Pinterest!

I am officially admitting my addiction to Pinterest. But it's not necessarily a bad thing. My family is eating more home cooking thanks to Pinterest.  I literally have been a cooking machine! Made some awesome cookies last night from Pinterest (See Below)

Andes Cookies

Sorry I didn't take a picture. I did modify them a bit since I could not find Andes mints in Meijer (Seriously, what kind of store doesn't sell Andes mints?!?!). I got a holiday bag of Hershey's Mint Minatures in place of the Andes, which worked as well and were actually cuter because there were some that were white mint chocolate!

I have also been crafting thanks to Pinterest! Anyone else as obsessed as I am? I have also passed this obsession on to my sister, my mother, my friends, my co-workers, etc.!

Hungover

That's right! I am hungover....from Black Friday shopping. I will be the first to admit that I am a Black Friday addict! It is my favorite day of the year! No lie. I am pretty certain this made my sister and I's 10th year Black Friday shopping. We had only ever allowed our mother to go with us one previous time. This year, we took pity on her and allowed her to go part time (She tuckered out about 4am)! She was a trooper! And made an excellent person to hold our place in line while we shopped more!

We started at a new all time record 8:30PM this year on Thanksgiving and finished about 9AM Friday morning. I was exhausted. By the time we left the mall at 9, I could barely move my feet. I told my sister, "Everday I'm shufflin'!".

Can't wait until next year! The count down until next Black Friday is on....T minus 364 days.

Things you never thought you would say

I often find myself yelling at the kids or the dog and then thinking to myself "Did I really just say that?". Or better yet, from the next room I hear Maddy saying something and I think "Oh hell! That doesn't sound good!" and I take off running!

 Here are a few that were heard this week at my house:

• Get the candy bar out of your butt
• Stop choking your brother
• Stop putting lipstick on your brother
• Why did you draw on your face?
• "Here's a nasty band aid for you" (said by my kid)
• *after remarking it was so hot I was going to melt* "No you won't melt because you are not an ice cream!

We survived Halloween!

This year's Trick or Treat at my house can only be described as a joyful cluster f*ck!

Normally, I love this holiday, but this year turned out to be major chaos!!  Maddy started proclaiming herself a Strawberry Shortcake Princess 3 weeks ago.  For whatever reason, Mommy kept waiting....and waiting....and waiting to buy said costume.  In addition, I had tried to be El Cheapo' and buy the twins' costumes last year on clearance at the outlet mall.  Needless to say, I VASTLY underestimated how enormous they would grow in the last year. Thus, the robots I chose a year ago would not fit.  Again, Mommy waited and waited and waited to buy new costumes. 

Fast forward to this past Saturday......we had decided to all go as a family to buy costumes.  Then the dreaded stomach bug hit! Wiped me out! I finally recovered Sunday night, which left me running around like a maniac on HALLOWEEN looking for one Strawberry Shortcake costume and two matching outfits size 12-18 months that weren't fugly!

I literally went to four stores and wound up with 1 Strawberry Shortcake (that was a bit too small) and 2 matching Frankensteins!

After the stress of the costume purchasing was over, there was this fiasco (which Frank lovingly captured on film):

This is Maddy (a.k.a. Strawberry Shortcake) in anguish because she tripped and ripped her tights before she even went to the first house!! :(

Oh and then there is dear old Dad....as all good wives do, I gave Frank my stomach bug! He was such a trooper for going out last night given how bad he felt. More proof that he would do anything if Maddy asked him to! :)

Despite it all, the kids had a blast, which is really all that matters! Hope everyone had a great Halloween!

Current State of Mind

Currently I have a laundry list of new likes and dislikes:

LIKES:

• My iPad and everything that goes along with it! Especially Pinterest! OBSESSED!
• NFL is back!
• Fall foods: Candy corn, candied apples, those yummy peanut butter kisses, pumpkin ANYTHING

DISLIKES:

• NFL is back (Can you tell my team lost yesterday?)
• Fall weather and what it does to my asthmatic kids....it's only September and they are already coughing like mad!
• My iPad (only during the times when my kid is commandeering it and playing annoying episodes of unbearable cartoons)

Will I blog more now that I have joined the awesomeness that is the iPad club?

Probably not is the short answer...because I am so damn hooked on this iPad. Seriously people. It's getting ridiculous. I may need a 12 step program.

