Simple Pleasures

Is one of my simple pleasures. While reading the June issue last night I got the giggles about this little song quiz and thought I would share. Like all of you, when I get into my car alone I turn into a fabulous singer...take your pick...Whitney, Taylor Swift, Mazzy Star, an Indigo Girl, my list goes on and on. However, I will be the first to admit that I may not always get all of the words right...and my husband is the first one to correct me when I get them wrong. Try your luck on this one and see if you really know the words to these songs. Then, download all of these songs on your iPod...they are good ones!

MISHEARD LYRIC

1. "It doesn't make a difference if we're naked or not."
2. "There's a bathroom on the right."
3. "I'll never leave your pizza burnin'."
4. " Just another man named Monday."
5. "Village cheese is not my lover."
6. "Another one rides the bus."
7. "Get your motor runnin'/Dead cat on the highway."
8. "It tastes very nice, food of the parking lot."
9. "I took my love and I milked a cow."
10. "Comma, comma, comma, comma, comma, comedian."
11. "Mama, don't take my totem pole away."
12. "The girl with colitis goes by."
13. "Science healed the liver...I'm yours."
14. "Like detergent/Drunk for the very first time."
15. "Wake me up to pour your cocoa."
16. "But it's better than drinking cologne."
17. "What's love cockatoo, cockatoo?"
18. "I want a piece of bacon."

SONG TITLE

• a. "Manic Monday," the Bangles
• b. "Lucy in the Sky With Diamond," the Beatles
• c. "I Wanna Be Sedated," the Ramones
• d. "Born to Be Wild," Steppenwolf
• e. "Like a Virgin," Madonna
• f. "Bad Moon Rising," Creedence Clearwater Revival
• g. "What's Love Got to Do With It," Tina Turner
• h. "Landslide," Fleetwood Mac
• i. "Another One Bites the Dust," Queen
• j. "Kodachrome," Paul Simon
• k. "Billie Jean," Michael Jackson
• l. "Beast of Burden," the Rolling Stones
• m. "Signed, Sealed, Delivered I'm Yours," Stevie Wonder
• n. "Livin' on a Prayer," Bon Jovi
• o. "Wake Me Up Before you Go-Go," Wham
• p. "Big Yellow Taxi," Joni Mitchell
• q. "Piano Man," Billy Joel
• r. "Karma Chameleon," Culture Club

The Sign...

This is the sign you see in our front yard as you drive by! It is definitely bittersweet, as we are both super excited an kind of sad. This is the house we bought when we were finishing college. This is the house we were married in. This is the house we brought are first puppy to. This is the house we brought both our son and daughter to. This house is our home.

Although we will be sad to leave our home, we are thrilled to have found a fabulous new place! We have debated on new construction vs. an older home with charm...and think we have found the best of both worlds! The new house is an old Craftsman that has been newly updated. There will be plenty of room for everyone, plus some room to grow. The yard is HUGE and even backs up to the park. I know this will be the perfect new home for our family.

GREAT Recipe

In the spirit of this holiday and all of the entertaining that's going on, I thought I'd share a new recipe that we all LOVED!

Ingredients:
Tilapia Fillets (1-2 per person)
Salt and Pepper
Crumbled Feta Cheese
Stick Butter
Fresh Parsley

Start with a muffin pan and spray with cooking spray. Slice fillets down the middle following their natural line. Sprinke both sides of fillet liberally with s and p. Wrap each piece of fish (1/2 fillet per hole) in muffin pan. Fill middle with feta. Top each one with pat of butter and fresh parsley. Place on closed grill for approximately 20 minutes.

I was amazed at how easy and delish this recipe was! I served ours with long-grain rice and grilled asparagus...MMM!

I PROMISE this one won't disappoint!

Yeah!

Finally a long weekend! I'm so looking forward to crossing some things off my to-do list, hanging with the kiddos and taking the first dip of the season in NaNa's pool. Maybe we can even squeeze in family naptime! Have a great weekend!

Teething

Sadie and her favorite teething toy...a TOOTHBRUSH (I think it is probably Cooper's...gross)! This poor girl has tons of teeth trying to poke through, but she seems to be doing okay!

I'm sure our dentist would be proud!

Giggle Box

This giggle is contagious, cute, precious, adorable, fantastic...love this girl!

