Picture THIS!

January 19th, 2012

2012-01-19T17:03:00.001-05:00

Did you know that today was National Popcorn Day? I did not. But now I do. My best-est phone phone friend, Tina L.O.V.E.S. popcorn. So, here’s to you, Tina…

January 17th, 2012

2012-01-17T13:09:00.001-05:00

Ever have one of those days?

Today is one of them.

I didn’t think so when I got up but it’s turned out to be.

I feel like a mess.

Let me lay it out for ya.

Sarah started it out. She was doing good.

She got up. Got dressed. Ate.

She was in the bathroom taking her for. ever. long to brush her teeth.

“COME ON, SARAH!!!” (oh and she doesn’t want the “H” anymore, too bad! it’s staying)

She is just a slow poke. She is MY daughter. Slow Poke was designed by me. Duh.

She comes out and plops down on the chair.

“Let’s do your hair”. She snail walks back to the bathroom. I put her hair in a ponytail.

Then the real drama begins. She hugs my side and hides her face in my shirt.

“What’s wrong?” Tears.

Steve says “We have to go, you take her later. Come on, Nate” “Bye, MOM!”

The long and short of it all is I had a long chat with her about sharing how she is feeling instead of just moaning and groaning all the time, let her sleep for an hour and off to school she went. With that drama over, I thought I was ready to face my errands drama free…. WRONG!!!

I have been carrying around 2 rebate checks for 2 weeks because no one will cash them but my own bank. Every time I’m out, my bank is not convenient so I was determined to cash them today!

Pull in the the bank and park. Walk across the parking lot and over one of those island thingies and KA-BLAM. I fell. I actually think I lost my footing on the soft ground but either way I ended up on the ground. I gathered the things that fell out of my purse and walked into the bank.

I was greeted by 2 employees and I just lost it. I almost left. If I didn’t need those stupid rebate checks cashed I would have been out of there. I told the teller I had fallen and she was very nice. She offered to have me sit while she did my transaction for me.

How embarrassing. I am a grown woman.

I got my cash and got back to the truck and just sat there and cried. Is it one of THOSE days? Or just one of those day? I have no idea. Does Topamax do this to people? I was fine yesterday. I was fine when I got up.

Anyway, yes, I did get hurt. Nothing life threatening. My finger is scratched up, I broke a nail. My leg has scratches all down the side (my thigh, knee and ankle). I tore a hole in my capris (it’s 65 today!).

So, when the children get home from school, I’m gonna curl up with a blanket and watch something and forget the whole thing happened. Yeah. That is what I’m gonna do. Thanks for listening / reading…. whoever you are.

January 3, 2012

2012-01-03T15:33:00.001-05:00

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!
Whew! Are you exhausted? I am. Sheesh. There was no time to blog while that last week was going on. Seriously. And last week…. um… no idea. But, I didn’t want to leave you hanging about Chip. He continued his silliness even without me blogging about it. So here is his recap:
Tues (12/20)

Yup, right inside the food cabinet, with a straw in the syrup. Nothing like getting your sugar full force! Funny, I don’t remember the bottle being that low.

Do elves get drunk from sugar? huh.

Wednesday (12/21)

Solitaire. Very cool. He had a good hand going there, too!!

Thursday (12/22)

We had a really hard time finding Chip this day. We thought he had left early to see Santa but when Sarah asked for a glass of milk we found him. No doubt he was about to get into some big trouble when he was trapped like a rat. Ha. I’d like to say I told you so but he’d probably just laugh and skip away. Nothing much bothers good ‘ole Chip. He even looks happy trapped.

Friday (12/23)

No guessing where Chip was today. Seems like an easy picture to take but I couldn’t seem to get it right. Sorry it’s so blurry. I didn’t find any pine needles in his butt from sliding down the banister. Maybe the stairs were too much and he was resting. That is what Sarah guessed. Chip. So cute.

