What stared out as the PFD picnic post

Today was the annual picnic for the families of our local fire department, of which Kurt is a proud 10+ year member. There's a yummy lunch, rides on an old fire truck, games for all ages, etc. The big draw for the boys at this point is getting to climb in, on, around, under, well--you get the idea--all of the big red trucks (we're a classic type of community!).
They'd had their momentary fill of the row of trucks in one area of the parking lot and were heading towards the big tower truck, when who do we see but Kurt's Uncle David, cousin Greg and his family! Including cousins Carson and Piper and their Momma =) Carson is Beckett's age and had been wishing he could see the trucks up closer and voila, there was Kurt to fulfill his wish =)
Miss Piper wasn't as enthralled with the apparatus as all of those boys and she wasn't willing to sit for a picture on those big red beasts without Cyndy, but we did get one!
We don't get to see these guys nearly often enough!

Bathroom day 2! (the one where Parker learns a trade)

I wasn't expecting Papa to return for more bathroom work until after the weekend, so I was VERY surprised to see his truck in the driveway when I got home from work today! Even MORE surprising was what he had Parker doing =)
Parker spread the goop, I laid the tile and Papa did the cutting where needed. It went pretty fast less one trip out to Menards for more tile (yes, we had measured!) and one brief discussion about whose blood was dripping onto the white tile (for the record, it was mine--cut finger).
You can also see that I got the last of the pink tile painted over!!! (and perhaps a small portion of the 5 year old boy that lives here) Next I'll get the floor ready for grouting and sealing! Making progress...

Bathroom remodel: day one....

The day has finally come! The upstair bathroom is getting its makeover =) When we bought this house, the bathrooms were NOT the selling features--HA! But we lived just fine with them the way they were. Both of them had/have plastic tiles on the walls (halfway up) and glass shower doors, which I HATE. A couple of years ago, my Dad put a new pedestal sink and tile floor in the downstairs bath, which was much more period to our house (the flooring was a nasty linoleum and the sink was a crappy "wooden" vanity).
Upstairs I painted the tile (and then did the downstairs!) and crappy wooden vanity and both shower doors were covered with a crisp white curtain.
But a leak somewhere under the potty (hate the word toilet, sorry) meant it was time to undertake another revamp. Tuesday night I got everything purchased and brought home and today Kurt and my Dad started. They got it gutted (goodbye vanity and tub and SHOWER DOORS!), the tub and drain are in place and all of the cement backer board is laid for the new tile that's to come!! Notice the pink tile that was behind the potty and sink!! I will be painting that to match before Papa comes back to tile!

SCORE!

Not that I'M headed back to school this Fall (yay!), but when the BTS coupon from Maurices arrived in the mail, I thought I'd at least take a look in our local store. I found jeans that I liked, kind of pricey, but I thought if I tried them on and liked them, I could talk myself into them at 20% off.
WELL, tried them on, liked them, went to purchase them. The tag said they were $77.98 (no WAY would I pay that!), BUT they rang up at $9.95!! Then take off the 20% and all of a sudden they were down to $7.98!!! And yes, we (the clerk and I) looked around to see any more were going to ring up that way. No dice, but I was DANGED happy with my bargain =)

Yummmmmm?

You've seen the ads: Red Robin!!! (pause) Yummmmmm! Yeah, in the words of this reviewer, not so much.
This weekend is tax-free shopping in Iowa (note, not MY state), so Parker and I went to finish back-to-school shopping for him this morning. We found some great deals too between the sales, lack of tax and coupons!
Well, shopping can take a lot out of you, even non-monetarily, and I was with a growing teenage boy. Clearly, sustinance was required to keep us going. It was my idea to try Red Robin, I admit it. When we got close we noticed that Buffalo Wild Wings was right next door, so I gave Parker the choice. Neither of us had been to either place, so he chose RR.
At best, the meal was mediocre (strike one occurred right away as they serve Coke products!) but the best was yet to come with the $34 bill that was slid to me at the end. $34 for LUNCH for TWO people. One of whom drank water! We did split a $5 dessert, I readily admit to that, but even still. To put it in perspective, on Wednesday evening when FOUR of us ate out at Olive Garden, the tab there was $38. And that food was GOOD!
Long story short, I will not be seeking out Red Robin when the signs of hunger are approaching....

Olive Garden

Well, when I am slow between posts, it's easy to bust me! Clearly, we deviated from my well-thought-out meal planning by venturing out to Olive Garden last night! Beckett had an appointment with a dermatologist for a lingering rash and he was a VERY good boy so I said we'd go to OG as a treat. (Where he proceeded to only order breadsticks)
The trip had another purpose though, and we were able to finish off the last of school supply shopping and pick up the special soap and cream that was recommended for Beckett.
The 5yo has realized that Mom always has a camera in her purse and he takes great pride in documenting outings: his milk cup, the ceiling, menus, my salad plate, Paxton's hand, you get the idea. I get lots of practice with the delete button...

Menu Planning Monday!!

Wow! Remember when I used to be so good about doing this every week? Me too, but barely. I DO still feed my family, but we're so much more on the go in the summer months, as you probably are too. On my long days, the boys are usually anxious to hit the pool for the night swim (as am I) and Kurt is now working a swing shift and I can never remember which night to "assign" him, HA!!
Things are much easier when I do have a plan though, so here I go again, hopefully with gusto!
Monday: OK, not such a great start, I had a meeting and Kurt went to the pool with boys!
Tuesday: BBQ pulled pork sammies, pasta salad, slice cukes
Wednesday: Kielbasa, boiled taters, veggie
Thursday: Ravioli bake, salad, garlic bread
Friday: Turkey legs, stuffing, corn
Saturday: Chicken in some fashion, pasta side, veggie
Sunday: Tilapia, rice, beans

I'm going to link up to I'm an Organizing Junkie, as before