No, thank you. I'm not Pinterested.

I did not want or need another website to consume my free time. That's what Facebook is for... But a few months ago, a friend of mine posted a picture on Facebook, and when I asked her where she found it, she told me she found it on Pinterest. I'd heard of Pinterest and knew if I went onto the site, I'd probably be in trouble. So, I avoided it. No, thank you. I'm not Pinterested.

A few weeks after that, one of my family members posted a picture on her Facebook page, and I thought it was so wonderful. When I asked her where she'd seen it, she told me... Pinterest.

A couple of weeks ago I got an email from a friend, saying that she'd found something on Pinterest that she thought would be of interest to me. I was... very interested. So, I finally broke down and went onto Pinterest.

What is Pinterest? It's an online pin board (bulletin board). Might not seem like much of a big deal at first, until you go onto the site and realize how awesome it is. For me, when I see something in a magazine or on a website or in a commercial that I like, I'll usually tear out the page from the magazine or write it down somewhere... usually on a Post It. All those little Post-Its and magazine pages and notes start to add up, and make messy piles of disorganization all over my desk and in my kitchen. Well, now thanks to Pinterest, those messy piles of disorganized papers and notes are no longer needed because I can "pin" all of those things onto my online Pinterest boards. All of it's there, on my organized, online bulletin boards. Needless to say, I have become very Pinterested in Pinterest.

My most favorite pin board seems to be my home remodeling/redecorating project board. I have found so many ideas that I love. I was so excited to get started on my first project. I decided to start with an easy one.

Here is my first Pinterest project... redecorating my key box! This is what I found on Pinterest:

This is what my old key box looked like... I got this as a wedding gift... 17 years ago! And I haven't had sunflowers in my kitchen in around 10 years...

This is my newly redecorated key box! Thank you, Pinterest!

This was my second project. I found this picture of these dining room chairs on a friend's pin board. I loved it! So, I decided to do this with my own dining room set. This is the picture from Pinterest:

This is what my dining room set looked like before:

And this is my newly redecorated dining room set:

And this is my final project. I found this Thankful Tree on Pinterest:

And this is our family's Thankful Tree:

I've had the tree up for a couple of weeks, and there are a lot more leaves on it now. But I think this leaf is my favorite.

Every time I walk by and read it, I smile.

I am thankful.

I am a member of a wonderful Mothers of Preschoolers group. This group has been blessed with 3 Mentor Moms who offer encouragement and guidance, and at every meeting they speak on a subject matter that is relevant to the women in our group. I've been a member of this group for several years now, and there is one Mentor Mom in particular who's been with this group the entire time that I've been a member. I've been able to hear her talk about many different subjects over the years. Many of her talks have changed over the years. But there's one subject in particular, one speech that she gives each and every year, that has always stayed the same, year after year. You see, this Mentor Mom has always made a point to mention just how quickly the preschool years roll right by. She's always said that as moms, we only get 4 years at home with our precious children, and then, they're gone.... off to school where we quickly learn that we are no longer the most important person in their lives. She always tells us to cherish every single moment we are given with our babies and preschoolers, because before we know it, they will be gone. When she gave this speech 4 years ago, as my oldest son was entering Kindergarten, I heard what she said and it really hit home. Yes, she was SO right! Those first few precious years that we have with our children at home before they start Kindergarten really do go by quickly. When she gave this speech again a year later as my daughter, my middle child, was starting Kindergarten, I heard what she said and it hit me all over again. Yes, those first few years we are given at home with our children really do go by faster than we ever could imagine they will. But today, as I heard our Mentor Mom give her speech about just how quickly the preschool years go by, and before we know it, our youngest will be starting Kindergarten and we will go home to an empty house and wonder where on Earth all that time went because it sure did go by fast... well, I'll admit, I got weepy. Okay, more than just weepy... I was crying. This will be my last year with my Mothers of Preschoolers group because this is my last year with a preschooler. My youngest son will start Kindergarten next year, and trust me, I GET IT! I don't want this time in my life as a mom to end. Sometimes, it hurts too much for me to think about. I've been a stay-at-home mom for the past 10 1/2 years. It's all I ever wanted to do. And for several years in my life, I truly thought that I would never get the chance to even be a mom. And so when God did grant me a child, I tried to be the best mommy I could be. I tried to do it all to the best of my ability. I devoted the past 10 years to being the best wife and mother that I could possibly be. It's what I do best. But now, this time in my life is coming to an end. I know that I am not the only mom who has felt this way. I realize I am not the first mother to go through this, nor will I be the last. It still hurts. This truly truly wonderful part of my life that I prayed and prayed and prayed for God to grant to me - Lord, PLEASE make me a mommy - for almost 6 long years I prayed for a child, and now, well... I guess it's time for me to start setting the wheels in motion for Plan B for my life. I've cherished these years at home that I have been so graciously given, thanks to a loving God and an outstandingly understanding and supportive husband.

