my weirdness: This one is on a rock, not a flower. I guess I cheated. So, the question is... what now? Maybe I should put some in a collage frame?? Feel free to share ideas!

So, I recently learned that you can bake bacon in the oven. Why didn't you tell me this sooner? In case you were in the dark like me, here's how you bake bacon! 1. Crave bacon and buy some. 2. Get out a broiler pan OR a cookie cooling rack on top of a cookie sheet. Line the underneath part of either with foil for easier cleanup. I also sprayed my rack with Pam. 3. Line the bacon up on top of the rack or broiler pan. 4. Pick the hottest day of the year (heat index 110 degrees) and turn on your oven. I used 400 degrees but you could also use 375. Put the bacon in and dream about eating it later. 5. This was thick bacon so it took 30 min to bake. The thin slices would take less. I'd start peeking at it after 15+ minutes. Ahhhhh....... bacon. You'll also be proud to know that I only ate 1 piece because I'm counting calories. And, easy cleanup, the house didn't smell like bacon (just a hint), and I didn't have to tend to it. This is officially...

Last night was date night for the hubs and me. We ventured downtown to try a restaurant called TATA- Cuban Cafe ( link ). Mario Lopez eats there. I figured if it's good enough for Mario, it's good enough for me. Right? The inside was small and dim. By the end of our meal, we were the only customers in there. They had a lot of nice dishes to pick from, but they seemed expensive, so we opted for their Cuban sandwiches (which they are known for). I had the El Guaso - a Cuban sandwich made with roasted pork, ham, swiss cheese, pickles, and mustard- hot pressed on Cuban bread. Nathan had the pulled pork sandwich- topped with Mojo sauce and grilled onions. The sandwiches were pretty good, but mine was definitely overpriced (let's face it, it was merely a ham and cheese sandwich ). The service was not good; our waitress never came to check on us. We waited a long time for the bill and had to have another server bring it to us. While I'm glad we tried something new, I d...

I found this fun peacock pillow at Pier 1 Imports this week (on clearance, I might add) and had to have it. Sometimes it's the little things that make me happy.

I'm always hearing comments about how Savannah looks just like one of her siblings. Here are all the kids at 4 months.... for comparison's sake! KENNEDY : SAVANNAH : KEEGAN : You decide!

Savannah is officially 4 months old ! She is a really good baby . She's easy-going. She's happy. She eats well and sleeps well (although not through the night yet). She loves to smile at us and coo. She also started rolling over from back to tummy a couple of weeks ago. She's pretty strong on her tummy. Look out, world! Not to mention her impeccable taste in accessories. Classy! I'm not sure where the time has gone or how we've survived it, but here we are at 4 months. God is good! Happy 4 months, Savannah!