10 For Today

1. Elf On The Shelf = Totally creeps me out

2. It's really cute to hear my two year old son say "Albert Pujols."

3. I bought marshmallows today for gas stovetop s'mores.

4. I also bought two books- The Hunger Games and Empire of the Summer Moon.

5. I can't find the kids winter stuff from last year, including their mittens, hats, Arkansas Razorback hoodies, and the like.

6. At the art museum halloween party, a printmaker was there making to-order Frankenstein monster and mummy prints for the kids to color. Of course, the art museum would knock the art activity out of the park.

7. Since reading an article concerning it a while back, I only single space after a period now.

8. I had a dream the other night that David Freese kept trying to walk off with my Target buggy with R sitting in the seat.

9. I stayed up the other night until nearly 3:00 am reading up on biodynamic farming.

10. I bought my first 2011 Christmas gift- something for my dad. He is the best person to shop for. I could buy him 100 things and he would love them all.

What R is Loving

1. This huge book we have called The History of Animation that has great shots of He-Man, Mickey Mouse, and Lion King, which are among his favorites.

2. My tub of Cetaphil lotion. He grabs a walnut-sized dollop and just sticks it to his face or arm and walks off.

3. Riding on the tall and narrow arm of our daybed-style sofa and pretending it's a horse or BattleCat.

4. Nuts- they are his favorite snack. He likes 'em all.

5. Me scratching his back and head

6. Quinoa and blueberries. That is his favorite meal.

7. Watching Shaun the Sheep or He-Man or Mickey Mouse Clubhouse

8. Cowboy boots

9. Climbing out of his crib

10. His friend Teddy

11. The Super Grover stuffed animal that he has fly all over our house

12. Singing Ba Ba Black Sheep and The ABC's

13. Doing anything and everything his big sister does

14. Andy made him these little saddles for his Schleich horses- they are so cute- so they can have a rider

About Last Night

1. Halloween party at the Martin's house...I didn't want to dress up so I said I was dressed up like an attractive woman.
2. I ate about 45 baby carrots from a veggie tray at the party
4. Watched the Cardinals win the World Series on both their living room TV and on a screen projected onto their garage in the back yard

5. We all went outside to watched the last inning and cheered together at the end

6. My friend Karin was dressed like a cowgirl and had two cap guns. She ran around us in the back yard shooting her guns into the air at the end of the game. It was hilarious and I'll treasure that memory of her for a long time.

7. We had to drive through the pandamonium and celebration to get to our loft downtown. It took an hour to get from Hwy 44 to our garage, which is really just about 1.5 miles.

8. People were coming up to our car to give high fives, people were dancing on top of their cars, a guy was skateboarding down 4th St with a 12 pack of beer in each hand, and a large woman got out of her car, screamed "Cardinal Nation!" then got back in and kept driving. It was all weird and wonderful.

