Hello. My name is Little Mama. I have Mommy Brain.

I've been a Little Mama for nearly 5 years now, so I've had my share of mommy brain.  But, yesterday takes the cake!

I really think there are stages of Mommy Brain - there's pregnancy brain, then new baby brain, then nursing brain, then, at least for me with Sister, my brain sloooowly started to return when she was about a year old.

But, now with two little ones ... I'm a mess.  I used to be a color coded, list making, organized machine.  But, now, I can't even get organized enough to make a list!  I've been relying on my memory ... which is very, very dangerous ... yes, I've been living on the edge :).

Yesterday, I had to make some returns to Hobby Lobby.  It was just me and Bitty Baby.  We park.  I get out of the car.  I open the back of the car.  Ummm .... something is missing. Something is not right.  And, then I realize ... where is the stroller????

I start racking my brain ... where is it ... when did I use it last ... nothing, nothing, nothing.  Just Mommy Brain. 

Then, I remember that the girls and I ran an errand the day before ... yes, I think that's the only place we went.  We had the stroller in the store.  We had it in the parking lot.  Yes, I had both of my kids.  Yes, I loaded them in the car.

But, where is the stroller .... a hot flush starts moving over me as I realize that I must have left it in the parking lot.  I loaded up everyone and everything ... but, the stroller!!!   Oh, I'm just sick.  We have several strollers for different uses, but this one is my very favorite ... my very, very favorite.

I grab a cart, put Bitty Baby in the front, and make my returns.  I had a busy morning planned and had to be at Sister's school in an hour and a half for her Thanksgiving program.  My plans had changed.  Now, I was headed to the shopping center we went to yesterday to look for the stroller.

Maybe someone found it and brought it to one of the stores.   Or, maybe someone threw it away in a nearby dumpster.  Or, maybe, just maybe, it was still in the parking lot.

I called Big Daddy on the way ... I thought I was going to cry ... but I didn't.  He didn't say anything.  I'm sure he thought I was nuts ... but he just listened.  Just sweet ... and smart ... silence :).

So we get to the parking lot and I scan everywhere for my beloved stroller ... nothing.  I'm driving really slowly looking like a crazy lady, but still no stroller.  I drove behind the building and saw dumpsters.  (Now looking more crazy, BTW ... ha!) In fact, there was a long row of dumpsters.  Maybe it was in one of those!

I started to get out to look ... but drew the line.  I decided if the stroller had been in a dumpster all night, I would just leave it be ... who knows what would be on it.   And, being petite, I wasn't quite sure how I would get it out ... and, I definitely was not going to climb in! Yucky!

As I'm driving away, empty handed and heavy-hearted, I suddenly remember that I must have run over it while I was backing out of the parking lot.  Yes, that was it.  There was a thud and I am just now remembering it and that's what happened to it. 

Hopefully, it wasn't too damaged.  Hopefully, someone picked it up who might really need it.  Yes, I'd buy another one tomorrow ... hopefully I'd find one on sale ... or just get by with an umbrella stroller.  Yes.  That's what I would do ....

We head home and I need chocolate.  Or Chick-fil-A, or something really yummy!  I was a little traumatized, after all.  Yes, that would make me feel better!  But, I resisted and had a diet coke from McDonalds.  Deep breath.  Diet Coke. It would be okay!

We were supposed to have a garage sale this weekend, but the weather was going to be yucky, so we rescheduled.  I still had things in my garage and card tables in the back of the car. Plus, I had been parking in the driveway to make space in the garage ... so when I pulled up to the house, that's what I did.  I get out, get Bitty Baby ... and what do I see ...

THE STROLLER!!!

Parked in the garage!  Huh? 

I was so relieved ... oh, but so perplexed.  I don't remember taking it out of the car.  I don't have any reason why I would have taken it out.  I start racking my brain .... nothing, nothing, nothing.  Just more Mommy Brain.

Maybe it's not Mommy Brain ... maybe it's approaching middle age, maybe it's too many diet cokes over the years, maybe I'm overtired from my new wake up time ...

No, no ... it's just Mommy Brain.

I don't have a name for this stage of Mommy Brain.  Maybe ... mom of two preschoolers brain.  Or, mom of a new walker brain.  Or, mommy trying to do it all brain.  I'll have to think on that one!

Can you relate?  Can we relate together? 

It looks like Mommy brain is here to stay ... for a least a while longer.  So, I'm going to SLOOOW down, pull out the highlighters for some good ol' color coding, and buy a super cute notebook for my to-do lists.  All, with a Diet Coke and a smile :)

Feeling Crafty - Turkey Hair Bow

It's almost Turkey Time, y'all!

The girls are ready with their Thanksgiving dresses, but I have been looking for a fun hair bow to match.

