Gizzards?

I'm at the store the other day looking for a deal on chicken, because chicken rules. Anyways, I see this big sign that says chicken gizzards and hearts. Huh? Okay, it sparked me a bit. I'm trying to figure out what the heck a gizz is. This old lady comes up and starts loading her cart with these packs of gizzies and a bunch of chicken liver. I'm watching her acting like a freak and I finally say "mam, I've never seen someone so hungry for gizzards. Will you teach me about them?". She tells me they're the best part of the chicken, and tells me how to fry em... hmm. Not a bad deal. What the heck? I start loading my cart like a freak.

I came home so stoked and gathered the kids around to tell them of my new wise and old friend and got them so excited for our new family find. Karen gives me that look, then starts busting up. I assured her that we will not share with those who mock.

Well, these things turned out to be a joke. They're like rubber. I finally googled what they are and that didn't help. I'm now thinking that old lady worked there and I got scammed. 1 pack down, 9 more left. Sheesh. These kids aren't helping a bit. It's all on my shoulders. I will finish the job and will not be defeated.

The Buxton Bag

It's been a while since this happened, but I was needing a new purse. I prepped everyone to start looking out for a good purse, a smaller one, that would help me keep my stuff organized. The girls were watching a show one day and called me in "Mom! Mom! You have to buy this purse, it is PERFECT for you!"

That's when it all started....The Buxton Bag. The Buxton bag can hold it all! It can even hold 2 full-sized water bottles after all your stuff is packed in there. It looks amazing, real leather and your hands are free to do all the great stuff that a mother of seven can only dream of. This purse lady is smooth too, you have to see how sleek she is with the Buxton, her hands, the shoulder strap, everything! I was totally sold, yet could not imagine buying anything from off the TV. I never have, Tyler never, never would.

The Buxton bag continued to haunt me. We watched the commercial about 10 times together and I finally decided to get it. I told all the kids to get the number for me if they happened to see the commercial and it never came on anymore. What a bummer.

One night Tyler and I were in our room watching a movie and I was feeding Trevor. The Buxton bag was back!! "Tyler run and get my credit card and the phone!" This was a big deal. Tyler flew through the hall as fast as he could and started rummaging through my ridiculous purse, normally he refuses to get anything out of there. Yeah, I was so excited to get my new Buxton bag and the kids knew it would be coming one of these days in the favored big brown UPS truck.

Then the day finally came, like 6 weeks later. We waited forever. The UPS truck arrived and we all sat around the kitchen table, opened the box and celebrated the new arrival. Thirty bucks for a piece of leather that looks like plastic! The inside is lined with nylon lining! And a tag that says made in China. What a joke. I could see these things hanging all over Wall-Mart. How could I hide my disappointment? After all the build-up, no one can know that I HATE the Buxton. I showed the whole family a great display of what the Buxton bag can hold and do. Inside my angry little heart I couldn't believe how deceiving the Buxton lady was. This purse is horrible. It looks like a belly bag with a shoulder strap. I don't even want to use it, ever!

I made Tyler believe I loved it without ever saying so. That night I went to enrichment night. I told the story to some friends and shared my deepest regrets for my foolish purchase. I imagined my true regrets getting back to my family, so I came home and spilled it all. It was a sad ending to the Buxton Bag. I think Sara is going to try to sell it at our next garage sell. She's gonna get big bucks for the Buxton. I will never fall for an info-mercial again. I hope.

Spring Break

We had the best time over Spring break. Tyler took the week off and we just played so hard everyday till we were shot. We spent a few days in San Diego at a resort and the rest of the week we just beached hopped. Tyler surfed everyday and the kids boogie boarded. Fun times.

One of the days, Paige got stung on the neck by a jelly fish (wasn't too bad), so Tyler swam out and caught it, to make her feel better.

Tyler took the kids alligator hunting with their spears at a place they called "Alligator Creek". No gators were spotted, but they had a nice long hike and I had a nice long nap at home.

Conquering the tide pools.