Saturday (12/24)

Today we found Chip hiding in the Hanukah present box. Maybe he wanted to join in the present fun? Maybe he’s ready to convert? Maybe he thought the coins were real? Who knows. We looked long and hard before Sarah found Chip in here.

And then he was gone. Off to spend the year with Santa. It’s quiet around here. Nothing fun to look forward to each morning. Chip really livened the place up. We miss you, Chip! Have fun with Santa and we’ll see you after Thanksgiving.

December 19, 2011

2011-12-19T17:11:00.001-05:00

Happy Monday! Did you have a good weekend? I had a GREAT one! Saturday was my birthday!!! Yup. I turned 25. Sure did. You read it right. 25. That’s my story and I’m sticking to it. Any way, my birthday was filled with so many things. My husband and children bought me a beautiful cranberry sweater (that I returned, it was too small, for a more beautiful green sweater) and a carrot cake. My husband has never gotten me a cake for my birthday in all our 17 years together. (doing the math? 25. minus 17. just let it go!) My awesome sister went hippo-wild (can’t say hog wild here, doesn’t fit). She got me a pink hippo… um, door stopper maybe. It’s really heavy. A hippo ornament for the tree (so cute with a boa and some pointy shoes, very pier 1-ish). And lastly, a 2 foot light up Christmas Hippo for the front yard. Never saw that before! Well, now I have and I’ve got one! Jealous. My In-laws drove up for the weekend to celebrate Christmas with us and totally surprised us with… with… wait for it… MY NEPHEW!!!!

O.M.G. He was the best present. Sorry to everyone but he really was. I haven’t seen my nephew and 2 nieces’ in over a year and I miss them so much. He’s grown way taller. Look…

We are both flat footed here. Hard to believe he’s only 14. He’s got the best manners, he’s great with the other children and kept up his texting without it interrupting any of our fun. Sarah said she wished that T was her brother cuz he didn’t mind hugging her and was nice to her. Maybe she should ask his sisters if they agree.

Thanks for the surprise, T, I love and miss you already and every day till we see you again!!!

On to our adventures with Chip….

Saturday (12/17)

This would have to be one of my favorite days. We found Chip looking at stars thru the telescope. He was being smart using the children’s book on the night sky but look at the stars he was looking at….

He was gazing at the glow in the dark sticker stars in Nathan’s room!

Poor Nate said he woke up to the tube in his face.. WHOA!

LOL My side hurts.

Chip, Oh Chip. So funny!

Sunday (12/18)

Chip was tucked inside Nate’s stocking. I think Chip was a little freaked out with the 2 large dogs here and 3 more people. Good thing my parents come close to the time Chip heads back to be with Santa.

Monday (12/19)

This morning Chip was back on the fish tank. No fishing this time like I thought when Sarah came to report her findings. Instead, he took his coloring (from the 16th) and put it on the wall with the children’s art work. He must want to show off with them. So, when I put Chip back on the mantle today, I left his art work up in the hall. If he’s proud of it, we will be too.

December 16, 2011

2011-12-16T08:01:00.001-05:00

Yesterday Chip was upstairs…

This truck is very loud so I have no idea how he managed to get this far without any of us hearing him. He looks like he was having a good time though. But, when doesn’t he?!?!

Nathan didn’t seem impressed. He has to maintain his 5th grade coolness at all times, you know.

Off topic for just a minute. My sister (hi, Jan) mailed presents to the house. She told me that she mailed them FedEx and I should destroy the evidence before Steve sees (he’s a UPS driver, in case you are new here). Sure, I’ll rip off the labels from FedEx. With pleasure. FedEx is kind of a bad word around here anyway.

I give you exhibit A:

Not only is this box large enough to fit myself and my 6 year old, but do you see how I can hide the FedEx part? It’s on ALL FOUR SIDES. The label that I thought I could just rip off is a post-it sticky note on the top. Not sure how it made it all this way. Good news though, Steve just smiled. While smiling he asked why she used FedEx and I said “who knows, maybe it was the closest place to her house”. So, Janet, FedEx IS THE CLOSEST PLACE TO YOUR HOUSE!!! Don’t forget it!