9. We won the World Series! I fell asleep about 15 seconds after my head hit the pillow.

Today's Laid-Back Playlist

1. Transformation- David Gray

2. The Curse- Josh Ritter

3. Five String Serenade- Mazzy Star

4. Like Rock & Roll And Radio- Ray LaMontagne

5. These Are Days- 10,000 Maniacs

6. The Only Living Boy In New York- Simon & Garfunkel

7. The Wind- Cat Stevens

8. The Last Time I Saw Richard- Joni Mitchell

9. Hip Hip Hooray- Margot & The Nuclear So-So's

10. Whiter Shade of Pale- Procol Harum

11. Alien- Bush

12. I've Got This Friend- The Civil Wars

13. Elephant- Damien Rice

14. Night Rider's Lament- Garth Brooks

15. Always On My Mind- Willie Nelson

16. I Fall to Pieces- Patsy Cline

17. All My Mistakes- The Avett Brothers

18. All The Right Reasons- The Jayhawks

19. Lies- Glen Hansard & Marketa Irglova

20. Fly- Nick Drake

21. I Don't Know What It Is- Rufus Wainwright

22. Jacksonville Skyline- Whiskeytown

23. You Don't Pull No Punches, But You Don't Push the River- Van Morrison

24. Avalanche- Heather Nova

25. Kid Fears- Indigo Girls

26. The Ice Is Getting Thinner- Death Cab for Cutie

27. Holiday In Spain- Counting Crows

28. God Only Knows- The Beach Boys

29. Skinny Love- Bon Iver

30. The Funeral- Band of Horses

Our Busy Halloween Season

1. R and I went to the Magic House's Halloween Party on Monday morning

2. Halloween Party at the St. Louis Art Museum last night

3. Harvest Party at Greentree Church on Thursday night

4. Sunday night Trick-or-Treating in our building. Five kids live in the building, so it'll be pretty low-key.

5. Trick-or-Treating with friends in Warson Woods on actual Halloween night.

Right Now

1. W is at school

2. R and his friend T are playing in the living room- something that involves Lightning McQueen cars, hats, horses, and hollering, "WooHoo!" every 3 seconds. I love it.

3. I am listening to David Gray and Annie Lennox sing Full Steam- it's been about 3 times on repeat. I am always practicing Annie's part in case David ever calls me up on stage.

4. Apple crisp is baking in the oven- made with Murphy's Orchard in Marionville apples, which I swear I could pick out of a lineup. They are so delicious.

5. My eyes keep wandering over to W's SUPER cute school pictures

6. Puddy is sleeping upside down on the sofa

7. I need to clean out the toaster oven then order diapers, toothpaste, toothbrushes, and 2 baby gifts.

8. I am wearing gray sweatpants, my brown house slippers, and one of A's long-sleeved thermal shirts.

9. I've moved on to Fleet Foxes- He Doesn't Know Why.

10. R and T have added sunglasses to their get-up.

11. I just was called away for a stinky diaper change.

12. T keeps coming up to ask me to push the horse's ear to make him neigh. I keep telling him how he can do it himself, but he prefers me doing it. He's so cute that I oblige.

13. I've moved on to my first listen of the new She & Him Christmas album.

14. I am snacking on some Chia Pudding. A lot of you ask about it- just chia seeds and some milk (I use unsweetened almond) and some fruit (today is blueberries) and let that sit in the fridge. My sister blogged about it on her vegan food blog.

15. The boys are now standing on the sofa looking at the window.

16. I am going to take the crisp out of the oven.

Shows I Am No Longer Going To Watch

1. The Bachelor
2. The Bachelorette
3. The Bachelor Pad
4. CSI:NY
5. Law and Order:SVU
6. Real Housewives of (anywhere)
7. Dina's Party (I don't know why I even started this one. It's pretty dull.)
8. CSI
9. Watch What Happens Live
10. Grey's Anatomy
11. Ringer is circling the drain. I'm giving it two more episodes.

What I Love At The Magic House

1. My favorite is the room that plays music and projects your dancing image in an awesome, psychedelic, cheap-music-video kind of way.
2. The bubble room
3. The toddler sand table- R could stay there for hours
4. That thing that displays some scientific principle (clearly, I don't pay attention to the scientific facts) where the balls float over the blown air. I think it's amazing!
5. The "grocery store"
6. They really know how to put on a show. I love all of their members events. We went to the Halloween morning today; It was so fun! And W swooned over their Beauty and the Beast Tea Party last year.
7. The St. Louis Blues bubble piano. So cheesy, but fun.
8. The little creek and fishing pond

Today

1. Woke up in Branson
2. Silver Dollar City with my parents and my brother and his family
3. R is finally tall enough to ride most of the kids rides
4. I ate French fries and cinnamon bread for lunch
5. Andy and R went through Marvel Cave with my dad, brother, and niece.
6. I found a bracelet I want for Christmas
7. I rode the roller coaster, butterflies, and the elephants. Way too much for me.
8. Back to Matt's house for some family football and Big Wheel riding for R.
9. Stopped at Subway for some supper on the way home
10. Listening to the World Series on the way home- Go Cardinals!

