Quotes and such:

Here are some of my favorites, lately: {I will try and source them the best that I can, I have an obvious favorite origin as of late}

1. Never argue with idiots.  They will drag you down to their level, and then beat you with experience.
    -unknown

2.  Whatever it takes...For there are many times, even in households where television is allowed only on weekends, that mothers resort to dirty tactics to claw back those few minutes that will define the success or failure of not just the rest of the day but even the rest of their {children} lives, because sometimes tiny things seem to have enormous resonance.
  - from "Slummy Mummy", by Fiona Neill

3.  In my world everyone is a pony, and they all eat rainbows, and poop butterflies.
    - Katie, "Horton Hears a Who"

4.  Do not trust your memory; it is a net full of holes; the most beautiful prizes slip through it.
     - Thomas Merton

5.  Sometimes it is a question of getting through the days, but then from nowhere come those moments that  you want to preserve forever.
    - "Slummy Mummy", by Fiona Neill

6.  Human existence is the sum of our relationships.  We all want to connect with people.
    - "Slummy Mummy", by Fiona Neill

7.  I think blood must be proof to children that they exist separately from their parents.  A sign that one day
     the travails of life will have to be borne alone.
    - "Slummy Mummy", by Fiona Neill

8.  "Mum, how big is a sperm?" he asked.
     "Tiny," I said.
     "Even if you are a sperm whale?" he asked.
     "Correct," I said, hoping that if I didn't engage, he would choose another moment to embark on this          
      discussion.
     "Can I keep some as a pet?" he asked.
     ***
     "Dad could give you some," said Sam, trying to be helpful.  "He grows them."
     ***
      Sam lives on the light side of life, but for Joe there will always be questions.
     ***
     "I think I'll save up my pocket money and buy some instead," Joe said.
      -"Slummy Mummy", by Fiona Neill


~Obviously, I seem to have gathered many of the above from a book I read awhile back.  It may not seem like it, but it is a very light hearted read.  A very cute novel.  Quite entertaining.

~Oh, and also, I was bored today
I shouldn't have been, but I was.

~That is all.

Real Estate.

This may or may not be our house in one month's time.

For I have been naughty.

I am a real estate junky.

Meaning, I am obsessed.  I love looking up local listings on the internets, and driving around neighborhoods I like.

It seems harmless enough.

UNTIL...you actually find a home that seems right.  Everything is comfortable; floor plan, square footage, yard, area, price.

Then, things get all wonky.

You go back and look at it a couple of more times, then you put your house up for sale, then you sign a contingency contract, then you get an offer on your house.

You can see what I mean.

Now, everything is crazy.  I want to be excited, but won't let myself until I know it's a done deal.  Which means, I may or may not be looking at back issues of Better Homes & Gardens and dog earring my favorite pages or thinking up furniture arrangements or choosing paint chips.

That would be foolish.

Right?

Anywho, while I persist to NOT do any of those things, and if you're just as noisy as I am, you can view our listing HERE.

So, if you'd like to join in as a I continue to pray to the Good Lord Above and St.Joseph {as any good Catholic knows is the patron Saint of moving} that all of this works out just as it should, I would be humbled beyond words.

And, that is no small feat.

Good Bye, Ole Friend.

Those puppies up there have seen a lot.  They are 13-years-old.

Yes.  It's true.

They were purchased in 1997 in Lawrence, Kansas while I was attending the University of Kansas.  I used them to walk to and fro from classes and occasionally hit the pavement for cardiovascular/aerobic reasons.

Fast forward to 2010, they are tired.  And, they don't hesitate to let me know.  I have lost two toe nails numerous times, and the blisters...don't even get me started.

It was time to retire those poor babies and give my feet some relief.

Oh, my toes are happy.  They are in roomy, toe heaven.  Plenty of space to roam and wiggle.

Nice.

Happy toes make it easy to fall back into a running routine.  The plan is 4 mornings a week to pound out at least 3 miles.  So far, so good.  With happy toes, of course.

With the weather cooling down a bit {from the high 90s to the high 80s}, Grant's Trail is my path of choice.
It's super close to our house and oh, so pretty.

You even get to catch the occasional Anheuser-Busch Clydesdale grazing in the clover.  {They're in the distance of the last photo.}

Running along Grant's Farm is good stuff.  I may even go 5 miles tomorrow.

We'll see...

Fiesta...Dora style.

Betsy's 6th birthday fiesta was Saturday.

It was lots of fun, and she had a blast!

