Brownie Wars -- You heard it here first.

All Thumbs Thursday is finally back.

Thumbs Up

+ Family fun with the Photo Booth.

+ Let's hear it for the magical summer weather that you think about on your worst day in February -- sunny and warm with a slight breeze and no humidity -- but that really only bookends weeks of torturous heat. I may be overstating the case, but this summer was a hot one, right? Loving the milder temperatures this week.

+ I can't believe I haven't mentioned it before, but how about the fact that Coca-Cola bought the rights (or something like that) to distribute Dr. Pepper?! Although Dr. Pepper is a special treat for me (as opposed to Diet Coke, my life's blood), I just feel happy picturing Dr. Pepper and Diet Coke together on the fountains at McDonalds and Qdoba.

+ Thomas's Bagel Thins. Not quite as satisfying as biting into a fresh and fat bagel, but for 100 calories and 5 grams of fiber, I am on board.

+ The novels of Emily Giffin. Had never read one and had some false assumptions about what they were like. What are they like? Delightful. I've read two in the past few weeks and really enjoy her writing. Good insights into relationships, plenty of right-on details, and funny as well. It's such a treat to discover a new-to-me author and have more unread novels waiting for me.

+ The new season of Project Runway -- I'm just enjoying it so much. I am mesmerized and deliciously annoyed by Gretchen's uber confidence. I am charmed by Mondo and even Casanova. And, of course, there's the designer whose clothes I always want to wear: Peach. You know, the more mature contestant whose stuff bores the judges? I'm all about Peach.

+ Cupcake Wars on Food Network. I am digging this show. Yes, you have to disregard the host and his ridiculous comments which are (I think) supposed to sound all bad-ass, tough guy. You also have to disregard the charade that the contestants are totally surprised by the ingredients presented, etc. At the end of the day though, I just like thinking about cupcakes and watching people bake and frost them. Added bonus is that Bub likes the show, and we can enjoy it together, especially on evenings when he gets to "stay up late" and wait for Daddy. NTB, but Bub has pitched a competing program called Brownie Wars. He told me last night, "We'll need a 'bideo' camera mom. What kind of brownies will you make? Mine will have blueberry, nutmeg, and cinnamon." I'll let you know how those turn out.

+ Peanut. Butter. M & Ms. I cannot get enough.

+ "Staycation" with my whole family last week at my parents. Lots of fun, food, and family bonding. The week kicked off with my beautiful cousin's wedding.

+ Sweet P's face when she rolls over from her back to her belly and then lifts her little head up to look all around. So stinking cute and so proud of herself!

+ Aarti Party -- I'm RSVPing "yes."

+ School starts on Monday. Bub is so excited, and I am looking forward to having a bit more shape to our days and to the social interaction the school year brings for all of us.

I'm too lazy to find much to complain about so I'll skip the "thumbs down" for this week -- a sign that all is well in my world!

What's thumbs up/thumbs down for you these days? Please share in the comments.

Disclaimer: No one has paid me or offered me free products in exchange for attention on this blog.

Denim Diapers & Detours -- All Thumbs Thursday

All Thumbs Thursday!

Thumbs Up:

+ wearing fancy hats -- Sweet P and I had the opportunity to don hats this past weekend at an awesome tea party bridal shower for my cousin.

+ Glee -- The sensitive side of Puck. "Somewhere Over the Rainbow" and "To Sir with Love." The season finale had me in tears, and I cannot wait to buy the last of this season's soundtracks when I end my self-imposed spending freeze. If you have not been watching Glee, buy or rent the DVDs this summer.

+ Huggies jeans commercial -- I have not purchased the Huggies "jeans" for Sweet P or Little Bit, but that commercial cracks me up. Why shouldn't you look cool pooping your pants?

+ moderate summer temperatures -- More sunshine. Less sweat. My deodorant already has to work hard enough so I am loving the milder weather.

+ Lori Lansens -- I have recently read two of Lansens' novels and have been completely enchanted by both. Check out The Girls, about twins conjoined at the head, and The Wife's Tale, about a woman whose husband leaves her (and then she finds herself, but it's not as cliched as that sounds). The main characters in both novels come from the same small Canadian town so there is a delightful bit of overlap.

+ The Art of Eating In: How I Learned to Stop Spending and Love the Stove by Cathy Erway -- Another book that grew out of a blog! Erway spent two years not eating out (or ordering in) in New York City. I was inspired by her dedication to her project, her creative cooking, and the fact that she spent something like $20 a week on groceries during those two years. Recipes included!

Thumbs Down:

- Construction -- They are fixing the sewers around here and rebuilding my beloved "Little Jewel" grocery store. Necessary projects, but I am so sick of dust, bumpy and blocked roads, and unpredictable traffic patterns and detours.