W's Christmas List

1. Belle doll and Beast doll from the Disney Store

2. White and blue Cinderella dress

3. Ariel and Prince Eric dolls from the Disney Store

4. Sparkly nail polish

To Do Before 3:00 Tomorrow

1. Hand wash shirts and cardigans

2. Watch Fringe! It's going to be a good one.

3. Still need to eat dinner. I feel like a beany, cheesy quesadilla.

4. Pack for Branson

5. Go to the Tower Grove Farmer's Market Harvest Festival in the morning

6. Clean out my car

7. Bake some Pumpkin Bread and Maple Cinnamon Cream Cheese Spread to take to Branson

8. Make something to take the the Reinberg Bonfire

What's In My Purse

1. My Hobo wallet

2. Two pairs of sunglasses in their cases

3. Two pens from the Sheraton in Clayton that write really well

4. A few Organic Valley suckers

5. My art fair badge lanyard-R loves wearing it, so it comes in handy in pinch.

6. A jar of garlic salt. You thought I was kidding when I said that before.

7. A cloth zippie with baby wipes in it

8. Four mini Larabars

9. A calculator because it will pacify W if I need something

10. Dental floss

11. Cough drops

12. A blood work order for me- I'm having my thryoid tested

13. Several loose bobby pins

14. A crumpled up Target receipt

15. My small camera

16. A Say Yes to Carrots carrot flavored lip balm

17. iPhone ear buds

My Great Monday and Tuesday

1. Monday morning, both of my kids went to school, so I spent the morning with the birthday girl Missy
2. We went to the Chesterfield Mall to go to H&M Kids and had lunch at Bread Co.
3. Back to the boys school for Mommy & Me music time
4. Stephen came over for dinner. Of course, W was thrilled.
5. Tuesday morning, the kids spent the morning with Grandma, so I spent the morning with Aaron
6. We went and got pedicures then did a little shopping
7. I bought W a Snow White dress and R a cape and mask- both huge hits
8. W and I took a snuggle nap together
9. We spent the afternoon/evening at the Reinberg's house for a movie
10. Aaron made delicious strawberry mint slushies and quesadillas for dinner
11. Fringe 3-episode marathon with Andy last night to catch up to our queue. That show couldn't get any better!

Cards For Our Super-Cute Advent Calendar

1. Go on a Christmas Lights drive

2. Make hot chocolate

3. Read our Christmas story books

4. Make a special treat to give to our neighbors

5. Watch a Christmas movie and eat popcorn

6. Read the story of Jesus' birth from the Bible

7. Make Christmas cookies

8. Write Christmas cards and letters for our out of town family

9. Make homemade Christmas ornaments for our little tree

10. Make S'mores

11. Make Santa faces with construction paper and cotton balls

12. Make Christmas trees with popsicle sticks and pom-poms and glitter

13. Drive around looking for Salvation Army bell ringers to give money to

14. Make Christmas doggie treats for all of Puddy's friends

15. Go to the Nativity Play

16. Get out your nativity set and act out the story from your Jesus Storybook Bible

17. Go Christmas shopping for the family who needs help buying gifts for their children

18. Scavenger hunt in our house for a little Christmas treat

19. Make paper plate snowmen

20. Christmas party with the Reinbergs

21. Unwrap a new Christmas book

22. Christmas Jammy Day

23. Put together teachers' Christmas gifts

24. Attend Gardenland Express at the Botanical Gardens

25. All-day Christmas music dance party

Top 10 Legal Addictions

1. Prescription drugs (I could hook someone up with this one...we've got about 20 bottles leftover from the accident that I don't want to flush into the water system.)

2. Cigarettes (I wish. My husband would disown me.)

3. Alcohol (I don't drink much. Usually only when I go out for margaritas and Mexican food or red wine when we are out fancy)

4. Pornography (Not really a struggle, but the male kind isn't too tempting.)

5. Gambling (I've been to a casino twice in my life. Once with my friend Josh somewhere around Lake Providence, LA and once with some friends in STL. Kinda depressing places. I did have quite the addiction to the computer poker on our cruise ship once, but only because my father-in-law was financially supporting my addicition.)

6. Fast food (Because of my vegetarianism and distaste for fried foods, I steer clear of fast food. I do partake in veggie burgers from Burger King and Subway veggie subs on road trips. They'll do.)

7. Celebrity gossip (I don't like the gossip that's negative or speculations. I do love hearing who is dating who, reading about celebrity weddings, and hearing what celebs name their babies. And I like all the fashion and fancy dresses at award shows.)