And so, as I reflect upon the past 10 1/2 years, and as I look forward to this upcoming Thanksgiving holiday, from the depths of my soul I can honestly say that for the gift of motherhood, for the gift of family, for the gift of my husband, and for the gift of being able to call myself a stay-at-home mom... yes, for all of these things, and for so much more, I am truly truly thankful. Thanks be to God for his indescribable gifts!

Lists

I like making lists. Some lists, like my grocery list, I write down. Other lists, like my list of celebrities that I either really love or that really bother me, I just usually verbalize to my friends and family. And then there are my mental lists... lists I typically just make mental notes of but never really write down or verbalize to anyone. Such as, the list of restaurants that I am boycotting purely because of their name. But today, dear friends, I am writing down my mental list of restaurants that I am boycotting, simply because the list is getting quite long, and I'm starting to lose track of all of them! So, here we go! I'll start you off with an obvious one.

Restaurant #1...

I typically like my wings with a side of Blue Cheese or Ranch, and not a side of Sexism... Thank you, very much!

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Restaurant #2...

I'm not sure what makes their tacos rusty. And I have no desire to find out.

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Restaurant #3...

A potbelly is something I am trying to AVOID!

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Restaurant #4...

I'm not sure which is worse... the mayonnaise sandwich or the fact that they are a front for the KKK. Either way, I'm not eating there.

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Restaurant #5...

You can tell me 'til you're blue in the face that they have the best burgers. I'm still not eating there (see restaurant #3).

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Restaurant #6...

I feel like I'm just being redundant at this point (see restaurants #3 and #5).
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Restaurant #7...

SERIOUSLY?!?!

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Restaurant #8...

Dear Restaurant Owner,

The name of your restaurant is gross, and disturbing, and reminds me a tad bit of my dad, his brothers, and my own brothers. Oh yeah, and high school.

That is all.

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Restaurant #9...

Are they saying that if you eat here, this is what you will become? Just going to avoid it (see restaurants #3, #5, #6, and #7)... Where is the Skinny Mamma's Cafe? Cause that's where I want to eat!

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Restaurant #10...

Okay, so the name of this restaurant is Casa Cha Cha, which in-and-of-itself isn't so bad. It's this restaurant's description of the type of food that they serve that makes me want to boycott it. You see, Casa Cha Cha serves "Rough Tex-Mex." I'm sorry, but I don't necessarily like my Tex-Mex rough, or any food really for that matter. Food and rough just don't really go together, in my opinion.

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I'm sure there are more, but that's all I can remember for now. Are there any restaurants that you avoid purely because of their name?

Planning

This is what you call poor planning...

I've needed a new towel bar in my bathroom for months now. Every time I found myself on or near the bathroom accessories aisle in Walmart, I'd realize that I had forgotten again to measure the wall. Last time I was on the bathroom accessories aisle, I just went ahead and bought one. Poor planning...

