If this is the way green sounds, then give me brown instead!

I was at the grocery store this weekend stocking up on snacks to take to the pool.  I reached for the Sun Chips bag and heard that annoying crinkle and stopped in my tracks.

We like Sun Chips.  We like them a lot.  But I just can't deal with that annoying sounding bag. 

I got a bag a couple of weeks ago and cringed every time we reached for a handful of chips.

The makers of Sun Chips have designed the worlds first fully biodegradable snack bag.  It is supposed to break down in 13 weeks. (I think that's the claim they make on the bag.)  But whatever they have done to the bag to make this breakdown possible has created the world's most annoying crinkling sound. 

I just couldn't bring myself to listen to that sound again so I grabbed some pretzels instead.  I hope they come up with a different bag soon because Sun Chips are waaaaaay better than pretzels!

And if you don't believe me about the sound, try picking one up the next time you are at the store. Everyone in the store will stop and turn around and stare in your direction to see what is causing that horrible noise. 

I really do but I love that he thinks I don't.

My son was up early this morning.  I had already showered but I had not put on my make-up or fixed my hair.

He was on the floor playing with his Legos when I told him I was going back upstairs to finish getting ready.

"What do you have left to do?" he inquired.

"I still need to put on my make-up and dry my hair," I replied. 

"You don't need any make-up Momma," was his response.

I love that kid!

Alpha and Omega? No, I think this is just the end!

Ok, I have to admit it.  I enjoyed Alvin and the Chipmunks, The Squeakuel.  It was cute.  Very cute.  No profanity, no sexual innuendos, no crude jokes.  It was just cute.

Not so cute was the trailer we had to sit through for the upcoming movie Alpha and Omega. This is a 3D animated movie about two wolves (one is the alpha female of the pack and the other is the omega male) who are taken from their pack in the wilds of Canada and dropped off on a farm in Idaho.

The reason they are dropped off on the farm in Idaho?  So they can procreate.  In just 30 seconds on the trailer, there were a couple of sex jokes and a couple of other totally appropriate jokes. 

I do not consider myself prude.  And I wouldn't consider my children to be sheltered.  But do we have to watch a trailer that makes me - a grown woman-  uncomfortable right before watching sweet, cute, PG-rated Alvin and the Chipmunks?

Perhaps I am prude.  Any comments from anyone else who saw the trailer?

To me it sounds just like fingernails down a chalkboard. Only maybe worse.

Today the kids and I are going to see Alvin and the Chipmunks at the dollar movies with a bunch of other familes we know.

When I told the kids we were going they were thrilled.  (Apparently I don't take them to enough movies.  But at least when we do go, they appreciate it!)

Sarah said, "Ooooooh!  Is it the Squeakuel?"

Yes, unfortunately it is the Squeakuel.  But in my opinion, anything with those chipmunks is a Squeakquel. A Squeakfest.  A veritable Squeaksmorgasborg.

Let's just say, I'm not looking forward to hearing those annoying little squeaky voices for an hour and twenty minutes.  I have always been annoyed by those little chipmunks.  But at the end of summer when the kids are bored of our normal routine, the dollar movies is just what we need.

I'm just hoping for a really good storyline.

Perhaps I should just take earplugs.

Blueberries. We've got lots of blueberries!

How can it be possible that I only posted SEVEN times in July! Seven.  That's pretty weak.  My only excuse is that it's summer vacation and since the kids and I are spending all of our time together, nothing they do seems very postworthy. 

We've been going to the pool.  A lot.

And while I don't mind it, the kids are getting a little bored with it.

We've been playing with Jennifer's kids.  A lot.

My kids will never bore of that.  It amazes me that the first thing out of their mouths in the morning is usually, "Are we playing with them today Mom?  Are we?  Are we?  When?  When, Mom?"  I think I might need to do an intervention or something.

Last week we took the kids blueberry picking.  It was hot and we got sweaty.  Very sweaty.  But we also got lots of these...

That's a large mixing bowl full of the good stuff!  This weekend I tried a new receipe (compliments of my friend Mary.) 

It's for Blueberry Buckle which we love.  It was my first time making it and it turned out great.

Blueberry Buckle Coffee Cake

Heat oven to 375 degrees.  Grease a square (9x9x2) pan or a round (9x1 1/2 or 2) pan.

Cake ingredients:

2 cups all-purpose flour

3/4 cup sugar

2 1/2 tsp baking powder

3/4 tsp salt

1/4 cup shortening

3/4 cup milk

1 egg

2 cups blueberries

Blend all of the above ingredients except the berries. Beat for 30 seconds. Stir in blueberries. Spread in the pan and sprinkle with crumb topping.

Crumb topping:

1/2 cup sugar

1/3 cup flour

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter, softened

Mix the crumb topping ingredients until they are clumpy.  (I use my fingers.)