8. Online role-playing games (Well, I just mastered the Apple N, Apple A, etc. functions, so I don't think I have the computer skills for any sort of online gaming. Maybe Pinterest is more of a temptation, although lately, I've been mostly annoyed with it. Or annoyed with myself when I judge peoples weird and not-cute pins.)

9. T.V. (Um, yes, I watch a lot of TV. However, I have in the last month deleted about 10 shows from my Season Pass Manager. I'm taking steps.)

10. Shopping (I would shop and buy things every day if I could, but I guess that's no surprise to you, list blog readers who have combed through scores and scores of my "things I want to buy" lists.)

This list, besides my commentary was originally taken from listverse. Sorry if I put the periods in the wrong place in regards to the parentheses. I don't remember all those rules.

Fruit My Children Have Consumed Today

1. One banana

2. A handful of blueberries

3. Eight strawberries

4. A small bag of dried pineapple

5. Two apples

6. Two boxes of raisins

7. A can of pumpkin

Today

1. Breakfast at our neighbor's house- Aaron made homemade cinnamon rolls
2. Watched some Backyardigans
3. To the Galleria for BabyGap, Anthropologie, Sephora, and The Disney Store
4. Lunch at Whole Foods
5. Naps for the kids...and me
6. The City Museum with the Reinbergs- we dominated that place. Definitely did things most 1, 2, and 3 year olds have never done before there. I blame Aaron. She's hardcore. I may have dislocated my elbow.
7. Quinoa and vegetables and cheesy garlic bread for dinner
8. Biggest Loser marathon with Andy. Our TiVo is backed up a few weeks.

My Purchases I Made At A Jewelry Party Last Night

1. This in gold- E.L., was this what you were talking about? I tried.

2. This, also in gold

3. A simple stunner

What's Hanging On The Walls In Our Loft's Main Area

1. Three wooden squares with patterns from West Elm

2. A large Alicia LaChance painting

3. A Michael Hoffman painting

4. My 18 art collaged boards

5. A Bruce Holwerda painting I gifted my husband a few Christmases back

6. A William LaChance painting

7. A small framed photo of the St. Louis Art Museum in the winter over our sink

Supper Tonight

1. Quesadillas

2. Nachos

3. Yogurt and salsa for dipping

4. Guacamole

5. Corn

6. Fruit smoothies

7. Homemade brownies

What's Hanging On Our Master Bedroom Walls

1. A matted and framed David Gray poster
2. A three-photo frame featuring W as a baby
3. A pair of medium sized Alicia LaChance paintings
4. A pair of quirky photos by Amanda Linn
5. A big photo collage of a tree that my husband made me while we were dating


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Our Trip

1. Flew into Los Angeles on Friday evening
2. Our friends Mark and Kara came to pick us up from the airport and we listened to the Cardinals win to advance in the postseason!
3. Late supper at Umami Burger then drove into Pasadena
4. The next morning, we had breakfast at Burgers and Donuts, which is weird, but the donuts were delicious.
5. We went to the Pasadena Farmer's Market and bought some goodies, including this sundried tomato pistachio pesto that I think is the best thing I have ever eaten.
6. We went over to Fuller Seminary to see where Mark works.
7. After a rest stop at their apartment, we walked around downtown Pasadena and did a little shopping. All I bought were things for the kids at American Apparel- a purple tank and blue dress for W and a gray cardigan for R.
8. Lunch at Barney's Beanery. I had a veggie club sandwich and sweet potato fries.
9. We spent the afternoon at Mark & Kara's watching the Razorbacks and Michigan games. Two wins for our teams!
10. We had a late supper at Tarantino's, a hole-in-the-wall pizza place.
11. Back to their house for board games
12. Sunday morning, we drove to BEAUTIFUL Sierra Madre for brunch at Mary's Market and some exceptionally good live music. I had a cinnamon biscuit and a veggie and egg on a bagel.
13. We walked around the mountain towns narrow and winding streets for awhile, admiring the interesting houses.
14. After leaving the mountains, we did a driving tour of Hollywood and Beverly Hills and stopped in Beverly Hills for Sprinkles cupcakes (chocolate coconut) and a walk down Rodeo Drive.
15. Back to Pasadena for some resting and to watch my old friend Bryce win his first PGA tournament!
16. Dinner and margaritas and mariachi at El Portal
17. For dessert, we met up with our friends the Garcias and the Cables at a fro-yo place.
18. On Monday morning we slept in, then headed to LAX for our flight to Little Rock to pick up our babies!

