Ring around the toilet

It all started with this horrid rust stain inside my toilet. (I never thought I'd begin a post with those words!) You see, we have well water and it is quite hard. No matter the amount of toilet cleaner, Soft Scrub with Bleach and Daivd's elbow grease applied, this stubborn ring around the water line in my toilet would remain.

After my mom came to visit last week, I was quite embarrassed about this nasty stain... and it really was a clean toilet, it just didn't look like it!

Well, wouldn't you know it, just as soon as she left I found this product at Wal-mart: Whink Rust Remover.

After about 20 applications-- pouring it on, letting it sit, and then flushing-- a little light scrubbing made that horrid, ugly ring of nastiness disappear!

Oh it really IS a sad day when I post about this, isn't it?! Then why oh why am I so happy about it all? Good grief, I am such a dork. I better stop before I start sounding like an infomercial.

And I won't mention the excitement when I found these XLT undershirts online... and that David actually thought they were super comfortable. Have you tried finding undershirts in Tall sizes lately? Hard to find and super expensive. But these were great.

Okay, I'm going to go now. I don't know when I turned into an old person that would get so excited about these kinds of things. Maybe I'll think of something fun to post about tomorrow to redeem myself from the depths of dorkdom.

Easy Make-Ahead Chicken Burritos

Whenever I have extra chicken on hand (and the delicious freshly made tortillas from Kroger-- mmmm...), these are pretty tasty and good on-the-go. I think when soccer season is upon us once again we will be eating a lot of burritos...

Chicken Burritos

• 2 cups chopped cooked chicken
• 1 (1.25oz) package taco seasoning mix
• 1 (16oz) can refried beans (can use whole or black beans but these are nice and sticky)
• 8 (8-inch) flour tortillas
• 1 (8oz) package shredded sharp cheddar cheese
• Salsa (verde-- the green kind is good, can also use regular red)
• Chopped plum tomatoes (about 3) and 1/2 c. minced onion if desired (my kids don't desire it, thankyouverymuch).

-Place chicken and seasoning mix in large ziploc bag, seal and shake to coat chicken.

-Spread beans evenly over tortillas. Top each with chicken, cheese, tomato and onion; roll up. Wrap each burrito in foil; place in 5-6 quart slow cooker.

-Cover and cook on HIGH for 2 hours (it steams in those packets and the flavors meld nicely). Serve with salsa and if you're like me-- sour cream. :-)

Makes 8 burritos.

Think before you jump

You've heard the old phrase (or lecture) If all of your friends jumped off a cliff, would you?! I had heard that a time or twenty growing up and I hate to admit it, but I have also said that to my own kids (even though I totally promised myself I would never say those words when I was a grownup)! I imagine they took that sound piece of advice exactly as I did when I was their age-- a la Charlie Brown's teacher... y'know, Waahhhh waaaah wa wahh waaaah wah.

In fact, those words came out of my mouth recently when one of my kids gave another one a wedgie. Yup, that's right, a wedgie! First of all, it's not a family ritual or pasttime to give swirlies or wedgies in this house. Second, umm... we homeschool so where did they get this bright idea? Third, that's just plain old mean and disrespectful to the other person. When the perpetrator of the aforementioned wedgie was further interrogated, his feeble defense was Well, my friend Luke does it! Ahhh... so Just because Luke thinks it's a good idea and fun, does that really make it the right thing to do? And this is the precise spot where you would insert the oft used phrase And if Luke jumped off a cliff, would you do it too?

Please head on over to Heart of the Matter to read THE REST.

Hubby Tag

My friend DeeDee tagged me with this one a while back... Since I am a slacker blogger, I am just now getting around to playing along!

1. Who is your man? David

2. How long have you been together? We just celebrated 12 years of marriage! :-) I think I forgot to mention that that was one of the reasons I went on that Cancun trip with him last month. Happy Anniversary, baby!!!

(Ummm... yeah, this is us NOT in Cancun! We are not really beachy people. This was our very cool trip to Beijing that we took a few years ago-- it was cheap, not crowded and WINTER. Worth freezing our butt off, though!)