I need to move that plant stand. today.

Back to Chip for today….

Sarah found Chip at her table in the art room. She was impressed with his coloring skills but laughed at him making his “H” backwards. Look to me like he missed the cold. Good thing it’s not coming around here any time soon. Sorry, Chip.

And, if you are still reading (or reading this at all) I’d love a comment or two. I’ve heard there are lots watching Chip but no one checks in. Merry Christmas to you!

Test

2011-12-15T15:42:00.001-05:00

December 14th, part 2

2011-12-14T16:22:00.001-05:00

This is what we found this morning…

Chip made the children’s lunch for today. How nice of him. Not so much. I would have thought he would have given them nothing but candy but he went the other way. Just incase you can’t tell, Nathan’s in the left and Sarah’s the right. Inside Nathan’s: microwave popcorn, ah so sauce, sweet peas and wet cat food. Inside Sarah’s: old bay better batter mix, tabasco, french cut green beans and wet cat food. Neither of them found this one very funny! Looks like Chip was pleased, don’t you think?!

December 14, 2011

2011-12-14T08:58:00.002-05:00

First of all, today is my cousin J’s birthday.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, J!!!

Now, let’s get to my wrap up of Chip. He’s so silly. Wait till you see what he’s done around here.

Friday (12/9)

We found Chip on the sofa reading one of Sarah’s school library books. Sure hope the book didn’t give him any other crazy ideas!

Saturday (12/10)

We brought up all the decorations from the basement. Not sure if he thought he was helping but I’m pretty sure those lights were neat and tidy in that box!

Sunday (12/11)

Saturday we bought and set up our tree. Chip wasted no time jumping right in it. Poor Sarah. She looked everywhere and couldn’t find him. I heard her come tell Daddy that she looked everywhere upstairs and down so she was going to look in the basement. When she came back to tell me she still couldn’t find him, I asked her if she thought he left. Her eyes got huge and she ran to the window. “No, the truck and car are still here!” Nathan ended up finding Chip.

Monday (12/12)

This was a funny one.

When Sarah found Chip on the mantle like this, she laughed. “MOM, come see Chip on the little kids back!!”

When I came in to check it out, I saw the bigger picture of what Chip had done…

Underwear? Really? All our stockings were on the floor! Not sure if the act was the funny part of hearing Sarah yell up to Steve what Chip did. It went sorta like this:

Sarah: Daddy, (giggle) Chip is on the, the, the

me: snow baby

Sarah: Snow baby's shoulder and he took our, um, um, socks

me: stockings

Sarah: Stockings down (giggle, giggle) AND PUT UP OUR UNDERWEAR!!!

Tuesday (12/13)

Yesterday, we found him fishing in the fish tank. He was using Sarah’s magnetic fishing pole from a game she has. I’m guessing with the lid up, he had no place to sit so he just used the opening in the back. Not easy to get a picture of him but funny just the same.

Today, well, he’s up to no good again. I will unload the pictures in a little bit and post separately. He really threw me off this morning. I have a routine and he messed it all up. See ya in a bit!

December 8, 2011

2011-12-08T10:11:00.001-05:00

First of all, I have to share my girl...

Not the best photo quality but it was early so get off my back. Every morning, I ask “what do you want to do with your hair”. First we brush it, then she go in the closet to find the perfect hair accessory to match her outfit. This is how she came out yesterday. Too funny! And the style went so well with her Peace and love shirt, right?!

She did NOT wear her head band like this to school! I had to photograph it before the mad dash of “hurry or you’ll be late” mode set in. Late. They are never late. Steve is just in a hurry to race thru traffic so he can be to work 30 minutes early, to work on his truck, without pay. OMG. Hurry.

