American Soldier

On Veteran's Day, I always think of my Grandpa Poole...a great American Soldier. I have talked about him before on my blog. He served in World War II and was captured by the Japanese and forced on the Bataan Death March. He was a prisoner of war for 3 1/2 years and endured all kinds of suffering and starvation. When he was finally rescued at the end of the war. He came home to lead a quiet, humble life as a mailman.

Miraculously, he was able to forgive his tormentors and carried no hatred in his heart. It was only in his last few years that he spoke of his time as a POW and his war experiences. Yet, he always spoke of his love of this country and what it meant to him to serve and fight for our freedom. He is a true hero. He died last March and Mitchell (Buster) was born the next month. Mitchell's middle name is Harold after my grandpa.

Please take a minute today to think of all of those who have served and continue to serve out country so courageously. Many made the ultimate sacrifice and I am so grateful for them today.

One of my favorite videos:

http://youtu.be/DWrMeBR8W-c

My Mini-Me

There is no question that Sammie is her mother's daughter. Here is why:

Like me, she hates pain. Her front tooth has been dangling for the last few days. Everyone has wanted to yank it out. She has been such a baby about it...holding a tissue on it, not eating, crying. FINALLY, the tooth came out at school yesterday.



She is waaaay too smart for mythical things like the tooth fairy. She went and got in my wallet and told me she was making change for a fiver because she has lost two teeth.

She is constantly asking in a very loud voice in front of her three brothers whether Santa is real. She is a born cynic. And Sammie, since I know you are reading my blog, he is!



She is all about going shopping with me and getting new clothes. She alternates between two backpacks at school just because she gets bored. Since the poor kid wears a uniform to school every day, her life is all about accessories and shoes. I indulge her.



She is always reading blogs on my ipad or texting Sam with my phone. Where does she get it?

She has no self-control when it comes to presents. I especially relate to this one. When I was a kid, I would find the xmas presents no matter how crafty and sneaky my parents got. I remember one year standing on a ladder on top of my dad's car to get into a box on the top shelf of the garage where all the presents were. I was also known to unwrap things and re wrap them before xmas. Sammie is getting an American Girl doll that looks like her for xmas from my mom and dad. It got delivered to my house and she wouldn't rest until she got a peek at it. I was completely beaten down from a day of badgering and she finally got my mom to show it to her.



She is constantly doing cartwheels, performing dance routines and various tricks in the house. I mean constantly. It makes me batty until I remember doing the same thing down the grocery store aisle or doing pirouettes in my mom's kitchen. Last night, Sammie insisted on performing the entire first grade program for me including all of the dances she is not in. It was my greatest achievement in patience as a mother.



So there you have it. I love that sassy girl but I understand now what I put my parents through. Mom, I'm sorry!

Magic Pants Revisited

Apparently, I only own one top...sorry. The ridiculous side pose is so you can see the back pockets.

I bought my five pocket leggings at Gap today with the Friends and Family pass. They let us super important, super classy, Gap Silver card holders in a day early. Don't be jealous.

These pants are the bomb diggity. I love that the leggings are a little thicker and have the pockets in case my sweater creeps up and my bum is out there in all of it's jiggly glory.

I wish they came in a long, which they don't. But I plan to wear them with tall boots or black booties when I want to dress them up...what? You don't dress up leggings? I do!

Anyhoo, please go get them. You will love them! You can copy this image and print it out and take it to a Gap store:



ps. Thank you for all of your comments and suggestions on the grey boots. I am still fasting and praying about them...I'm kidding. But I did order the boots Greg suggested and I am waiting to compare. I will keep you posted!

pss. White House Black Market (my favorite store of all time) is having a friends and family sale that starts tomorrow..20% off. Leave me a comment with your email if you want in and I will forward it to you. I got the sweater I am wearing in the picture above there.

These Boots Are Made For Walkin'...

The question for you is...should I be walkin' them right back to the store?

Yes, I know there is way too much flash in this picture and I am wearing two different boots. Stay with me. It will all make sense in a minute.

I loooove my tall black boots. I wear them daily.

I have been wanting a pair of grey boots for sometime but I'm not sure these are the ticket. These are Madden Girl and on the cheap side. They are trendy and may only work for this season. They are also really big around the calf. I may be able to live with it because they are comfortable. Be brutally honest. Do I just stick with my black ones or do you like the grey as well? Do I need a different pair of grey ones?

Another photo of them for your consideration:



Or I could buy them in a short version:



And now for the magic pants I have been telling you about. I love leggings. (To me, they are elegant sweats.) I sometimes have tops (like the one pictured above) that cover my bum but just barely. So I wanted some leggings that had pockets and look like skinny jeans. Enter BR's five pocket legging. This picture does not do them justice.



They are thick and a tiny tiny bit looser than leggings. In fact, I plan to wear them with short sweaters as well and dress them up like nice black pants (with a skinny fit.) Give them a try. You can tuck them into boots or wear them with a pump or ankle boot. And Banana is having a 30% off sale on all women's full price apparel through tomorrow night.

Update: I have turned my back on the BR leggings. I can't do dry clean only and I think they may be a tad loose through the knee and calf area. So I now have my sights set on the Gap's version of the same pant. I have a Friends and Family for 40% off at the Gap starting Thursday. Email me if you want in on that.

To my male readers..both of you...stop laughing at me.

Colbert is my Hero

Generally, if you are interested in politics, business, social movements, you don't come to this here blog. You come here for shopping, celebrity gossip and general craziness. But if you have been following the Occupy Wall Street movement at all or even if you haven't, you need to watch this clip from the Colbert show:

The Colbert Report
Get More: Colbert Report Full Episodes,Political Humor & Satire Blog,Video Archive

Just When You Thought You Had Seen All of our Halloween Pictures...

A few more from the big day:

















I have never been so happy to see November 1st!

You Know It's Halloween...

when you are pulling through McD's for a huge Diet Coke before 8:00 in the morning.

Here's to all the moms putting on cheesy costumes and heading to school today to help with parties. We are good people.

*this morning when I told Ryan he couldn't have candy for breakfast, he told me to "keep an open mind." What the?

Happy Halloween Friends!