3. How long dated? We were married one year and 2 days after the day we met.

4. How old is your man? 35

5. Who eats more? Him, although I have been known to be REALLY hungry!!!

6. Who said "I love you" first? He did-- I was determined to not say it first. One of those romantic notions of wanting to be serenaded by words. I even remember where we were, the obnoxious movie that was playing, my little sister asleep on the couch, and that he had this little speech leading up to "...and this is why I LOVE YOU." Be still my pounding heart!

7. Who is taller? He is! He was 6'3" when we got married but is now 6'2". I am still 5'7".

8. Who sings better? I guess I do. He kinda sings really quietly... almost whispering to himself. One day, I know he'll sing with gusto! He does sing a little louder when it's his fav song at church "It is Well with my Soul" or if there is a cheesy 80s song on the radio.

9. Who is smarter? Ahem, actually we are both smart-- smart enough to marry each other! He's very practical and common sensical... I'm a bit more academic. We're smart in different ways and balance each other out perfectly!

10. Whose temper is worse? Mine! Mine! Mine! David is VERY laid back and rarely loses his temper. It's a daily thing for me. Sometimes even hourly, I'm ashamed to say. But I do apologize... in fact, I'm a little too good at it as it is often necessary!

11. Who does the laundry? I do. Although he does carry the heavy laundry baskets for me to the laundry room.

12. Who takes out the garbage? We finally gave that duty to 7yo Tank. I'll take it out of the kitchen trashcan though (since it is often overstuffed and gets stuck). Tank takes it to the big bin outside and drags it all to the street on trash days.

13. Who sleeps on the right side of the bed? I do!

14. Who pays the bills? I do. I'm home all the time and his schedule is wacky... besides, the more I can do myself, the more time he has to spend with his family when he's home!

15. Who is better with the computer? Internet and programs, that would be me. Fixing something that's broken or adding more memory or something technical like that-- that would be him!

16. Who mows the lawn? We all do. :-) I'll usually get on the zero turn riding mower and he'll get on our old fashioned regular riding mower (we have 3.5 acres-- so the addage many hands, make light work is very true). But since the kids are getting bigger, I imagine they'll take it over more and more. I do NOT trust them on the zero turn though-- it is waaaay too fast for them!

17. Who cooks dinner? I love to cook! David's cooking skillz consists of cereal, Kraft mac and cheese (made the wrong way), pb&j's and perhaps Hamburger Helper's Double Cheeseburger Macaroni if he is feeling adventurous in the kitchen.

18. Who drives when you are together? He does! Call me old-fashioned but I can't stand to see a wife in the driver's seat and husband in the passenger seat. It just makes me think that the wife is overbearing and the husband is a pansy (no offense to those who do for medical reasons or whatever-- just being honest here!)

19. Who pays when you go out? It's our money so I'm not sure whatcha mean... David usually physically pays it though. My purse is a cavern and it's so much easier for him to just whip out his wallet. Besides, I think it's the gentlemanly thing to do.

20. Who is most stubborn? Oh, do you even have to ask?! Of course it is ME!!!

21. Who is the first to admit when they are wrong? Well, since I am usually in the wrong (see above regarding temper and stubborness), that would be me. But David has no problems admitting he's wrong if that's the case.

22. Whose parents do you see the most? Hard to say, we see both quite often. Maybe we see his more since they live closer and are retired? But we don't really keep count... I think it's pretty even stevens.

23. Who kissed who first? He kissed me first.

24. Who asked who out? After talking long-distance on the phone for almost a week, he finally said "So when are you going to let me take you out?" I thought he'd never ask!

25. Who proposed? He did!

26. Who is the most sensitive? Yours truly. (aka emotional)

27. Who has more friends? I've never really counted. We are both very blessed with lots of friends!

28. Who has more siblings? Definitely me! I am one of five children. David is an only child.

29. Who wears the pants in the family? David does, although yes I am the opinionated type and some people might find it hard to believe that I do submit to my husband (and cheerfully-- well, most of the time I'm cheerful about it). He always respects my opinion and seeks my advice, so I definitely cannot complain. I would not want the burden of being the final authority in our family-- I'll let him stand before God on that one! Besides, I completely trust and respect him-- he's wise with money, level headed, has his priorities straight regarding his family/job/friends/etc, and always has our best interests at heart.