Anyhow, on to Chip from yesterday (12/7)….

Here he is hanging from the living room curtain. Was he playing circus? Where there flips involved? He’s brave without a net!

We all started singing the circus tune.. Da, da, dada, dada, dat, dat, oh you get it. Sorry the picture isn’t brighter, it was 6:45 am and the sun was barely coming up.

Here is where we found Chip this morning. What is up with the toilet paper? I had to rescue him quickly (after a photo) so Sarah could go to the bathroom. Since the children can’t touch Chip, she was in trouble no being able to wipe!

Seems like my first question to the children when they find him is… DID HE MAKE A MESS???? I have enough to get done in the morning, Chip’s messes don’t help!

Do you still have the circus tune in your head? I do. Your welcome.

December 6, 2011

2011-12-06T15:43:00.001-05:00

This morning, Nathan and Sarah headed down to find Chip together. After about 5 minutes, they still couldn’t find him.

He was just all snuggled up on the little sofa with one of my hippos. Guess all his craziness has caught up with him.

I sure do like days like this when there is no mess to clean up!

December 5, 2011

2011-12-05T14:45:00.001-05:00

Sorry to be backed up on Chip’s activities. Friday was insane! I started working at the school as a substitute lunch room monitor. It’s so fun! I just never know when they need me and Friday is my shopping day. Geesh! Anyhow, even though I haven’t posted, Chip is still up to his craziness!!!

Friday (12/2) here is where we found Chip…

.. face down in the Halloween candy bowl. I know, it’s almost Christmas but we just can’t eat that much candy quickly! Sarah found Chip that morning.

Then there was Saturday (12/3) morning…

Sarah found him and reported to us that Chip was sitting in her shoe on the table.

When we came downstairs, we saw the camera there and took a look. Chip had his own photo shoot!

View Full Album

So, on Sunday (12/4) morning, Sarah found him again…

Really? In the sugar? Really? Come on, Chip! What a mess!!

Now, if you look at the sugar, below Chip’s left leg… those are Sarah finger prints. She found him and found herself eating some sugar first thing Sunday. Chip isn’t the only sneaky one around here!!!

Which leads us to this morning. Nathan was first to find Chip today…

He was in the art room, playing with play doh. At least he didn’t make a big huge mess!

Wonder what he’ll get into tonight!

Oh, and there are only 12 more shopping days till my birthday. Just saying.

Smurfs!!!

2011-12-05T13:18:00.001-05:00

Have you seen the new Smurfs movie? WE DID!! And we had a Smurf-tac-ular party!! Check it out…

Here is our Smurfy goodness that we got to eat….

Yes, we had Triple Berry Smurf muffins, M&M’s, Bazooka, Berry Jello, Cotton Candy and Smurf Berry Juice!! MMMMMMMMMMmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm It was Smurf-tacular!!

Too bad you couldn’t come have a Smurfin’ good time with us!

SMURFS RULE!!!!

December 1, 2011

2011-12-01T15:46:00.001-05:00

December… ALREADY???? Holy Christmas shopping, Batman! I need to get crackin’.

For now, let’s get right to the fun for today… Chip….

Our Chip-ster emptied the front pocket of Steve’s UPS backpack and climbed right on in. I’m guessing that Chip wanted to help Steve with his packages today since he strained a neck muscle yesterday. Steve gave Chip the ‘ole heave ho! No Chip on the UPS truck today. Good try, buddy!

November 30, 2011

2011-11-30T11:51:00.001-05:00

Chip, Chip, Chip. He’s so silly. Here is what we found him doing on Tuesday morning….

… and he looks so innocent… NOT!!

Who knows how many M & M’s he ate. He may have given them to the cats. No, they don’t like chocolate.

He’s so sneaky.

The children loved his message. Nathan found him and was laughing at how Chip spelled “says”.