- Bub and Little Bit fighting, pestering, and picking at each other. All. The. Livelong. Day.

- Miniature brooms that I forget to hide/trash each evening -- related to above complaint.

- The way each time I go to put Sweet P in the bouncy seat or infant seat, one of her brothers has pre-fastened the straps, forcing me to unfasten them one-handed before I can settle her in the respective seats.

- Still not being caught up with my thank you notes or birth announcements -- I'm working on them!

What's Thumbs Up and Thumbs Down for you this Thursday?

Ree-Seas Pee-Seas

All Thumbs Thursday Is Back!

Thumbs Up (+) & Thumbs Down (-)

+ Ordered really cute birth announcements for Libby that arrived at our house within three weeks of her birth -- so on top of things, NTB!

- Have still not managed to finish addressing and mailing them and Sweet P is almost eight weeks old now

+ Really enjoying Subway's new chicken salad

- Chicken salad cannot be that good for me and cannot resist the Subway cookies while I'm there (thumbs up for Subway cookies--really!)

+ McDonald's Snack-Size Reese's McFlurry -- cheap and delicious and of the perfect size! Get yourself one tonight or, better yet, right now. GO!

- More opportunities to expose my inability to pronounce Reese's as anything other than "Ree-seas" as in "Ree-seas Pea-seas."

+ Sweet P no longer dropping (really stinky) bombs all day long

- Sweet P now filling her Swaddlers multiple times per day -- blow out beware!

+ Glee, Top Chef Masters, Community . . . loving my television!

- About to hit the summer television slump

+ Summer seems to be here! Woo hoo! I can finally believe that there will be no more snowy days for many months.

- Hate to sweat and prefer not to expose my arms and rack in tank tops

+ No showings this week to clean the house for like a crazy woman.

- No showings this week.

- Blogger double-spacing all my posts . . . Why? Why? Why? How can I fix it?

What's Thumbs Up and Thumbs Down for you right now? Please share in the comments!

No Fools Here!

Happy April! Today is All Thumbs Thursday . . .

Thumbs Up:

* New Booksburgh widget on left that links to my 2010 Reading List -- please click on it to see what I've read in 2010!

* My awesome friend CaraBee who made the widget for me!

* The Blogville widget that will be coming soon with links to an expanded version of my blogroll -- stay tuned!

* This wonderful weather! Sunshine and almost seventy degrees!

* The lawn chair in my back yard from which I was able to semi-relax for much of yesterday while the boys got every single toy out of the garage to play with in the yard!

* Blogtrotting Giveaway tomorrow! Be sure to check it out!

* Sweet P arriving any day now!

* Qdoba for lunch and did I mention Qdoba has a parking lot?!

* Unrestrained use of exclamation points!!!!!!

Thumbs Down:

Why bother?!

Please share your own Thumbs Up list in the comments!

Change Up

It's All Thumbs Thursday Again and this week I'm adjusting the format. Try to keep up!

Thumbs Up . . . Thumbs Down

We've had a lot of showings of our house the past few weeks, including two more so far for this weekend . . . no offers yet

Mini Twix bars . . . possibly empty Easter baskets

Convenience and ease of ordering on Amazon . . . credit card bills for Amazon.com Visa card

Bub now has a suburban and city preschool option so that we are set for next school year regardless of house sale . . . both spots secured with nonrefundable deposits

Delightful Bumble and Bumble hair powder to cover gray roots . . . unable to locate said powder anywhere in recently semi-decluttered house

Have health insurance that allows me to get new prenatal vitamins for reasonable cost . . . mail order system has thus far taken over three weeks and still no new vitamins and some rude customer service!

Meyer's soap and cleaning products purchased at Target that smell absolutely divine and totally give me a lift while cleaning and/or washing my hands . . . a bit pricier than average cleansers (but not a major thumbs down as I am really loving these products)

That's All, folks! What's Thumbs Up/Thumbs Down in your world?

Still All Thumbs on Thursdays

ATT = All Thumbs Thursday

Thumbs Up
* weather in the 60s today -- feels amazing!

* finally starting the episodes of Life Unexpected that have been building up in my DVR and am really enjoying the show -- Baze is so cute!

* also, speaking of television, are you watching Community? If not, consider it. Definitely some laugh-out-loud moments on that show -- plus, Joel McHale is cute and hilarious!

* dipping into the candy purchased for Easter -- loving the vanilla tootsie rolls and the mini Twix bars

* automatic doors on the new mini-van -- where has this feature been all my life?!

* fact that Bub can belt himself into his new booster seat!