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This is what you call good planning... I started menu planning a few months ago. I use this picture frame and some templates that I printed from off the Internet (one for each month of the year). I write on the glass of the frame with dry erase markers. At the end of the week, I just wipe off the marker and start all over again. Menu planning helps me on SO many levels.

Level 1: I always know what I need to buy from the grocery store, and it helps me avoid mid-week grocery store runs.

Level 2: It really helps me with staying within my grocery budget.

Level 3: Every time someone comes up to me and asks, "What's for dinner?" all I have to do is point to the menu...

This week though, I had a lightbulb moment. I asked each person in my family what their favorite dinner is. And just like that, BOOM, 5 meals worth of menu planning for the week = DONE!

Last night, we had Avery's favorite dinner, chicken parmesan. Tonight, we will be dining on Samuel's favorite dinner, make-your-own pizzas. Tuesday night, we shall feast on one of my favorite meals, chicken and mashed potatoes. Wednesday night, we will have soft tacos because Hector realized shortly after requesting Chinese food that no one would really eat his favorite meal (sesame chicken). Soft tacos was his runner up. Thursday night, well, that's Isaac's night, as well as the night that we have Samuel's Cub Scout meeting at our house. So, we shall all be dining on Spaghetti O's, canned raviolis and Beefaroni that night. Yummy... can't wait!

What's on the menu at your home this week?

And the nominees are...

In the category of Best Halloween Decorations in our neighborhood, the nominees are...

*This house that is right down the street from us, that has an American flag, huge spider and spider web, police tape, 2 scarecrows, and 1 deflated inflatable:


The house that is about 5 blocks away from our house, that has a giant inflatable spider that has been suspended from the tree in their yard, with a giant spider web that they probably had to get up on a ladder to connect to the top of the house, that spans their entire front yard:



And **this house, that has 1 sad and pathetic looking, dried-up mum, a few baby pumpkins, and 2 pre-lit jack-o-lanterns. The owner of this home obviously has too much on her plate, as she can't even find the time to water that poor mum. And what on Earth is that in the corner? Is that supposed to be a witch's broomstick? What is up with that huge stick?

And the winner is (drum roll, please)...

The house with the giant spider web!!! Woo Hoo! Way to go, random neighbor that I have no idea who you are or what your name is. Way to go ALL OUT on the Halloween decorations! Here's to a job well done!

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And now, moving on to our next category. In the category of Best Random Comment Made By One of My Kids This Week, the nominees are...

Avery: "I already know what you're going to say about my hair and all I want to say is that I'm going to go brush it right now, so you don't even have to waste your breathe."

Isaac: "Can we listen to the ***Move My Jacket song now?"

Samuel: "Yes, this IS what I'm wearing for the day. And just so you know, the whole everything-needs-to-match-thing is getting really old and I am over it."

And the winner is (drum roll, please)...

Samuel, who decided that he is "over" the whole matching-his-clothes-thing at the age of 10, and who wore an Army green and white striped shirt with red and navy blue gym shorts today to go to the pumpkin patch in. Way to think outside of the box and not feel pressured to conform to the societal rules of fashion, dude! You rock!

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* This house might have taken the grand prize IF they would have inflated the inflatable (I am not a fan of dead inflatables) AND if they had taken down the flag. Because let's face it folks... You can be as patriotic as you want to be, but when it's all said and done, what does the flag have to do with Halloween? Not much, is the answer to that question.

**This is actually my house. And yes, I am busy. And yes, I feel sad for that poor, dried-up mum that I can't ever seem to find the time to water. It's all my fault, mum, and I am so sorry... And that stick is actually a walking stick that Hector found YEARS ago on a family camping trip, that he promised me he was going to "do something with." It has sat right there on the porch for 3 years now...

***The song is actually Moves Like Jagger, but I LOVE it when he says Move My Jacket. I can't bring myself to correct him because it is SOOOO cute!