weekend reminisce

||  the Keurig, I got for Rhett for Christmas, kinda sort benefits me too.  A lot.  Is that fair?? ||  the multiple photos  I sent Rhett of the Butter in Muggins paid off big time when I found it in the bottom of my stocking.  I put it on for the first time, and I looove!!  || Braids to Waves ||  Wow Burgers deserves it's name.  Wow!!!!  The burger I built:  French White Bun, Beef Patty, Bleu Cheese, Mayo, Pineapple, Lettuce, Red Onion, Yellow Mustard, Buttermilk Ranch, Fresh Avocado. It was AH.MA.ZING.   ||

|| an app asked me how my day was.  I replied.   fan, freaking, tastic .  It truly was.  || Sunday morning we walked the long way to the coffee shop.  The shining sun was pure heaven.  || Totally scored $400 in Kahneeta Resort dollars for $100 dollars off Craigslist!!  We met with the seller over breakfast.  And super small world confirmed, once again:  seller works with a friend of ours!  || The Jive Turkey.  I didn't have it.  I'm going back for it.  ||

oh!  no proof in photos, but I spent about $75 for about $350 dollars worth of christmas decorations for next year!  The deals were off the chain!  We took all the xmas decor down this weekend, and I dedicated one bin for all the new stuff... now I can't wait for 2013 Christmas decorating, and it's not even 2013, yet!!  

happy birthday to my birdie bird

i've been absent around here lately, but i just couldn't let today come and go without logging in, and taking the opportunity to post some pics of some old pics.. almost 12 year old pics, cause 12 years old is now how old my little birdie is, as of today.  all you momma's with little ones:  treasure every moment!  every moment.  cause the day will come, when it will be darn near impossible to remember when they were that /\ small.  i confess, i hardly do.. seems almost a life time ago.  so cliche, but my how time flies.  he says this is his "last year to be a kid" {being as once your 13, you are not a "kid" anymore}, and my wish for you, my son, is an insanely good last year of being a kid!  cause you only get to be a kid, once. 

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well, i did it.  finally!  logged on and blogged.  yes- it's a very busy time right now.  it really is!  my word, anyone else out there loving the events, the friends, the family, the gift buying, but finding the to-do list steadily having net gains day by day by day??!  yes? me too.  and though the busyness is mostly to blame, the fact is i could find the time, late at night, to log on and blog, while rhett chills on the couch watching tv...  but, truthfully-  what i have been loving most, at the end of the day, instead of being on my computer, blogging, while the boys do what they do, i chill too.  and we hold hands.  and watch xfactor.  and play monopoly deal.  and watch conan. and lately leno.  {those two sentences shouldn't come one after another, should they!?  faux pas, makaila.  faux pas!  sorry conan, but leno's been funny lately.  there.  said it!}  and, though i have so much catching up to do of life on the blog, i gotta tell you- i'm really enjoying life right now.  :) 

Tristen's two week old toes.
Twelve years later- those feet are a men's size 8.5 

I mustache you, to not live in fear

glasses from Claire's

Rhett and I hit the mall for a little recon in preparation of Tristen's Amazing Birthday Mall Race this Friday night.  I am, seriously, supeeeer excited!!!  Here's to hoping the kids love it...  You never know with tweensters- they're a tough crowd to impress.  But I aim to please, and I think this is going to be a birthday party to remember.  I've been printing, and cutting, and stringing, and planning for over a week, and now that all the Pit Stop Clues, Challenges, Detours, and Roadblocks are lined up- by tomorrow night, we should be good to go.

Tonight, as we walked the mall, I noticed the security presence.  Was it more security, spurred by the mall shooting Tuesday, or was it Me, just being more aware?  Maybe it was a little of both.