Shoes I Took To California

1. Black canvas peep-toe wedges
2. Snakeskin ballet flats
3. Brown combat boots
4. Snakeskin and gold sandals



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My Umami Burger Experience

1. Some sort of grain-based veggie burger that ended up being soft and more like a sloppy joe, but it was muy delicioso.
2. Brioche bun- my favorite kind and stamped with a "UB"
3. White soy and truffle aioli
4. Roasted tomatoes
5. Butter lettuce
6. Mystery cheese
7. Sweet potato fries dipped in umami ketchup and roasted garlic aioli
8. Black cherry soda in a bottle


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Most Of My Childhood Memories Take Place Here

1. My grandpa's yard

2. The woods

3. The Crane gymnasium

4. The Keithley's house

5. Our Crane house

6. Mert and Donald's house

7. Our old yard

8. The park in Republic

9. Silver Dollar City

10. The Aurora Pizza Hut

11. The Berkstresser's house

12. Table Rock Lake

13. The creeks on my Grandpa's land in Hurley

What Came Out From Under My Stove With The Help Of The Long Arm Of My Swiffer Duster

1. 6 pieces of popcorn

2. A multitude of dry beans of many varieties

3. Dust bunnies that combined to be the size of one small possum

4. A few kiblets of dog food

5. Many bits of uncooked spaghetti

6. Three glittery crafting pom poms

7. Six cents

8. A pinwheel pasta piece

9. Random trash- hair strands, bits of unknown, crumbs, etc.

10. Popcorn kernels

11. Something that looked like a dried, shriveled, peanut in its shell

Things I'd Like To Have

1. I love beautiful clutches

2. Cute shoes

3. This will probably be mine this week?

4. This, again

5. I would want to wear these every day

6. The one on display at the Galleria and I are in a relationship

7. Hazy Days top

8. To replace the ones in our house that need replacing

9. Michelle's dress

10. Another one

11. I have a thing for poufs

12. A chair

13. Beautiful pillow

14. I want this now

15. Wish it wasn't so expensive

The APA's "Great Places in America: Streets"

1. Santa Monica Boulevard- West Hollywood, CA

2. U Street N.W.- Washington, DC

3. Front Street- Lahaina, HI

4. Main Street- Galena, IL

5. Main Street- Nantucket, MA

6. Washington Avenue- St. Louis, MO (no big deal, just the street I live on)

7. Market Street and Market Square- Portsmouth, NH

8. Davis Street- Culpepper, VA

9. King Street- Alexandria, VA

10. Downtown Woodstock Streetscape- Woodstock, VT

*the source of this list can be found here

How My Husband Was A Good Dad Yesterday

1. Took the kids to the City Museum so I could clean

2. Crafted W a Cardinals necklace so that she'd have something to wear on Cardinals Day at school

3. Took the kids to Target

4. Watched He-Man with them after dinner

5. Let me get a lot of cleaning done

6. Gave piggy-back rides and engaged in wrestling sessions

My Cleaning Frenzy Today

1. Cleaned under and behind the cribs

2. Vacuumed all mop boards

3. Dusted the whole house

4. Cleaned all shelves

5. Washed bedding

6. Vacuumed under all the furniture

7. Vacuumed under all the sofa cushions

8. Carpet cleaned the rugs, sofas, and carpet

9. Did laundry

10. Cleaned the leather chairs

For Missy's Purse Search

1. Pretty and tough

2. An expensive beauty

3. this

4. My go-to company for bags

5. Cute

6. Why do I like this one? I don't know, but I do.

7. I like the "forest" color

8. Oh, Marc

9. LOVE this one

10. Just do it

11. A great wear-with-all

12. Reasonably priced

13. Basic, love the studs

14. Great bag

15. Like

16. I want this one for myself