I saw these turkey hair clippies and thought it would be fun to try one on my own!  Luckily, I found great and better yet - FREE - directions here. 

This bow is actually my second attempt.  I made one following the directions exactly and used hot glue for all of the steps.  But, the ribbon I used is not very stiff and my glue gun is not the best.  As a result, the glue didn't hold like I had hoped.  In fact, Bitty Baby pulled on the first one and was able to tear it apart pretty easily.

So, on the little bow in the picture, I made the entire turkey step by step by tacking the ribbon as I went along with matching embroidery floss.  I already had the floss from an old cross stitch project.  Then I glued the finished turkey to the clippie.

This little gobbler can be worn a couple of ways - alone - or clipped to a small bow for a little one

Or, to a bigger bow for an older girl

Other ideas I've seen are to put googley eyes on the face or paint eyes on with acrylic paint.  I was tempted to do that, but thought I should stop while I was ahead ... can I just tell you how many projects I've ruined because I thought it needed just a little more?  Ha!

This project really is quick and easy!  In fact, I'm going to make a few more tonight for some sweet little turkeys close to my heart!  Gobble, Gobble!

I'm Back & Staycation

Well, I'm back from an unintentional bloggy break!  The past couple of weeks have been nuts around here.  So, here's a completely random post about a random couple of weeks!

Bitty Baby was under the weather last week.  She's at that age where she's just picking up about every germ out there.  Well, my little sweet pea had Hand, Foot, and Mouth Disease.  Isn't that the worst name?  Thankfully, she had a super mild case of it with no fever and no bobos in her mouth.  God is so good!

Big Daddy's family came in last weekend, so we enjoyed seeing everyone!  While we've visited them, it's been a few months since they've been able to come to town.  We had a full weekend of football and food, which is always a hit around here!

Speaking of food, I am determined to try and lose those last few baby pounds and start sooner than later.  I just have about 10 to go .. but geez, are they pesky!  My friend and I thought we would start "getting healthy" before the holidays so we might have a little more will power when all of the yummy treats start showing up.

We've even been hitting the gym at the crack of dawn ... really!  I think that's another reason I've missed blogging ... my new wake up time puts me to bed right after the girls.  Big Daddy keeps making fun of me and the fact that my alarm is set for 4:45 AM!  I hope I can keep it up!

Today was an absolutely beautiful fall day and I wanted to take the girls somewhere fun.  But, nothing was going on in town.  So,  we decided to have a staycation at the house and have a picnic in the backyard.  The girls really had a great time!

(P.S. - GiGi, if you're reading this ... yes, I realize it was cool today.  Sister dressed herself and fixed her own hair.  Nuff said :)  ).

The girls were so cute ... I think they were loving their girl talk ...

Sister was cracking me up, telling Bitty Baby a story with her hands!

And, Bitty Baby loved her new favorite snack, raisins!

The girls, loved swinging on the swing set.  They were concentrating so hard that they were BOTH sticking their tongues out, just like their daddy!  It must be genetic :)

Sister played "baseball" after lunch and I think her technique might need a little improving !  She hits the ball with her eyes closed- ha!

And, Bitty Baby worked on her driving skills.  She kept saying, "Bye.  Bye.  Bye."   Oh, how I'll need a box of kleenex when these sweet girls are really driving away and saying "Bye!"

I loved being outside, too and had fun checking out the few last signs of summer in our backyard. 

My shrimp plant still has a few blooms on it.  This is the neatest plant.  You can't really tell from this picture, but the flower usually curves over and looks like a shrimp!

And, can you find the nature's treasure on my lemon tree?  It's pretty well hidden!

Here's a closer look ... it's a Giant Swallowtail Butterfly chrysalis.  These host on lemon trees and it's really amazing to watch them go from caterpillar to chysalis to butterfly. 

This is a pic of one that hatched out last year ... so beautiful!

And, finally, I brought this Belinda's Dream rose in from the yard.  I love the "antiqueness" of it and I really love how easy it is to grow! 

Oh, it feels good to get all of that randomness out!  Now, I can hit the hay for my crazy wake up time! :)

Cajun Corn Maque Choux

Yay for this week's Kelly's Korner Show Us Your Life -Thanksgiving recipes and traditions!

I love the holidays and I love to cook, so I'm one happy Little Mama these days.

We have a few recipes that only make it to the table for Thanksgiving or Christmas.  That way, they're extra special. 

And, one of our favorites is Maque Choux (pronounced "mock shoe").  It's a Cajun/Creole corn dish that is so yummy!

It's pretty tough for new holiday recipes to make it to our table.  We're pretty traditional, i.e. Southern, around here. We always have sweet potato casserole and cornbread dressing.  (One year my Mama didn't make cornbread dressing for both Thanksgiving and Christmas & it almost sent us all to therapy.  Ha! )

But, a few years ago, Maque Choux appeared and now we say every year, "Okay, who's bringing the Maque Choux?"  Love this stuff and it's so easy to make!