* peanut butter pie I made in honor of my 35th birthday this past Monday -- delicious and easy (no baking required)!

* birthday messages on Facebook

* we've got a date for Sweet P's entrance into this beautiful world plus the real possibility that she may show up on her own schedule before that date -- we'll be ready!

* Xavier and Notre Dame in the tournament! Woo hoo!

Thumbs Down
* rain in the forecast for Saturday and snow for Sunday -- boo hiss.

* miscommunication regarding plans for dinner on my birthday -- I assumed we would order carry out and hubby would pick it up. He thought he heard me say I was planning to cook something special . . . for my own birthday. Bummer.

* tons of good books on my to-read list right now, but finding myself too tired in the evening to read for very long

* Little Bit's biting my arm so hard yesterday that it bruised immediately and hurt like the devil.


Okay, what about you? Leave your ATT list in the comments or link to your own Thumbs Up/Thumbs Down post!

ATT: Twins? Nope. Thanks though.

ATT = All Thumbs Thursday

Thumbs Up
* St. Patrick's Day photo shoot -- it's 50/50 whether I manage to use the photos for St. Pat's cards as planned, but at least I completed the first step

* yesterday's visit to the park -- sunshine, fresh air, no coats!

* mini-van shopping trip planned for this weekend -- the shopping is not a thumbs up, but the promise of a van (and of becoming a two-car household) is!

* this crockpot recipe for Meatballs in Chile Peanut Sauce -- easy, different, and delicious! I added red and yellow peppers and served on rice

* Season 5 in Gilmore Girls -- Luke and Lorelai are finally together, and I am loving it!!!!

* Hubby not traveling this month! Woo hoo!

* New blogs that I am loving: This Is the Day, Dusty Earth Mother, and My Fluffy Bunnies . . . check them out! I'll be updating my Blogroll soon!

Thumbs Down
* rain (but better than snow so don't consider it a thumb way down)

* all of Bub's pants are suddenly too short -- as a tall girl, I am very phobic of flood pants

* once again did not get my money's worth out of Netflix account -- put it on hold again after not watching 500 Days of Summer for at least 45 days of winter (note to self: MEP, you don't watch movies these days. Quit kidding yourself.)

* laundry -- why is laundry never finished? really, the whole family would have to spend a day naked or wearing disposable clothes in order for us to be officially caught up

* recent realization that card-making supplies are in storage so will have to procure new ones if I want to make St. Pat's Day cards with boys

Big Thumbs Down
* Friendly stranger who asked about my due date, assessed my belly, and asked, "Twins?"

What's Thumbs Up and Thumbs Down in your world? Share your list in the comments or a link to your own All Thumbs post!

All Thumbs Thursday

Thumbs Up
* Girl Scout Cookies, enjoyed in moderation (I don't typically endorse snack food moderation, but I made myself sick eating samoas earlier this week)

* Einstein's Bagels -- it's my go-to place when I have a little time to myself and need a bite, love the bagels and the fountain Diet Cokes

* Sunshine!

* doing pink laundry (see above)

* Jim and Pam are having a baby -- tonight!!!!!!

* Hubby not traveling at all this week (except for day trip tomorrow) and his helping with Bub's school drop-off the past two mornings

* newly-0pened Qdoba with parking -- not yet sure how it stacks up against Chipotle in the grand scheme, but I am loving the variety of sauces so far!

* Bub's school fundraiser tomorrow night -- I love that it is nothing fancy--no ballrooms rented, no fancy duds, no banquet food--just school gym, draft beer, jeans . . . rocking it Old School Catholic School style.

* Blogtrotting -- check it out if you haven' t yet!

* Amazon customer service. I found cracks in my Kindle (due to defective cover, they told me), and the friendliest man ever arranged to send me a brand new one and a credit to get a new cover. And, would you believe, the new covers come in pink!!!! It only took minutes and I was never made to feel as if I did anything wrong (which I didn't, but still)

Thumbs Down
* getting less sleep than I need and want

* having the phrase "I have nothing to wear" become more and more true each day

* the fact that despite a new battery and power cord, my MacBook now loses power immediately if the power cord becomes disconnected (Dear Apple: Please read above note about Amazon)

* Kate Gosselin's hair extensions

* the fact that Kate Gosselin is doing Dancing With the Stars (I know I shouldn't be judging, but I am and don't think it's the best choice for a more-or-less single mother of eight smallish children)

* feeling pressure to cook a particular meal that no longer sounds good since you have purchased the perishable ingredients -- shredded barbecue chicken sammies and coleslaw, here we come, thanks to the buns and cole slaw mix already procured.

What are you all thumbs over this Thursday? Share in the comments or blog about your own list (include link in comments so others can visit).