In other exciting news, I have been on a 2 week vacation from work! Hooray, but I am already getting sad to see it end and I don't have to go back to work until Tuesday. I never get as much accomplished as I thought I would before I went on vacation. My house is still a wreck and I haven't gotten rid of all the baby stuff I wanted to, but at least I am about to beat this awesome game I found as an app on this iPad...quell. Seriously addictive. You have been warned.

This past weekend was my birthday...god, 32. Puke! But at least I got this rockin' iPad just for turning 32 (thanks hubby)! My mom came up for my birthday and we took the kids out to lunch at one of the few kid friendly restaurants, cicis pizza (chuck e. Cheese is the devil and I refuse to go there without tranquilizers). Of course in typical fashion, a disaster of some type ensues....Maddy had a complete meltdown over a gumball. See photo of partial meltdown below:

The boys enjoyed the buffet part...someone remind me why I gave chocolate brownies to two 11 month olds?!?

And the other awesome part of the weekend...my mom's homemade cheesecake!


That's Maddy putting in my birthday candle!! The best part of this particular cheesecake was that there were no extended family members around to help eat it and Maddy didn't like it! I savored the last sweet morsel last night as my husband commented "Your piece is bigger than mine!". My husband is very perceptive! :)

How long has it been?

I literally have not written a blog in over a month! Something else came up....namely being audited by the IRS! Ass! Ain't that a bitch!?!?!?

Other than that, not much new. Gearing up for my 2 and a half week vacation...if I can just make it through one more work day! So much on my to-do list for those 2.5 weeks! Wish I could do something fun, but probably will just hit the outlet mall one day and maybe go out on the boat one day, then call it.

I may also waste a colossal amount of time catching up on my TIVOed shows (Project Runway and Millionaire Matchmaker just started back!!!) and the craze that is Pinterest! I easily wasted an hour and half on Pinterest alone today and it was my first day using it! :)

PSA Tuesday

Today's Public Service Announcements:

1. If you have a student beginning college in the fall, you should not bring him or her to orientation wearing a halter top.  I think it's safe to assume not only was your gals sagging (in her defense I only saw her from behind) but rest assured, your child was mortified by your attire.  He or she may now be considering transferring colleges before the fall school year even begins!
2. If you are going to drive UNDER the speed limit on the interstate, just pull over to the shoulder and let me pass. Thanks in advance.
3. If you are going to go door to door to try to sell me your useless product, please refrain from doing so at 6PM when I have just gotten home from work, when I am sweating bullets because I am still in work clothes that I have been in since 6AM and when I am trying to get my THREE sweaty children out of the sauna-like mini-van! Oh did I mention one of said children was covered in a melted ice cream cone and was refusing to remove herself from her car seat!?!? This douche bag salesman had the nerve to comment that it looked like I had my hands full!!!!!!!!!!!!

These are my confessions........

Bless me fellow bloggers, for I have sinned. It has been eons since my last blog! So I come here to confess my recent sins!

• I had to tear myself away from Never Say Never, starring the total cutie Justin Bieber, in order to finish cleaning my house last week.  I am either in love with someone half my age or I loathe housework so much that I will do anything to get away from it! :) In my defense, I did rent it because my kid loves "Justin Beaver"!
• Despite my post several weeks ago regarding my desire to diet, I just cannot get motivated.  If I didn't have a husband and children, I would exist solely on McDonald's and cereal.  Yesterday some client of mine actually congratulated me on being pregnant! WTF? Yes people I am chubby, but pregnant?!?!! I agree I probably should have dropped the baby weight a while ago, but it just doesn't want to budge. My belly looks like Oprah's arms...just jiggly due to extra skin! However, this client broke the cardinal rule: You never ever ask a woman if she's pregnant!!! Ever! Unless she is 9 months, rubbing her belly, in the throws of labor, with the head half way out, you just don't ask! Okay, off soap box.

I like savin' money and I cannot lie (sung to the tune of "Baby Got Back")

Confession time: I am quickly becoming obsessed with couponing.  I realize this makes me a huge dork...no need for anyone to point it out.

It's actually becoming a game to me....how much can I save? What can I get for free? Where can I go in the hour I have for a lunch break to get free stuff with my stash of coupons?