Sombreros, mustaches, Jarritos, cascarones, coconut lime cake,
dulce de leche cupcakes, Dora bracelets, maracas, taco bar.
It was definitely a FIESTA!

On a side note...

sorry I haven't been blogging regularly.

I need a bit to get into the new school routine,

and haven't figured out the best time to allot for posting.

Remember: patience is a virtue.

:)

For she's a jolly good fellow...

Happy Birthday, Betsy Jane!

I cannot believe you are 6-years-old!

It seems like only yesterday your big brothers were

preparing for your arrival. 

When you finally arrived...

 {your delivery was my first c-section because you were breech, they pulled you out hiney first}

they couldn't wait to get to the hospital to meet you.

The candy they knew they would get 

probably had nothing to do with it.

Wink, wink.

You are becoming quite a young woman!

You amaze and astound us on a daily basis.

We love you!

First Day...

They're back, baby!

Hello, routine.

I've missed you.

School is cool.

My kiddos head back to school on August 17th.

I have mixed feeling about this, too.  Let me tell you why:

As much as my brain needs a recoup from a summer chock full of refereeing fights, cleaning up one mess after another, walking on unidentified sticky stuff on the floor, driving littles all over the city, crazy mountains of laundry, enormous grocery bills, and general chaos...I will miss them.

This year my schedule is so devoid of kids that I almost feel useless.  It looks something like this:

Monday-Friday
Jake, Pete, & Betsy
school 8:10-3:45 {including bus transportation}
Monday-Thursday
Rosie
pre-school 8:30-11:30

For those of you that aren't following, this means I have 0.000000 children 4 mornings a week and only 1 for a full day on Fridays and an additional 4 afternoons a week.  Wowza!

That may not seem like a big deal to many of you, but I've been pregnant, nursing, wiping butts, filling sippy cups, child proofing, bathing, chasing, and generally surrounded by kids/toddlers and all things kid/toddler related for the last 9 years.  I almost feel like I need to reinvent myself.  I wonder if Madonna is listed in the phone book?

Needless to say, my house will be spotless {which is a good thing considering we're trying to sell it}, I will be able to shower regularly, I will be able to cook meals that take more than 20 minutes to prepare, and I will get my bake back on.  Ahhhhh!

I'm not committing to anything, but I may enjoy my solitude.

Psycho-babble.

First off, I wanted to invite you to like 'Odd girl out...?' on Facebook.  You can do that here or by clicking the button in the sidebar that says, of all things, 'Odd girl out...? on Facebook'  Clever, huh?

I know many of you keep up with blogs via Facebook, and I'm hoping the new page will help you with that.   I will also be sharing links and music that I fancy, and posting photos that don't make it to the blog.

Twitter may be next.  I'm actually on Twitter, but rarely log in.  Surprisingly, I don't know if I have enough to say to be on Twitter...who am I kidding?  Really, I'm just trying to avoid another time suck!

I'm also thinking that IF I can reach 100 fans, I will host a little giveaway.  Now, isn't that special?

Secondly, that beauty up there will be arriving to my greasy mitts very shortly.  I have mixed feeling about it, but mostly they're ecstatic ones.  I will be starting my iPhone journey with a white 3GS.  I don't think I'm ready for the the iPhone 4, nor do I want to pay that kind of money for a freaking phone.

I have no doubt this will make me an Apple freak.  I think Jake will divorce me if I tell him an iMac or iPad is next.  Yikes!

Finally, I am really looking forward to Betsy's Dora fiesta for her 6th birthday.

Don't ask me how that invitation came to be.  Let's just say, I ordered some of the Dora offerings at TinyPrints {I loved how Dora didn't look like Dora per say}, combined them, and added my own text.  Then, after they were printed, I ran a straight stitch through the cardstock connecting the flags that make up the papel picado.  It actually was pretty easy, it just sounds complicated.

She carried one around for 6 days.  That makes it very much worth it and me happy.

The End.

A recipe.

I love curry.  I like it on fish or chicken, in chicken salad with grapes and walnuts, with coconut milk and rice, and now in a soup.

I've been making this soup for awhile now, but thought it was time I share it with all of you.  It isn't for everyone, but if you like curry, you will LOVE it. Best part is that a hearty serving is 264 calories, 7 g of fat, and 3 g of fiber.  Not bad.

The original recipe is from 'The Redwall Cookbook', based on the young-adult book series {which, by the way, is fantastically charming}.  It was then adapted for 'Family Circle' magazine, and then, of course, I've made a few changes.