By now, the whole nation is aware of the mall shooting that took place in Portland at Clackamas Town Center this past Tuesday.  It happened about 3:30p, and on my way home at 4p, numerous police cars and even a Swat bus flew past me on the freeway... the freeway that I exited off of as soon as I could to avoid getting any closer, not knowing exactly what was going on.  Not knowing if the shooter had been contained in the mall, or was on the loose.  As soon as I got home, I tuned in the local news for the rest of the evening and watched with shock and sadness at seeing such a familiar place locked down.  Such a familiar place, now the place of an awful, senseless crime scene.  That night, I called one of the mom's whose son is coming to the birthday party and asked her if she was still comfortable with us holding a part of the party at a mall, (not the Clackamas mall, though Clackamas was one of the mall's we considered for the party) and she said "you know Makaila, we can't just stay out of malls.  We can't live in fear."  And we can't.  We can't stop going to movies, we can't not send our kids to school, we can't not go to the mall.  Can we, will we be more vigilant?   Best believe.  Best believe all 6 of these kids I'll be in charge off will receive complete, strict instructions on staying together at all times, on where the mall exits are, will be told to be aware of their surroundings, and will be given a brief "what to do in case of emergency".  On one hand, it truly is sad that we have to tell our kids these things, to prepare them to be prepared.  And I admit, the thought of being in charge of these kids + recent events makes my anxiety pitter a little bit faster; but, we won't stop our lives.  We can't live in fear.  We're going to the mall Friday.

just call me SuperMom

It was just one little note on the Advent Tree Sunday morning that firmly concreted some SuperMom status:  

"We're going to the Nike Employee Store today, 

and Rhett and I thought you'd like your birthday money, a little early!!" 

For anyone unfamiliar, the Nike Employee store offers everything Nike, at 50 percent off.  For a 12 year old boy [and anyone, really, right?], 50% off a looong list of coveted sports gear, is pure heaven.  

even with VIP status,
there was a loooong line to get in

about an hour and a half in,
I found a hiding spot in the back and waited out
the 102 pairs of shoes that T had to try on 

Pay Dirt!!!
T cleaned up!
he is a shoe'a'holic, obvs
look at that happy boy

Nike was def the highlight of the weekend for Tristen.  :)  And mygad, what a score for me, to be able to spread the birthday money X 2 with the discounted goods.  Total blessing.  

This weekend was a perfect whirlwind.  Literally when I left work Friday, my bff Jenn and her son were in town waiting our arrival home, and as soon as they left Saturday, it was straight to a basketball tournament, and before I knew it I was heading home, to where my momma was awaiting our arrival!  Mom hopped a bus and came to town to go on a hot date with Tristen to the Blazer Game, while Rhett and I jetted off to our annual christmas party with friends.  Sunday we woke up and hit the road to the Nike store, and then to Chuck's for lunch and Dr. Oz 3 day cleanse shopping {eeeek, wish us luck!}, dropped mom at the airport, and hit family dinner at Rhett's parents.. and now, we've all sighed deeply, hit the couch, and collectively said, what a great weekend. And it was.  

my bff's son and T
they haven't seen each other in a year and half,
but picked right up and had so much fun, just playing, and hanging out

while the boys played,
I got started on T's party,
Amazing Race theme..
I'm so excited for it! 

spontaneously, no pinterest involved, I decided that our water glasses needed flags,
cause I am soooo tired of washing 20 glasses a day! 

got my craft on, trying to make this for the christmas party exchange..
it was cute and all, but not up to par to the amazing handmade gifts made by everyone else.. 

Nana and T,
going out in style

yep.  Good weekend, indeed. 

legit reason not to like the government?

last night Rhett, Tristen and I were sitting around, watching the feature story on the local news about whether or not Oregon should adopt a sales tax.  (Oregon is one of the 4 states that does not have sales tax).  And, of course, Tristen had one thousand, nine hundred, and eighty-six point five questions about it.  I swear to god, my ears are choking on Tristen questions right now.  He has sooooo maaaaany.  Rhett's way more patient than me, so he's explaining to Tristen what sales tax is, which of course prompts the "why" question, to which Rhett dutifully explains is because it's a way for the government to make money.  I'm basking in the 15.5 seconds of silence while Tristen's eleven year old brain is busy processing this new information and he then declares:  "Well, I hope the government doesn't get to put sales tax in Oregon.  I don't think the government should make more money, cause I don't like the government, cause they killed Tupac."