I realize spending my lunch hour couponing makes me an even bigger nerd, but I figure it's better than spending money on eating out at a resturant and adding inches to my already bulging waistline!  If you are interested in learning how to coupon (and yes, there is a technique), check out http://www.couponmom.com/.  She has some great tips along with a video tutorial.  Some other websites I like are http://www.totallytarget.com/, http://meijermadness.com/, and http://www.iheartriteaid.com/

My almost 3 year old

M's birthday party was this past weekend. Although I am worn out, I am proud to report it was a huge success. The clown was fantastic and boggled my feeble mind.........I have never understood how magician's do it! He was a regular David Blaine.

I can't believe my little girl will be 3 in just two days.  She makes me so proud!  I know everyone is proud of their kid, but I swear this kid is something special.  She is so intelligent. She is working 24 piece jigsaw puzzles by herself. Her language skills are amazing! She knows more words than most 5 or 6 year olds.

M is following right in my footsteps.......and not just on the intelligence part! :) She continues to get in trouble at the sitter for talking during nap time. Just like Mommy did in kindergarten!  She is also Chatty Cathy, just like Mommy! Some days I can't wait for the boys to get old enough to talk back to her.  Her stories are hilarious though. Here is an excerpt of a letter she made me write to her dad tonight:

"A little girl was walking down the street and she got runned over. The little girl stinks because poop stinks in the toilet. Then she fell down and she got runned over. Then she peed. THE END"

I was crying I was laughing so hard!

Happy Easter!

Happy late Easter! As is typical, I am late for everything........even wishing someone a Happy Easter. 

Wasn't a very nice one here in lovely Ohio........I am seriously about to build a canoe and start rowing to work. It rained the majority of yesterday so we hid the eggs one time in the front yard for M. The back yard currently looks like Swamp Thing's second home, so that was out of the question! M was satisfied and more concerned about her brother's Easter baskets, which contained cell phones.  Hers did not, as these were baby toys. I learned my first lesson yesterday of having multiple children: BUY EVERYTHING IN TRIPLICATE!

Took Maddy to see the Easter bunny on Saturday..........first time ever. This child HATES all things in costume.  The closest she ever came to NOT screaming during an outing with a costumed person was Chuck E Cheese at about age 8 months.  This time was really no different.  She sat on his lap and covered her face!! Classic Maddy. She later told me she didn't like him because he had teeth. 

I will be the first to admit this was one skank-tastic Easter Bunny (yes, I invented the word skank-tastic). But, hey, that's what you get when you to to the local Walgreen's the day before Easter. I was suckered into paying for a package of pictures, where my kid wasn't smiling..........only to realize that my precious princess was sitting on the Easter Bunny's lap in a dress with her legs open!!! :) God love her! At least she's cute! This is blackmail for later!

Stephanie, the music critic

I am really digging the new duet by Kelly Clarkson and Jason Aldean. If you haven't heard it, you can hear it here: Don't You Wanna Stay?

If you click on the link, not only will you hear a great song, but you will also see Carrie Underwood introducing the song at the CMAs and she looks so cute.....she is rocking that orange dress. I just love Carrie Underwood!

As I was driving back from Court today, I heard this duet on the radio. This got me to thinking about my all time favorite duets (see, I even make lists as I am driving down the road.....told you I was a brilliant multi-tasker)!!!

Here are my top 5 choices:

1. Whiskey Lullaby by Alison Krauss and Brad Paisley. I don't really need an explanation for this do I? Have you heard the song? The lyrics alone are enough to make it a fantastic song, but then you add Alison Krauss' voice and the song is heart wrenching.
2. Islands in the Stream by Kenny Rogers and Dolly Parton. I had this record when I was a kid and I loved it. Had no idea what the words meant, but I loved this song back in the day. Love it even more today than I did then. Definitely a tune I crank up in the car and sing at the top of my lungs into my pretend cell phone/microphone.
3. Louisiana Woman, Mississippi Man by Conway Twitty and Loretta Lynn.  You can't go wrong when you combine two great artists like these two.  Many great duets by them, but this is my favorite.
4. Time of my Life by Bill Medley and Jennifer Warnes: This should be self explanatory for anyone who knows me. Dirty Dancing is the best movie ever hands down. I don't particularly care that it never won any major awards and that it's a chick flick. That movie is awesome. I dare anyone to say otherwise. The soundtrack is equally as good as the movie, if not better.
5. Tied for fifth due to their propensity to be sang in a number of karaoke bars by people with dreadful voices like myself: Picture by Kid Rock and Sheryl Crow. Lyrically, just a great song and From this Moment by Shania Twain and Bryan White. The re-recorded version Shania sang by herself just wasn't as good as the duet.