Sarah was upstairs crying that she didn’t find Chip first. Oh jeez. You just can’t please everyone, right! Right?

So, when we got up this morning, Chip was much easier to find….

Yup, there he is hanging out with Sarah’s Barbie in Sarah’s room. Her favorite Barbie, she told me this morning. So now is Chip a “ladies Man”? Hmmm.

As I woke Sarah, I said “Chip is in your room”. Boy, she was up faster than I’d ever seen her move. Where? Where? Then she just laughed. That Chip is so funny.

Nathan now wonders what silly thing will happen in HIS room. I’m sure the possibilities are endless in there!!! We still have 23 more days with Chip so we’ll just have to see what and where he will be each morning.

November 28, 2011

2011-11-28T09:04:00.001-05:00

Have you heard about this?

I’ve seen it in stores. Here and there saw on some blogs. But it really caught my eye when THIS post came out yesterday. I am a loyal “follower” of her blog and laughed everyday last year at Bob’s craziness. I guess I never put the 2 together but this year I DID! The children and I went to Target, bought our adoption kit, (got a $5 gift card by the way) and began our adventure with our own little elf.

There is a book in the kit that explains exactly what is going to take place. Basically, your name your elf and he becomes magical. Each night he (or she) will fly back to Santa and report who’s been naughty and nice. Once he’s back, he can be very mischievous. Then, on Christmas Eve, he (or she) will fly home to spend the rest of the year with Santa only to return on the next Thanksgiving to begin reporting again. The main rule the children MUST obey is never to touch him.

Ok, so we read the story. Over dessert we worked on his name. Our elf is a boy. He’s got brown hair and blue eyes. So we all looked at him trying to think of the best name for him. Rick? Bob? Jackson? Pip? Nick? (can you see, the kids miss Jack and Nick?) Carlos? Tony? Sassafrass? Geesh, it’s hard to name an elf. Then I got up to get a drink and saw it… CHIP. Yup, we all agreed that Chip is perfect. So, without further ado, let me introduce Chip…

Isn’t he adorable?!!! We just love him. I know, it’s time to decorate for Christmas. I will do that this week, I promise. I want to enjoy my pretty mantle for a little longer. Ok, back to Chip. So, you never know what he’s up to while you sleep. I’m guessing that he got to Santa alright last night. And he got back in the house… some how. This morning, Sarah and I came down stairs. I was too groggy to think straight but she was on top of things. She walked into the kitchen, saw our adoption kit and said “ ‘mornin’ Chip. Oh MOM, I wonder where Chip is.” Ok, I’m awake. “Let’s go see”. Well, he wasn’t on the mantle where we left him. It was a little dark so we went on the hunt. Bathroom? “CHIP” Guest room? “CHIP, where are you, little guy?” (she’s so cute!) Art room? I said, “Geesh, Sar, Chip is so small, how will we find him?” “Don’t worry, Mom, we will!” What a trooper she is! Back to the living room… We found him…

He was playing the Wii! What a little stinker. Sarah was so excited about him she couldn’t wait for Nathan to try to find him. Of course, Nathan was much less excited about it all. 5th graders aren’t easily impressed, you know.

I find Chip to be a fun addition to our family and can’t wait to see what fun he brings each day.

November 23, 2011

2011-11-23T17:02:00.001-05:00

On to the first floor bathroom. We have been back and forth on what to do in there. We were stuck on purple for the longest time but none of the samples were good. So, I made the executive decision to make it GREEN.

Here are the before pictures:

First thing I got to was the mirror and lights. They are a whole unit that I’m not ready to replace. All over it was rusting so why not paint it… Black….

Man, that was hard to paint. I tried 3 different brushes before I just started blotting the paint on. I think it turned out great. The frame of the mirror refused to take paint. I know, sand it first. No, it’s plastic so it wanted no part of paint. I ended up painting it then wiping it off. It looks so neat!!!

