Happy 30th birthday!!

To? I'll give you some hints:

*her and I shared the same golden birthday year.
*same age, obviously.
*had we stayed in MI, I would have gone to school with her.
*instead, we met years later.
*we were roommates.
*she is one of my besties.
*I consider her a sister, really.

Hope your day is fabulous! I meant to put up a throwback photo- but since I'm not incredibly organized in the photo dept, I couldn't find them. Guess you got lucky, since I just needed to post this already.

Who? Katie. Katie A** the second. (Not to be confused with my SIL, who has the same name.)

My wish for me for your birthday? :) That I could live closer to you- so that we could complain about the weight we gained having babies while eating something sinful, rely on each other for child care, be there for each other when we just.need.a.break.! Sigh. Maybe someday!

*this*

is what it's all about. Right now, I have a yard full of active boys. Celebrating Logan's birthday. I can't help but realize how very lucky we are. Of all of the places we could have ended up, *this* is where we are. Here. And even if we do end up moving in the future, my kids are building lifelong friendships. Friends they will, without a doubt, see in the future through church. *this* makes me happy. We are so blessed to have *this*.

Excuse me while I go wipe my leaky eyes. Those bothersome allergies...

Roadtrip!

I had a plan. Armed with my camera, I was going to take pictures of my friends and everything I love in New Mexico. And show you on my blog. That's when my camera showed me that I wasn't in charge. Dumb camera. But: I went, I saw, I conquered. And came home completely refreshed and ready to play mommy again. Without the pictures to prove it. Sigh.

Here's what I learned:
*Roadtrip - kids + hubby = fun
*Not everybody remembers to fly their flag at half staff on September 11th. Sad.
*No matter which way I see it, Missouri is beautiful. And Oklahoma is HuMiD. Texas is big. Indiana is stinky. Michigan is just as much home as New Mexico is anymore. Equality is good.
*And Amy and Jodi are still as thoughtful as ever.

I loved my trip. I pigged out on everything with Green Chiles. Bought my family a bushel and a half of roasted green chiles to take home. (They smell amazing, fyi.) Went to my old gym and saw my peeps there. Oh, how I love them! Saw almost everyone that I wanted to see. (You don't count, Laren. You don't live there anymore.) Relaxed. And relaxed some more. With Amy, mostly. It was wonderful.

All the mommies out there need to do that for themselves. Seriously, I had reservations about this trip?! What was I smoking?!

Oh, and Happy BCM, Amy!!! Thank you for everything!! Big (((hugs)))! I heart you big!

If you wish upon a star and your wish comes true, you will end up with the cutest dog in the world. Per Isabel.

My house is clean, my bars are gone, got my Tetanus shot (I got poked by a rusty Corn Carnival pin from 2005. True story.) and my MIL is coming. What could be better? I know! If 2/3 of that pan of bars won't soon be making an appearance on my hips. That's what.

I'm taking a sabbatical from the computer. And stuff. Only for a week or two. See ya then!

Peanutty S'mores

Viewer discretion is advised.

Without a doubt, my favorite bar. It's heaven in my fingertips. I made them in lieu of working out. Sometimes you just gotta be tough and roll like that.

Peanutty Smores

1/2 c. softened butter

1/2 c. peanut butter

1/2 c. sugar

1/2 c. brown sugar

1 egg

1 tsp. vanilla

Cream together. Then add:

1 1/2 c. flour

2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

Press into 9x13 pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 10 minutes. Cover with a bag of miniature marshmallows, 1/2 bag chocolate chips and 3/4 c of peanuts. Bake an additional 10 minutes or until marshmallows are slightly brown.

ENJOY! Guilt-free. Because I'm a mom and I said so.

I survived the big breeze!

Remember those shirts? How many of you bought one? I know my mom and Emily K. each had one. And I was positively GrEeN with envy. (One year when my hometown got hit particularly bad by a tornado, they made those shirts.)

Moms of Kindergartners should have something similar. "I survived my heart hopping on the bus." It's so hard to watch, isn't it? And it's hard with every new Kindergartner you have. This is the first time that I haven't had to deal with that feeling on the first day and so I was actually able to enjoy the fact that we were getting back to a structured, scheduled, routine-filled life. Ooh, how I thrive on structure.

It's laundry duty now and when I am done, I am going to get a shirt that says, "I conquered the Laundry Mt. Range!" Because, yes, I don't just have a mountain. I have a whole range.