2 More Days...

And I'm counting EVERY second! Only 2 more days of the legislative session...officially ending 5/15/2009 at 6:00 p.m. Central Standard Time. I told you I was counting. Every year by the 1st of May I'm ready to pull my hair out and it almost over! Now maybe I can get back to a normal work schedule and stop traveling on Friday's...woo hoo! Ryan can help with afternoon pick-up and tubby time...woo hoo! We can have family dinners...woo hoo! We are so excited to have Daddy back at home with us in the evenings again and maybe Mommy can squeeze in a happy hour! : ) WOO HOO!

Escape Artist

I'm sure at some point I will have a post about Sadie Re, but she is an angel...which doesn't give me as much material! Yesterday was a typical Monday, which would not be complete without something nuts happening. I could tell when I went to pick them up from Shelby's yesterday afternoon that something had not gone right. In the morning, the "big boys" (ages 4, 4 and 5) are allowed to play outside (in the fenced in backyard) while the girls read books, color, etc. While they were playing outside Cooper got the bright idea to invite his buddies over to our house to play...right then!...we live REALLY close but still a good 1/2 mile or so and through a pretty busy intersection. So, they hopped the fence and were headed to Coop's! Luckily, they had to walk passed a wall of windows in the Play Room so they were busted! As bad as it could have ended up, it was so hard for me to keep a straight face as she was telling me and Cooper was so proud of his scheme! I had to drive around for at least 15 minutes last night so I could get it together. To top it off...Cooper produced a bright shiny quarter at dinner last night. It came from his buddy who "dared" him to jump the fence. Nice.

Wardrobe Malfunction

Cooper's newest battle is his wardrobe. Who would have ever guessed that a 4-year old BOY would have an opinion about what he wears. We have discovered this weekend that he does not like to wear shorts. When I say "does not like," he is adamant that he looks "silly" in them...seriously...crying and upset "silly." No one likes to see their child upset about anything, but this was HILARIOUS! I laughed to myself secretly and then dug out a pair of jeans for him to wear. What will we do when it's 90 degrees with 90% humidity?

Monday Morning

Like most households (I think?), Monday mornings at the Rowden house are nuts. We are always scrambling trying to find shoes, brush teeth and take allergy medicine and this Monday morning was no exception. As we are walking into the garage to load up (finally!), Cooper says, "Hey Mom, you got your checkbook?" Thinking to myself...I work from home and am only driving around the block to drop them off...what do I need my checkbook for? I also have enough cash for my Monday morning non-fat vanilla latte from Dunn...what do I need my checkbook for? "Mom, it's Monday! You have to pay my babysitter!" Are you kidding me? My 4-year-old is reminding me to pay bills! What would I do without him???

The Pederson's Wedding Weekend

What a great wedding weekend! This weekend we all traveled down (over, up, etc.) to Big Cedar Lodge in Branson, MO. What an awesome and relaxing place! Our little cabin was so nice with plenty of room and complete with a kitchen to do the cupcakes. Friday night we attended a Luau hosted by the groom's parents and enjoyed some great company. Saturday I was lucky enough to be joined by Sarah and Jennifer to work on the cupcakes...thanks so much for the help ladies! It was so much fun to spend time with the girls again! Then on to the wedding on Saturday night...it was gorgeous and we had so much fun...complete with tons of cupcake photo ops and cheerleading stunts! Can't wait to see everyone again soon and looking forward to hearing about Dave and Ashley's Hawaiian honeymoon!

Congrats again to Ashley and Dave!

Hi Ho...Hi Ho...

Hi Ho...Hi Ho...it's off to Branson we go! We (Ryan and I) are headed to Big Cedar Lodge in Branson this weekend for Ashley Gates and Dave Pederson's wedding! I am so excited for a getaway and love a good wedding! The accomdations look AWESOME...Ryan got us upgraded so I would have a kitchen to do the cupcakes in...thanks babe! And I'm so excited to hang with the girls this weekend!

On a side note- I CANNOT believe all of the stuff we have packed...and we don't have the kids with us...mixers and pans, sugar and flour, waders, golf clubs, booze, heels and enough hair and makeup products to hurt someone! Its bound to be a great weekend...stay tuned.