Something in Red

So while riding the high of finding out that his radio station, Merle 96.7 FM, had been nominated by the Academy of Country Music for TWO awards, Radio Personality of the Year (Jack Ryan) and Radio Station of the Year, something that no country music station had ever accomplished against WIVK (and WIVK was not nominated this year), my exuberant husband proclaimed on Facebook, "Go get you a dress!  We're going to Vegas!"  

For those of you who are unaware, the ACMs hold their annual Awards Show in Las Vegas.  We've been several times in the past, but this time, well, this time, it was for totally different reasons.  Our station had been nominated.  We'd be sitting on the floor with all the country music corporate big-wigs and country music artists and stars.  This time, it wasn't just for fun; it was for business (and pleasure) and for celebration of my husband's vision, his hard work, and his commitment to "dancing with the ones who brought you," Total Country, the new and the old.

Any old dress just wouldn't do.  Lorrie Morgan's song "Something in Red" kept playing through my head, though I really wanted something in blue.  I had no idea it would be as hard as it was to find "the dress" I was looking for. 

When I started out, I was grateful that it was prom season--a large selection to choose from, right?  Ha!  Apparently, long dresses and "mullet" style dresses are the trend now.  Finding a short dress, a "fun" strappy back, with sequins and beads, in blue, AND in my size, that was a tall order.  The sales ladies kept urging me to "just try it on," but the boutiques in town, for some unknown reason, carry dresses only in sizes that I probably wouldn't have been able to fit in pre-babies, much less post-babies, so "just try it on" was an exercise in futility.

So my search turned to the internet.  Normally, I love shopping on the internet, but with something like this, it was a real crap-shoot.  What if it didn't fit?  What if it didn't fit right?  We all know how something can look great on a model but look terrible on us real people.  But since I couldn't try anything on, I had to take the risk and order a dress. 

After endless pins, texts, and emails, I finally made a decision:

It felt great to have that decision settled...for three hours.  

A phone call from the company I ordered it from put my life into a tailspin.  The dress, my dress--in the size and color I needed, was back-ordered until May.  Stupid prom!

Back to the internet.

One week later, I decided on this dress:
 

And I waited on pins and needles for another week until I received an email confirmation that the dress shipped.  Then I agonized for another week until it came in.  It took me two days to work up enough courage to try it on.  

It fit.  Perfectly.  Relief!

That relief didn't last long, however, as I quickly realized things weren't over.  Fortunately, I had jewelry and a great pair of shoes I had picked up on the random a few years ago that would work perfectly.  But I still needed a strapless-backless bra, a purse, a mani/pedi, a hair "touch-up," and a SUN TAN!  In the past these things wouldn't have stressed me out much, but with work and the kids, time was limited.  

So how did I spend my Spring Break? Getting ready for the party!

Dr. Feelgood

"Calling Dr. Feelgood!  Calling Dr. Feelgood!  The Meredith household needs you!"

Ever since November, it's been an endless cycle of sickness, starting with Trey falling victim to the flu over Thanksgiving in MS.  Being away from home while ill is never fun, especially when it's within the small confines of my mother's house during a holiday and everyone is literally on top of one another--a three bedroom house slept eleven.

Since then, it's been cold after cold, followed by the twins getting strep, then me getting strep, the twins getting walking pneumonia, and then picking up the stomach flu while at the doctor for pneumonia, then me getting the stomach flu, and now Trey getting walking pneumonia.

I feel mostly bad for Trey, as he seems to get sick during the most inopportune times, first Thanksgiving, then Christmas, and now he misses his class field trip and his friend's birthday party.  I "got" to miss work during both illnesses, so besides falling behind on things, I didn't miss out on anything like poor Trey.

In fact, I got to sleep.  During both illnesses, I slept  more in 48 hours than I typically do in an entire week.  So I really can't complain.  This ability to recuperate was due largely in part to my husband stepping in (it's amazing what men can do when they HAVE to!) and my recently acquired help with the kids and the house.  And, again, my slow-cooker freezer meals.  

I can't say it enough--these meals have come in handy more times than I can count, and I'm not even halfway through them.  Even if I wasn't feeling well enough to eat them, I didn't have the extra burden of guilt on me that my family wasn't eating well.  And when I did feel well enough, I had a "home-cooked" meal ready for me.  And for me, at least, good food makes me feel good.

Here's the latest slow-cooker freezer meal we tried:

Cuban Braised Beef & Peppers

2 28 oz diced tomatoes, drained

4 red bell peppers, sliced

2 onions, cut into 8 wedges each

4 tsp oregano

2 tsp cumin

salt & pepper

3 lbs sirloin steak, cut into thirds (shred after cooked)

Divide among 2 freezer bags.

Freeze.  Defrost 24 hrs. prior to cooking.

Cook on low 7-8 hours.

Serve with rice.

Trey didn't like the taste of the meat (surprise, surprise), but no one else in the household had any problems with this meal.  We like steak and peppers anyway, so this just added a little flavor with the cumin.  We've been trying to cut down on our carbs, so we ate this mostly without rice.  Eating it with rice would definitely stretch the meal, but we still got two solid dinners out of one freezer bag worth.

With spring (hopefully) on the horizon, I'm looking forward to better health and to utilizing the grill for meals, but the slow-cooker freezer meals will still be an invaluable convenience.  Here's to feeling good!

Sweet Child of Mine

Some of the best memories I have of growing up include my birthday parties--skating rink parties, sleepover parties, pizza parties, and even the one with the Smurf cake and pink champagne (what were my parents thinking?!).  So it's no surprise to me why I love planning my kids' birthday parties.  I love picking (or helping to select) a theme, the decorations, the festivities, the food, the cake, and the gifts.  And the more hands-on I can be, the better, although I must admit that while I try very hard, I am certainly not very crafty.

Some of my favorites include the Elmo cake I made for the twins' second birthday:

Before the twins got into it.

James David decided that forks were overrated.

Jacob agreed.

I was also impressed with my ability to make a Perry the Platypus pinata for Trey's 5th birthday party:

Perry the Platypus!  What are you doing here?

And the treasure hunt for the goodie bags at the end of Trey's pirate birthday party last year was a great success (and much safer than a pinata!).  He's even requested that again.

Arrr ye ready for a treasure hunt?

These are great memories that I hope they will cherish well into their adulthood.  So, yes, I go all out for birthday parties (you should see me at Christmas!).  And I say that so that you don't take what I'm about to say the wrong way...

                               ...it's a bit ridiculous what many of us do for our kids' first birthdays. 

I've had the opportunity to go to two 1st birthday parties within the past month, most recently the first birthday party of my nephew Max.  From beautiful and tasty (yet disgustingly expensive) cakes to specially made outfits, there are some elaborate and costly first birthdays going on!  And Trey's was no exception--I had his catered for crying out loud!  So I'm just as guilty! 

Going all out isn't really a problem; but when you consider that our kids aren't able to understand or remember a shred of it, you have to wonder what we're going all out for.

I think my sister Jaci said it best:  "It's a celebration--a celebration for us all.  We made it through the first year.  And we didn't damage him!" 

 

Max's 1st birthday party (and first birthday cake)!

That truly is something to celebrate!  They're one only once.  They have their first birthday and first birthday cake only once.  And we get to revel in our amazing accomplishment as parents, rounding the corner of that first year mark, only once.

So Happy First Birthday Sweet Child of Mine!