Thoughts?

New shoes!

I need an incentive to lose this baby weight! I lost it so easy with Maddy and even got down to what I was before I got pregnant with her. Not so much with the twins. I attribute it to the fact that this time I had two and not one. So I have decided to give myself the necessary push I need to lose it...........if I lose ten pounds, I am allowing myself to buy new shoes!

Unpractically, I like these courtesy of Zappos:

Practically, I will probably go with something black that I can wear a few days a week for work.


My goal is 10 pounds and I get the shoes! There is one fatal flaw to my plan however: I hate working out.....period. Two reasons: boring and I hate sweating! Oh and another fatal flaw that just came to mind: Dieting.  It's not that I hate dieting so much, as I have an addiction to caffeine and McDonald's!

To be continued..................

A busy week!

Well it was the office's first week back after Spring Break, which = utter chaos! Remember what you used to do over St. Paddy's Day and Spring Break when you were 20 and in college? Multiply that by 17,000 and you get a glimpse into what my office looked like this week..........well, not all 17,000 currently enrolled students received DUIs and underage drinking charges, but a lot did!

I spent the last two days of this week in a training for lawyers who work with college students. Very informative but the drive to Columbus two days straight was tiring. At least I used it as an excuse to stop at the Victoria's Secret outlet! Yes, ladies....if you weren't aware, there is a Victoria's Secret outlet! You can find directions here http://www.mjrsales.com/.  They also carry The Limited!

Other exciting events in the Allen household this week included the following:

• Tangled came out this week.  In our house this movie is known as Princess Hair. Ever since I took Maddy to the theater to watch it, she's been asking for it on DVD.  We have now watched it approximately 10 times since Tuesday. I highly recommend it if you haven't seen it! Here's Maddy enjoying the first viewing of Tangled complete with snack pack and the dog on her lap!

• I got my I STILL HATE LAETTNER shirt in the mail. Ignore the bad hair day and the fact that I was trying to take the photo myself.

So far, the shirt has some bad karma following it. Wore it last night and we lost. I keep telling myself it wasn't meant to be for the Cats this year......What the NCAA did to Enes should have been the first indicator. Doesn't seem right anyway that we would have won a championship without my Dad here to witness it.

• Senate Bill 5 passed. What a bunch of boobs we have elected in Ohio! Hoping the issue gets on the ballot in November and the voters get the chance to get it repealed.  I did the math and according to my calculations it will cost our family $156,000.00 in salary alone over the course of Frank's career! Awesome (insert sarcasm here)!!!! Hey, at least the deficit will go down (like I care)! God, I'm annoyed just thinking about it and could talk about it all day so I will move on.
• Frank is now on Spring Break! Ass! I'm just jealous mine is over.
• John and Evan both got a new tooth this week......which brings John's tooth count up to 2 and Evan's up to 1. I would post a picture but so far neither will cooperate to show Mommy those Chiclets!
• And finally this weekend we whipped out the bouncy seats! Just like Maddy, Evan immediately put it to good use!

March Madness

First, let me say that I am a brilliant multi-tasker. Perhaps that's why I am good at my job (or at least I like to think I am)!? Unless said multi-tasking involves cleaning house that is! Currently, I am multi tasking by blogging, watching college basketball, reading US Weekly (I'm glad JT broke Jessica Beil's heart.......they make a strange couple), zipping through American Idol on TIVO (come on America! Seriously!? Casey?), etc.

Of all those things, I LOVE LOVE LOVE college basketball the most! A few weeks ago I saw a fan in the stands watching my beloved Cats and sporting this shirt:

  I need this shirt...........BAD! It's only three minutes into the Duke game and I am already sick to my stomach. The score is only 14-13, but I still wanna puke watching Duke make a basket.  To say I despise Duke would be a vast understatement.  It's bad enough Florida won tonight. I cannot take a Duke win on top of that. The hubby cheers for other SEC teams to do well in the tournament. I am down with that.......except for Florida. If Duke and Florida end up in the Championship game, I vote spontaneous combustion so they both lose!

Living in the state of Ohio this year poses a large problem: UK v. Ohio State. Frank and I considered having people over to our house to watch the game for about a millisecond. I quickly pointed out that anyone in my house wearing an Ohio State shirt and talking smack would be immediately punched in the face and then asked to leave the premises.........we decided to go out and watch the game instead! Looking forward to tomorrow night at 9:45........praying for a win and looking for some blood pressure pills black market in the mean time!