So, here's the recipe

Cajun Corn Maque Choux

Serves 6

1 small onion, chopped
1/4 cup chopped green bell pepper
1 to 2 tablespoons olive oil
3 cups frozen shoepeg corn, thawed
2 plum tomatoes, diced
1/4 pound andouille sausage, cooked and diced (if you can't find andouille, you can sub smoked sausage)
1/4 cup chopped green onion tops
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper

Preparation

Measure 3 cups of frozen corn and set aside on counter to thaw. 

Meanwhile, chop onion and bell pepper.

Sauté onion and bell pepper in hot oil in a large skillet over medium heat 8 minutes or until tender.

While onion and bell pepper are cooking, chop sausage and tomato.

Add corn, tomato, and sausage

 

Cook, stirring often, for 15 minutes.

Chop green onions using only the green parts.

Stir in green onions, salt, and pepper; cook 5 minutes.

 

And that's it!

Big Daddy is going to be extra happy because I broke tradition and made Maque Choux before Thanksgiving.  Sister even had some for her afternoon snack - it's that good, y'all! 

Thanks for letting me share one of our family favorites! Looking forward to checking out everyone's recipes!

Parks and Paparazzi

We had an absolutely beautiful fall day today.  So, we decided to head to the park with my friend and cousin-in-law J and her peeps. 

The kids had a blast.  They loved getting outside and running free!  The swings were a big hit ...

Sister loved climbing on a big spider web.  She made it all the way to the top ... a little scary for Little Mama.

While I was setting out lunch, I looked over and saw Bitty Baby "hanging out."   She had fun looking at all of the acorns from a birdseye view.

Some of the best news around here is that Bitty Baby is walking everywhere these days.  In fact, she's almost running.  God is so good! 

She is having so much fun showing us what a big girl she is now.  There was an open grassy area and Bitty Baby had so much fun checking it out.

She got a little too far away from me, so I called her back ...

She thought about it for a second, and then did this :)

After a couple of hours of chasing her, I thought it might be a good idea to put her in her stroller.  She loved watching the big girls, but I'm sure she wanted out!

The craziest thing was going on at the playground.  A couple of movies are filming in town right now and the park was a hub for one of the sets.  There were trailers everywhere.  So, I thought I would get a couple of pictures - you know, like a crazy local!

We thought this was "craft service" or catering - are you impressed by my Hollywood lingo?  Yes, I'm a nerd :)

J checked out the other side of the park and saw a bunch of trailers that we thought might be "star" trailers.  She yelled out, "Come over here, these are the pics you should really get!"  (Um, I don't think we were very sneaky!) So, off I go and right away a security guard appears and is watching me and my camera. 

I love my camera and I love the card that is in my camera.  And, I didn't want him to take it away.  So, I looked for the first thing I could snap to make it look like I really wasn't trying to take pics of the "star" trailers. 

Do you like my decoy pics? (Imagine me talking to myself like a big nerd to get the full effect - you know, like "what a pretty tree" Ha! ).

Well, I definitely don't have a future as a paparazzi photographer.  But, as we were leaving, I did manage to get a really awesome picture of one of my very favorite stars!

Frugalista Finds - Grocery Game Update

The last few weeks have been pretty busy around here, so I had fallen off of the wagon with the Grocery Game.  But, I'm back on board!  I hit Winn Dixie this week and scored big.

During my short GG vacay, I really came to appreciate just how much we were saving using this plan.  Without it, I was paying way more than I was used to for my everyday grocery items. 

Here are my scores from this week ... my original total was $120, but after using my Winn Dixie card and coupons, I only paid $60 for all of this!  Not bad considering I bought over 10 pounds of boneless skinless chicken breast, two bags of baby spinach, two bags of romaine, two bags of whole wheat bagels, two bottles of extra virgin olive oil and a bunch more stuff.

The Grocery Game is offering a free 4-week trial right now if you're interested in giving it a try.  You can find out more about how to play Grocery Game here and here.  

If you've tried the Grocery Game, I'd love to hear your tips! I'm always looking for new ideas :)

Kisses From Katie

I had a post planned about our Halloween - how cute it was, how much fun we had, how I ate too many yummy treats, how we are still recovering from the weekend ...

UNTIL ...

I found this blog tonight.  Meet Katie ...

She's a 20 year old girl who loves Jesus and is serving Him in the most amazing ways.  She's serving children in Uganda and has adopted 14, yes 14, little girls. And, yes, you heard right ... she's 20.

You can learn more about Katie, her journey, and her girls here ... you will be blessed ... you will be moved ... and it might just change your perspective - it did mine :)