I did an all over white first. The painter that did the bathroom the week we moved in used a flat. Moron! It was peeling all over the place. I scrapped really good and did the white coat to help hide his mess. I almost left it white since it looked so good. But I didn’t. Ready to see the beauty of Green?

You like? I like!! It’s so absolutely pretty!!!! I still have to put pictures up and maybe a shelf. I added the 2 hooks to the closet door so both the children can hang their towels. I know they don’t match but they picked them before green was the next greatest color. Oh and look at how nicely I match my new pretty bathroom….

It’s one of my favorite shirts next to my new favorite bathroom near my green towel box.

I’m Green-a-licious. LOL

Yes, I see the crack in the wall behind me.

I have a picture to cover that, don’t worry! :-)

November 22, 2011

2011-11-22T10:20:00.001-05:00

SLACKER. Yes, that’s me. A slacker. No reason not to blog. None. Lots has been happening around here. Wanna see (and read)?! Come on….

The children went back to school. They are showing me their toughness with some silliness sprinkled in.

I managed to get a couple of her at her desk but wasn’t “allowed” to get him. I mean really, he IS in 5th grade. Geesh. I’m lucky I’m allowed to talk to him still. Pain.

He got accepted as Safety Patrol! His duties are to take care of Mrs... Brown’s day care kids at the end of the day. He does such a good job! Mr... Safety Patrol… MWAH! Oooppps. Can’t do that at school. sorry.

We heard that if you eat local honey, it will help your allergies. So, we bought some. Nathan takes a spoon full each day and it actually helps. Who knew?!?!

It does taste totally different from store bought honey. Much sweeter and doesn’t have an after taste. We went thru this bottle really fast. The farm we bought it from sells this size for $7 and will re-use old bottles. She didn’t offer a recycle bonus but it’s better that they re-use them. We will be back for more soon.

We went on our 1st field trip of the year to the pumpkin patch. It was very windy and a bit chilly that day. We had fun, though. I didn’t remember Nathan going again in the 1st grade but he might have. I wasn’t able to do field trips with him since I had no one to watch Sarah.

We painted the back steps. I would have rather changed out the wood to that man made stuff but Steve didn’t. So we painted them….

Sorry for it being so blurry! Here they are finished. I really like how they turned out. It figured that this was a project that “we” were going to do and ended up a project for me. Steve is NOT a painter and should not try it any more.

We added sand to the paint so they aren’t slick. It’s not as noticeable as I thought it would be but it works.

My baby girl finally has the toothless grin again!!!! Her adult tooth is already in behind those baby teeth so they had to come out. She had to put on the pig nose (laughing gas) and have Dr. Bob take ‘em out. It was really hard for her once the numbing wore off. Then it was hard to eat for over a week ( no, she’s not a drama queen *wink*). Both adult teeth are setting up shop very nicely. Oh and the tooth fairy brought her $5 for those super long rooted teeth.

Princess Peach and our Military man had a blast on Halloween night. We trick or treated the neighborhood behind our house this year. It started out as a beautiful night and just as it began to get dark… rain. I ran home to get the truck and drove them the rest of the night. We have so much candy, I don’t think we can eat it all before NEXT Halloween!

So, that brings us to November. Not much has happened so far this month. I re-did the 1st floor bathroom. I have all those pictures so I can do a post on them separately. All I’m gonna say is it’s green! LOVE IT!!

Turkey day is 2 days away. I’m ready. We are looking forward to a relaxing 4 day weekend. Ty might come and he might not. Our neighbors, Mark and Pat, might stop in for some turkey. Who knows. We will brine it like we always do. My plan is to eat around 1 or 2 pm so we can get a good nap in before it’s time for leftovers and pie. There will be NO black Friday shopping in my future. If there is some in yours, Good Luck and have fun.