You will need:
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 large onion
3-4 cloves of garlic, finely diced
4 medium leeks, washed well and chopped OR
5-6 stalks of celery finely diced
3 cups vegetable or chicken stock
6 medium potatoes, peeled and chopped
2 teaspoons curry powder
salt & pepper to taste
1 pound peeled, deveined, cooked shrimp
2 cups skim milk

In a large pot over medium heat, melt the butter.  Add the onion, garlic, and leeks or celery, stirring until soft, about 5 minutes.

Add vegetable or chicken stock, potatoes, curry, salt & pepper.  Cover and simmer until potatoes are soft, 15-20 minutes.

Remove pot from heat.  Immediately add shrimp and milk, gently heating through by adding it to the hot broth and potato mixture.

Enjoy {sometimes I serve it with really good, crusty bread}.

Sidenote:  If you don't have leeks {which I don't always have on hand}, I've discovered you can use celery.  I would imagine the celery version has fewer calories, too.  Although both ways are delicious, I prefer the leek version.  It must be the extra calories that have my heart.

Also, this is a doubled recipe of the original version.  It feeds my girls and me {the only ones that eat it in this house} for a good couple of days; dinner, lunch, then dinner again.

Wanderlust.

One thing I wish for my children {as if I get to choose}, is that they have a desire to travel and see the world.

I was raised by polar opposites in the wanderlust department.  My father saw lots of the globe through the military, and maintained a desire to travel.  Alas, my momma was fine restricting her travels to within a 5-10 mile radius of our house.  Really.  Getting her to go drive 2 hours to Black River Lodge every summer was tough.  And even then, she could only stand to stay 3 nights.

I feel fortunate that my travel gene is an exact copy of my dad's.  I haven't been many places in the scheme of things {Mexico, the Caribbean, lots of different states, England}, but I definitely have plans to see more of the world...in, like, 20 years.

I will encourage my kids to enroll in an exchange program in high school, study abroad in college.  I don't even think I'd have a problem with them taking a year between high school and college to travel with a mission group of some kind, as long as they're learning something.

Let's face it, the lessons learned form extensive travels are vast.  The world is so much more than ourselves.  Our way is not the only way, our path not the only path.  There is extreme poverty, extreme wealth, and everything in between.  History, architecture, geographical phenomenon, food.  It's all out there waiting to be discovered.

And at the end of a journey comes a renewed relationship with 'home'.  A deeper appreciation for the way in which we live, our numerous blessings, family, security, and even gratefulness for our American cuisine.

If only a parent got to decide all of this stuff ahead of time for their kids.  Sigh.

****

{I've often had concerns that this wouldn't ever be an option for Betsy.  But, not to worry...my dad's got the travel bug, and one day, he will finally have the travel companion he's always wanted.  Sorry mom!}

Crazy hot.

I think the heat is getting to everyone in the Lou.

Really.

It's been around 100 on the thermometer, with a heat index of about 115.

Here's the thing about Saint Louis heat...HUMIDITY.

It's brutal.

When you go outside, it almost feels like the oxygen is sucked right out of the air.  Leaving nothing remotely close to replenishing or breathable gas.

It's baking making everyone a bit loopy.

Case in point...

Yesterday, we took the kiddos to 'The Cupcakery' in the Central West End.

On the way back to the car, in the sticky hot wetness of the mid-western humid heat, we saw this sandwich board outside of a restaurant.

Now, I'm all about sick humor, but something about his particular sign struck me as, well...heat crazed.

I don't know about you, but I'm not into sipping 'housemade lemonade' {which I'm sure is delicious}
while sensationalizing the smells and sights {eek!} of 'swamp ass'.

Something about that seems all wrong.

I don't know how well their humorous tactic of luring the customers in will work.  But, I got a good laugh!

Oh, the sarcasm.

So, I'm thinking the heat swelled the brain of this said sign maker a bit too much this time.

P.S. I wish I could say that sign was Photoshopped, but you just can't make that kind of stuff up.

'Country Time' isn't just a brand of lemonade.

Good friends, good food, & wide open spaces are good for the soul.

Friday evening we just hung out and had some pies
 from a fantastic local pizzeria.
Saturday held the promise of a day on the river.
It did not disappoint.

We played, lounged, floated.

There was tadpole wrangling, stone skipping, and lots of eating.

The tadpole fort {built carefully by all of the boys} 
in the collage above was no match 
for, Buddy, the retriever.

And, for the record, when the girls were on the the 4-wheelers, 
Jake went about -.8973 mph.

Thank you, Robinsons for a great weekend!

I will have s'mores for breakfast anytime.

It's just what we needed before the grind of school begins.