legit reason not to like the government?  ;)

Happy Friday!
-m-

ps: Nooo.. Tristen really doesn't even know who Tupac is, cause Tupac was around almost TWO decades ago, where as Tristen was barely alive a decade ago. Lol

Lady Grand's arrival

Lady Grand has taken center stage in our home, and even though I could pull my hair out over the chaos and furniture rearranging she's caused, she deserves the attention.  She's such a delicate, wispy, lacy, little thing.  I didn't dress her up in a theme, or tuck berries in her to fatten her up, like I did to Ms. Noble last year; because she's just soo pretty, all on her own. Proof: last night Rhett caught a mother and child standing on the street underneath her, looking up, pointing, and talking about her prettiness. :) Since her arrival Sunday, as soon as we get home, we open the blinds, turn on her lights, and let her glow.  I love her. And I thank Tristen and Rhett, who wanted another Noble, for giving me veto power to have a Grand Tree this year.  ;)   

I'm currently brainstorming how to decorate the small piece of Lady Grand that we'll keep forever.. Last year we began the tradition of saving a sliver of each tree, and creating an ornament, so that in the years to come, we'll have a remembrance of each tree.  Being as pinterest wasn't an active part of my life for Ms. Noble's Ornament last year, here's to hoping Lady Grands' will be a little bit better.  

DIY Pallet Advent Tree

there's something really flipping fabulous about finding exactly what you were looking for - in the form of a "pin", and actually making it. That said, it is almost ALWAYS a lot flippin' harder to bring a "pin" to fruition than it looks, am I right!?  mygad, pulling apart a pallet is a  bitch, I mean, a real pain in the ass, something I could NOT have done without Rhett.  No way, no how, couldn't have done it.  My pallet Advent Tree dreams would have been crushed like an ant in the path of my walk into the house if it weren't for Rhett. i.e. it wouldn't have stood a chance. I owe my man big time for this one.  It was while that man of mine was working up a sweat, driving screw drivers between the one thousand and one nails {seriously who knew how many big ol dirty nails were required to hold together a pallet??} and those old pallet boards, to create a gap in between the boards so he could pry with all his might, that I, as I stood on top of that pallet, creating "resistance", was filled to the brim with so much... love and appreciation and fulfillment and gratitude and happiness.

This Advent Tree has been 6 years in the making.  Tristen has always wanted one, and I have never done it.  Lately, I've been doing it.  And I feel so much gratitude to Rhett for that.  I've been on the single mom road a loong time, and we can do anything we need to do, Yes.  BUT.  Given the right partner, it is so much easier and lighter and funner and wonderful to have someone to share the duties, someone to help, someone to provide Man-Power, and someone to be a champion with.  And we are champions, because of this tree.  As I type, Tristen has begged 2 times to open another present tonight, and has endless questions and guesses about what the little presents could possibly be, and... it's magical for me.  Simple and stupid as it may be, this Advent Tree has been an "A-Ha" for me.  It's a "I feel like a good mom" moment.  And those moments have been very few for me. Thanks for giving me the opportunity to have this moment Babe.

Deets on the Tree:  4 pallet boards, 2 cuts [rhett used a hand pwer saw], 5 screws [yep, only 5.  no, it's not real sturdy and yes, the boards easily swivel on one screw, but it kinda gives a charlie brown advent tree effect, and i like it ;)], thumb tacks to hang presents on, 15 presents cause Birdie will be here 15 days in December before going to spend the break with his dad, and a simple printed paper + past xmas tins the hoarder in me couldn't toss out + brown kraft paper [could have been paper grocery bags] + stickers + red and green twine that i had on hand & fifteen reallly fun little presents, that so far, he loves.  ;)

Blog the pin came from, with much better photos and "how-to": here

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