Hmmmmmmm.........

Remember that song in the 90's "Things That Make you Go Hmmmmmmm" by C & C Music Factory? Well there are many days when I am left going hmmmmmmmmmmm. Two things that come to mind that made me go hmmmmmmm:

1. The two children in the orthopaedist's office this morning named Jodeci and Prince. Seriously parents? What are you thinking? You would assume these parents were in middle school in the early 90's, right? Nope! They both looked younger than I am! The kicker? These kids were not related!!!!!! The only thing funnier would have been if they were related and their mom was named Janet Jackson! 
2. The obscene number of clients I have that "forget" they have prior criminal records! Although I admit I have never been arrested, I am sure if I have I would remember doing so.  Along those same lines are those clients that "forget" their Court date. Come on people! I make 500+ court appearances a year and you can't make ONE! It's called a calendar!

How about you? What makes you go Hmmmmmm?

I *heart* TIVO

It's hard to remember my life without TIVO. In fact, I don't want to remember it without TIVO. Suffice it to say that my pre-TIVO life involved numerous VHS tapes and curse words when my VCR failed to record my favorite shows. Now, I look forward to my weekends when I get to catch up on my TIVOed shows. This weekend thus far:

• Teen Mom 2: Say what you will, but this show sucks me in. Jenelle is one super hot mess.....I mean, who smokes a doobie in their mom's front yard in the middle of the afternoon!?!? Kailynn: Girlfriend just needs to smack Jo and his family.....he acts like Kailynn is a bad mother for wanting to date someone else besides his dumb ass.  I can't turn off my custody lawyer brain when watching this show.....I am afraid Jo is going to use his family and their wealth to try to take custody from Kailynn. Chelsea.....first, get a job. The chick has seriously been working on her high school diploma/GED all season. Is it really that hard? Second, why does a gal who is that cute have such low self esteem? She may not have anything between her ears, but she is cute and can get someone way better than Adam. What a tool!? Leah....you are this season's Caitlin for me! I just love her and her little family!
• Survivor: This season is great so far, just wishing Russell wasn't already gone. Yes, he is a snake, but he made for some interesting television. This is one of the few shows left that Frank and I like to watch together! I look forward to it every week!
• American Idol: I was skeptical about watching it without Simon, but it's actually pretty good. The talent is awesome this year and J Lo and Steven Tyler are endearing in their own ways. Frank's not into it this year, which makes me a little sad since I don't have him to chat with about it.
• Intervention: Yes, people. I am aware that this show is totally depressing. Who cares? I love it!

Honorable Mention (Other shows I love to TIVO): Toddlers and Tiaras, Project Runway (will this show please hurry and come back on), Millionaire Matchmaker (I love Patti...she cracks my shit up), Dancing with the Stars, The Biggest Loser, Law and Order SVU, The Office, and the list goes on and on.

Anyone else as hooked on TIVO as I am? I even TIVO cartoons for my kids!

My first shot at this

Well I have finally jumped on the bandwagon and decided to start a blog. This will either be a lot of fun or an epic failure, which will result in this particular blog ending after only the second post. My hope by writing a blog is to allow my friends and family a glimpse inside the hectic, frantic, semi-organized chaos that is my life.

For those that don't know, I am married and have 3 kids.  My daughter Madeline has already reached pure diva status and all before the age of three. Many stories on this blog will undoubtedly be devoted to her and her crazy antics!

I recently added twin boys to the mix, John and Evan, who are approaching six months already.  Currently, they are keeping me insanely busy.......imagine your child and the amount of puke, poopy diapers, and laundry you endured and multiply that by TWO!

I work the normal 9 to 5 job, with some crazy clients thrown in to the mix to liven things up. I love my job, love practicing law and love the fact that every day at work is different.  I am willing to bet any amount of money that I have waaaaaaaaay better stories about my job than anyone else.  Most days my clients are a total riot! Other days, I want to pull out my hair and commit myself somewhere.....preferably with room service and a hot tub!  

Since the kids and work keep me super busy (with about 30 minutes a day thrown in to devote to the husband), my house is typically chaotic at best. In my free time (which is the equivalent of approximately ten minutes a day), I read, scrapbook, watch stupid reality television shows, and gossip!