30. How did you meet? We met at the federal building in Dallas taking the Air Force Officer Qualification Test. I wanted to be in intel and he wanted to fly the big C-5 transport planes with a reserve unit in San Antonio. We went to lunch that day, dated, were engaged in 3 months and were married 1 year and 2 days after the day we met. We would've gotten married sooner but I needed to graduate college first-- one of those unspoken family rules. We did end up turning down our commissions for the sake of being together. It is probably the only regret we have-- not having served our country. We would still make the same choices about it today, but we are saddened about it nonetheless.

Well, I guess this means I have to tag some peeps. How about I take the pansy way out just leave this open? If you actually read this far down, consider yourself tagged!!! Just be sure to let me know that you are participating so I can be sure to come take a look-see about your other half!

Big and Little

Yesterday before the typical summer afternoon downpour of rain, I walked outside to behold this beautiful sight:

That is my newly turned 7yo mowing the lawn-- hooray! And he did NOT drive it into the pond-- double hooray! What a big boy! Can you see how his feet barely reach the pedals? He had to put bricks and a log on the seat to give it enough weight to reach the pedals and keep the engine from shutting down (which it automatically does if you lift up off the seat).

Today I was thinking about this incident and how my kids are growing up so quickly (bear with me if you have teens and think that this is when they are really little kids, okay?).

We went to Denny's for lunch today and upon leaving the restaurant, the above mentioned Tank noticed a sign very similar to this one:

He saw the sign and audibly gasped.

I heard him excitedly whisper Smoke. Free!

And then I knew. I knew exactly what that boy was thinking. I hated to burst his bubble... but I did it anyway.

"Tank, that does NOT mean that they are giving away free smoke!!! It means that you cannot smoke here."

My little pyro was visibly disappointed, especially since they lit and launched and burned the very last of their roman candles, smoke bombs, strobe flasher thingies and other loud and bright and loud fireworks last night. Yup, he is definitely still quite little.

I think we're going to have to start back with our lessons very soon. I don't know how much more brain mush I can take.

More birthday and look-more-alike's

Yesterday was my sister Coco's birthday-- she is now closer to 40 than 30! CONGRATULATIONS Older Sister of mine! hehe Would y'all mind hopping over to her blog and wishing her a (slightly belated) happy birthday? :-)

I love my sister-- she has always been my best friend. I'm sure I've gotten on her nerves over the years and have beaten her up a time or two when we were little (although I'm sure she totally deserved it!), and yet she still sticks by me. I love how I can talk to her half a dozen times a day and she still answers the phone (she's obviously a glutton for punishment). And we really got close when she was prego with Benjamin the same time that I was prego with Dozer. I highly recommend being prego at the same time as a sister because NO ONE else could possibly be as interested as a prego sister in exactly how big you're getting, how tired you are, what you really wish you could eat and the constant Ugh... it's hard to breathe when you are past the 35 week mark-- oh and all of this repeated several times a day, every day for a very very very long time!

It was really nice having her and her kidlets over this last week-- I miss them already! Speaking of her kidlets, I must say that my niece Emily is quite a cutie-patootie...

Whenever I see her and Dozer together, I can't help but realize how they look so much alike-- as in bright eyes, blonde hair, and very WHITE.

I'm telling you, they look more like siblings than they do with their real siblings. The rest of us are more blah blah brown haired and eyed and skinned!

(Ewww... for some reason that gave me the visual of actually being skinned... Oh let me digress for a split second... In my college biology lab, I walked into the lab and thought to myself What is that piece of driftwood doing on the lab counter? Then I realized it was a skinned cat! I kid you not. Startling, it was. And learning about different muscles the assignment would be, young Jedi.)

Anyhow, moving right along!

It was nice for my littlest man to have a cousin so close in age to play with. Benjamin is only a month younger than Dozer so they totally understand one another, even when nobody else does. Nothing like a pair of 3yo boys to make you smile and keep you on your toes!

Okay Coco, you need to hurry up and get your hiney down here-- closer to ME!

Look who's 7 today!

Look who is 7 years old today!

Happy, happy birthday to Tank!