Bake 45-50 minutes or until inserted toothpick comes out clean.  (I used an 8 inch round pound and ended up baking this an extra 15 minutes.)

Drizzle with glaze and serve warm.

Glaze:

1/2 cup powdered sugar

1/4 tsp vanilla

1 1/2 - 2 tsp hot water

We ate this for breakfast on Saturday morning. And with all the antioxidants from the blueberries, it's easy to overlook the fact that essentially we had cake for breakfast!

Today I'm going to make a blueberry pie.  Remember this from last year?   Can't wait for dessert tonight!  More antioxidants and no guilt.

(If anyone has any really good blueberry recipes, let me know.  Otherwise, I'm gonna flash freeze these and make lots of buckle and pie in the winter.)

Cute, loud and finally named.

So, after much deliberation, we have finally come up with a name for the new cat.

Previously Sarah has had the honor of naming our now-deceased goldfish "Goldie" and our other cat "Gray Gray".  While both are very descriptive names they aren't necessarily names to my liking.  And after hearing her say that we should name the new kitten "Mini-Gray Gray", I quickly decided I need to take matters into my own hands.

But not just any name would do.  This little kitten is the coolest cat I have ever known. 

She's spunky. She's fiesty.  She's playful.  She's sweet.  She's loving.  She's smart.

I decided she needed a human name.  So my husband and I tossed around names like Sally and Rachel and Rebecca and Pat.  None of these seemed quite right so we kept thinking.

One evening my husband suggested the name Molly.

I liked the sound of it so we decided kitty would be called Molly.  But even as we called her Molly that evening, I knew it wasn't quite right.  It just wasn't the right name for this special kitty.

The next morning at breakfast as the kitten was chasing Gray Gray around Dan said, "That cat sure has a lot of moxie!"

And I exclaimed, "Moxie!  That's it!  That's her name!  Moxie!"

So, the new kitten's name is Moxie.  And just in case you don't know, moxie means:

mox·ie   [mok-see]


–noun 

1. vigor; verve; pep.

2. courage and aggressiveness; nerve.

3. skill; know-how.

And even though she has been named with the most appropriate name ever and I like this name, for some reason I have been calling her Baby Kitty.  Maybe it's because Moxie sounds very grown up and mature. 

Dan, who has been in Ireland all week, asked me over the phone if the name Moxie has stuck.  I told him it has but I've still been calling her Baby Kitty.

He suggested that the name hasn't stuck if I'm calling her Baby Kitty instead of Moxie.

It's sort of like parents that name their kid Ralph.  You can call a 40 year-old man Ralph but there's no way you are calling a 2 month-old baby Ralph.  It's just not happening.  Ralph's are accountants who are figuring out your taxes.  Ralphs are not babies who are spitting up and needing a fresh diaper.

So Moxie is the forever name of our cat.  But Baby Kitty is her right now name.

Chelsea Clinton's wedding must be getting close...

Because according to my Stat Counter, lots of people are Googling "Chelsea Clinton plastic surgery before after?" and they are ending up here on my little old blog.  (I'm the third hit on Google for this search phrase, thank you very much!)
Wonder if they think I look like Chelsea?

A little known fact about Chick-Fil-A. (Well, little known to ME anyway!)

Did you know that at Chick-Fil-A, if your kids don't want the toy that comes in their Kid's Meal, they can turn it for a FREE kid's sized ice cream cone?  Free ice cream!

I just found that out last week.  Why did I not already know that?

We have a new Chick-Fil-A in our area and at our last two visits we have swapped unwanted (and unopened - I think this is a requirement) toys for ice cream!  How cool is that? 

Now if only McDonald's would do the same. Think of all of that cheap plastic we could keep out of the land fills.

Cute, loud and nameless.

Look what was waiting on us when we got home from the 5k on Saturday night:

She was at our back step meowing up a storm.  And she continues to meow and meow and meow. 

And meow.

She wants to come in our house and stay in our house. But we can't let her.  Our other cat (who showed up on our front step in October) is not too happy about the new arrival. 

Gray Gray (the name that Sarah picked for the cat that showed up in October) seems a little interested in the new yet-to-be-named kitty.  He will peer outside the window at her and casually flick his tail but when the kitty does streak through an open door, Gray Gray turns into a giant puffed-up ball of fur and hisses like nobody's business.  Or he turns tail and runs like a fraidy cat. 

So the new yet-to-be-named kitty will remain outside.  Although I can't tell how long I can listen to the pathetic meowing.  I guess I need to get some ear plugs.  Or just go ahead and accept the fact that this yet-to-be-named kitty will eventually be living inside the house with the other pet that I never asked for but now feed and water and clean up after. 

How many cats do I need to become one of those crazy cat ladies?   Surely it's more than two.  Right?