Mariannes Motifs

I Cut the Boys' Hair

In an attempt to save money, gas, and time, I bought an inexpensive set of clippers designed for at home haircuts and I cut the kids' hair.  Ben's hair is very course and poufy, a lot like mine but without the curl.  So he need's haircuts pretty regularly.  Adam has fine blonde-ish hair that has a pretty curl to it, so his looks nice longer.

I was a bit nervous to do Ben's hair but I figured worst case scenario I would just give him a buzz cut so what's to lose.  I did a pretty decent job.  I left it mostly a bit longer but cleaned up around the ears and the back of the neck.  I am proud - its slightly uneven around the two ears but not enough to notice unless you get really close. 

My parents always say that you have to give your kids something to talk about in therapy.  I don't want my kids to have to send mesothelioma lawyers after me or anything, but I think they will survive a home-cooked haircut or two.  

Family in Town

My brother-in-law, mother-in-law, and niece are here to visit.  So we have three kids 6 and under in the house and they have been having fun running around and playing all day. 

I have been trying to take a good picture of all three kids, but one of the keeps moving or making a funny face.  Grr. 

You probably won't be hearing too much from me in the next week because we will be running around, at the pool, or hanging out with the fams.

Thrifting for Pyrex

Pyrex
Originally uploaded by mar1annec

I skulked around my local Goodwill this morning after dropping the kids off at camp. These days, you have to go first thing in the morning or it is so crowded there. I went in the afternoon last week and it was like going to the grocery store on a Saturday - - crammed. This is a direct statement on the economy - everyone is broke and thrifting.

I bought a cashmere sweater to try to take apart for the yarn. Of course the last time I tried that it was a huge fail because I cut the seams by accident and all I got was short lengths of yarn. Since this one is a bit thicker yarn, I hope i get a better result. If not, I will make it into something else - stuffed toy, pillow, whatever.

The other find of the day was two pieces of Pyrex. My other bowl did not sell on ebay so what else is to be done but to buy more for a dollar fifty to keep it company. I found a divided dish (which I think is actually pretty cool) and a small "Butterfly Gold" casserole.

I am too scared to ride a motorcycle, mostly because other drivers on the road have a hard time seeing them.  A bike is the same size as your blind spot.  Car drivers should pay attention and keep their eye out for people on cycles.  You don't want to have an accident and be on the wrong side of a Pleasanton motorcycle accident attorney.

Free Jazz Sampler MP3 Download

Every time I check Amazon's free MP3 offers I find something else I love.  Today's free music from Amazon (DRM free MP3s) is a sampler from Savoy Jazz.  It has some classic cuts including Charlie Bird Parker, Dizzy Gillespie, Count Basie Orchestra, and more.  Great standards from A Nightingale Sang In Berkeley Square, to Stardust, to April in Paris.

It's summer vacation time and if you are looking for information on rv parks here is a good link.  I can't believe school in Georgia starts back up on August 11th.  The summer goes so fast.

Funny Things I Have Heard My 4 Year Old Say Today

"I'm playing Star Wars Clown Wars."

"We're playing Hide and Seek Ninjas!"

Sunday Chit Chat

Oh my goodness my stomach was upset last night.  I take enough Crohn's medication - they are as big as horse supplements.  But something disagreed with me yesterday and all I can say is "ouch."

This morning we cleaned the kitchen and I made pancakes.   I have just about gone through an entire bag of flour in the last few weeks.  Cupcakes, pancakes, biscuits, peach cobbler...  I have done a lot of cooking.  What to make for dinner tonight?  I think pasta with Italian sausage.  Unless some other great idea presents itself to me.

Free Fun for Kids - Lowes Build and Grow

Lowes home improvement stores have a great kids program called Build and Grow.  Hubby too our older son yesterday and they made a beautiful pirate treasure box. 

The url to sign up is lowesbuildandgrow.com.

The first 50 kids to register and be present at the store at 10am get the project  kit, aprons and goggles.  Ben also got a patch for the project he did, so you can collect the patches and put them on their apron. 

It's recommended for kids in grade 1-6 but hubby saw kids that looked a bit younger too.

Keurig K-Cups on Sale - 32 cents and free shipping

This may be the cheapest deal on K-Cups for the Keurig brewer.  If you do the subscribe and save you get 50 K-Cups for $15.91.  That is about .32 cents a cup for awesome

K-Cups for Keurig Brewers Pack of  50 for $18.72  Save even more with "subscribe and save."  Price drops to $15.91 with free shipping.  Can be canceled.

K-Cups on Sale

There are 5 varieties available with this deal, including

• Coffee People Jet Fuel
• Coffee People Donut Shop
• Coffeee People Wake Up Call
• Gloria Jean's Hazelnut (my personal favorite)
• Coffee People Black Tiger. (The Black Tiger is a bit more)

I want to also add Kurig, Kuerig, Coffee Pods, k Cups - in case someone does not know how to spell Keurig!

Crockpot Butter Chicken

Today's dinner is Indian Butter Chicken made in the crock pot.  I had a jar of Patak's Butter Chicken simmering sauce.  Made a pot of basmati rice, and cooked some southern style green beans.  I decided that since the meal was so easy (Defrost chicken, put in crock pot, pour sauce over, turn on) I could afford to take some time with the green beans.  So I chopped some onion and then cooked the green beans in sauteed onion and added a chicken bullion cube.

I also baked up some frozen Nan I had in the freezer.  Yummy.  The Butter Chicken came out fantastic - even 5 year old Ben liked it.  Adam didn't try it but he loves rice and green beans so he was happy.  Definite thumbs up and something I will make again.

Now that dinner is done early, we can sit out on the deck, enjoy our patio furniture and watch the birds and squirrels.

The kids are actually watching a movie tonight - Valiant.  They seem to be into it, which is more than I expected from a movie about a pigeon.  It probably has to do with the Lick'em sticks candy they got as a reward.

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Making Good Use of Time

Jin has signed up for a full course load of classes at Strayer.  He is 14 classes away from his Bachelors degree so we are taking this layoff as an opportunity for him to finish school. 

This of course means that I sure hope my job search becomes fruitful soon.   (Pray!)

In the meanwhile we are making good use of the time.  Cleaning and fixing up the house, cooking, blogging, knitting...

Making use of the TV wall mount by catching up on season one of Trueblood.