You have a contagious laugh that spreads around the room; your interesting turn of words always impresses; your sweet spirit makes you a joy to be around; your "noticeable" voice makes it so easy to know if you are nearby; and your super smile and laid back ways makes everyone want to be your friend. These are just a few of the many things that make you unique and one of a kind-- we are SO proud of who you are!

My cocopuff of a sister is here

My OLDER sister Coco is visiting me right now. Isn't she purty?

By the way, that is me on the left and her on the right in case y'all thought we were twinsies. I commented that I look older than her in this picture and instead of gracefully saying, "Oh no dear sister of mine, you look so young and youthful and here I look like an old hag." But NO! The brat, she just smugly looked at me and said "Yup."

Okay, we are totally laughing our heads off because she is sitting right next to me as I type this. I contemplated paying her back by photoshopping her teeth a la Hee Haw style, but then I realized that she has photoshop too. And probably more incriminating pictures than I have in my personal posession (possession? too lazy to look it up).

I am glad that my sister Coco is visiting with my cutesie wootsy niece Emily and funny little man Benjamin. I have no idea what we're going to do this week, but I'm sure it will involve coffee, laughing, play with the kidlets and a whole lot of relaxing!

If you get a chance, stop by Coco and my other sister Lele's etsy store where they sell handmade jewelry: lele+coco Speaking of my New York City living sister Lele... we could tell some funny stories about her this week. Hmmm... Maybe we will, maybe we won't. She doesn't read my blog (I don't think)... but I think she might be able to whoop me... so we'll see.

Love,
Marshie

Star Spangled Banner - work in progress

We have been working on learning all the words to The Star Spangled Banner-- verses 1 and 2.

Yes, we are obviously still working on it! This was (definitely!) not their best performance but... well, it just makes me smile. :-)

Yes boys, I sometimes have trouble with those high notes too. And trying to decide between saying "the" like thee or thuh... that's always a tough call in the music world.

Happy Independence Day, y'all!

He has potential, really he does!

It is almost midnight and I still have 2 munchkins that are wide awake. One little 3yo in particular is counting out loud right now...

"one, two, fwee, foh, fiiive, sixteen, benineteen, fowteen, nineteen

I count fo you mommy!!!"

Ummm... yeah... I think it's time to start some lessons with the little man. It's a sad day when you counted better last year than you do now! Whew, it's a good thing we don't have preschool testing or something around here. I'd be in big trouble! So what would they put him in? Remedial counting?

I wonder if he'd get extra credit for this talent:

The rest of the fam, we can't touch our nose with our tongue. Weirdo. I mean, unique child of many talents!

I also realized a while back that he knows ZERO songs like Itsy Bitsy Spider or Jesus Loves Me. And wanna know why?

No, it's not because I'm completely neglectful of poor child number 3...

It's really sad for me to admit this publicly... but whenever I try (or tried!) to sing a song to him, he'd reach up with his chubby little fingers and SQUEEZE MY LIPS SHUT. And then he'd whisper "No sing, mommy."

So lest y'all have pity on this blonde boy, just remember, it's all his fault that he doesn't know any lullabies or even how to sing the ABC song! Hmmm... I wonder if he's ever said "No sing, daddy" ??? I'll have to ask David about that when he gets back from work tonight.

Speaking of work, I got to go to work with him yesterday!!! And why in the world would that be even remotely exciting? Well, the kids went to a friend's house while David I slaved away HERE for a 25 hour layover. I know, I know... it makes you want to cry a tear for me and for him, doesn't it? How does he endure such difficult work? It takes a special kind of person, let me tell you!!!

And lastly but not leastly, we got a new dog... She's a white German Shepherd puppy!

Currently, her name is Snowball. We're not too crazy about it though... it just doesn't roll of the tongue very well. Dash really wants to name her "Cloudy." And he really wants her middle name to be "With a Chance of Rain". It's time to send in her papers so we really need to decide. What do y'all think? I believe the choices are Snowball, Snowflake, Cloudy and Avalanche.

Through the Lens - Assignment #1

This is my first assignment for Hallie's Through the Lens - Digital Photography 101 group.

I just can't decide which one I like best... so I'll just enter both. :-)