August 25, 2011

2011-08-25T13:33:00.001-04:00

We got back from our week vacation this past Saturday. Every August, my sister and I pack up the children and meet at our parents house for a week. I look forward to our “sister” vacation all year long! It has worked out for the past 4-5 years that our husbands aren’t able to come with us. This year… Steve was able. Let me begin by saying it is a good and a bad thing having him come. Good: we get great family time, he drives!, the children don’t fight as much and better photo opportunities. Bad: he has to play golf so that’s less trunk space, ummm, I guess that was the worst part. Let’s face it, when you go to your Mom’s, you are gonna come home with stuff. A full set of golf clubs take up 1/2 the trunk in a Saturn!

On to the good stuff. We stayed busy the entire time. My sister stayed at a hotel with a pool so we could all swim and we did some swimming!! Did you see my Face book page with Steve’s video? I can’t post it here or I would. It is 18 seconds of pure funny. He did Single Syncronized Swimming. I have another video of him dunking Sarah with her float on so she can touch the bottom. That one isn’t as funny. Anyway, other than swimming, we went to a Knight’s baseball game. That was fun and a double hitter! We went to the Lazy 5 Ranch, it’s our 3rd trip there and it’s fun each and every time! Dang Emu!! LOL We shopped one day at Ikea. My mom had never been there and mine is an hour away. The children saw Mr. Popper’s Penguins one night.

Looking over the whole week, I have to say that one of the funnest things we did was include my brother in law. He was not able to spend the week with us so we made him just like Flat Stanley. Here is Flat Ron….

Here he is in their family picture.

Here he is enjoying the baseball game.

We all wore our Piggly Wiggly shirts when we went on our outings together. We got plenty of comments, questions and looks!

He enjoyed a refreshing dip in the hotel pool!

He even went to the movies with the children.

August 24, 2011

2011-08-24T13:53:00.001-04:00

EARTHQUAKE!!!

Yes, we had a 5.8 earthquake here… in Virginia… yesterday!

O. M. G.

I was on my cell phone with my sister in law and it sounded like the children were above me, jumping up and down. Then I realized that this room doesn’t have anything above it. So I yelled for them to come downstairs and we went to the front door. Our windows were rattling like crazy. It was very scary.

When Steve called later, he said that he was in the back of his truck (he’s a UPS driver, in case you forgot or are new here) looking for a package and it felt like someone was shaking it. He stopped and looked out the mirrors to see who it was. Just then the home owner came out yelling “It’s an earthquake!!!”. Duh!

We did have an after shock around 8 pm that the boy and I felt. It was a slight vibration, no big deal. Here are the full details I found online and posted to my Face book page….

Magnitude 5.8 - VIRGINIA

2011 August 23 17:51:04 UTC

Earthquake Details

This event has been reviewed by a seismologist.

Magnitude
5.8

Date-Time

Tuesday, August 23, 2011 at 17:51:04 UTC
Tuesday, August 23, 2011 at 01:51:04 PM at epicenter

Location
37.936°N, 77.933°W

Depth
6 km (3.7 miles)

Region
VIRGINIA

Distances

8 km (5 miles) SSW (195°) from Mineral, VA
11 km (7 miles) SSE (148°) from Louisa, VA
29 km (18 miles) NE (45°) from Columbia, VA
61 km (38 miles) NW (317°) from Richmond, VA (here we are)
135 km (84 miles) SW (217°) from Washington, DC

I’d say we were pretty close to the epicenter, huh?! I’d prefer NOT to feel that again. Nathan was impressed and excited once we all settled down. Sarah seemed un phased at the time. But at bedtime, she said she felt her bed shaking and was scared. I’m not totally sure if she was using that as a reason not to go to bed or she was really scared but I didn’t take it lightly. You really don’t know how kids react to things until it happens and they all deal differently.

Oh but hold the phone, Irene (hurricane) is heading this way. Let’s see how many natural disasters we can handle in one week. I’m off to the basement to make sure our things are out of the way of water in case we get flooding. Aren’t I the lucky one!?!?!

August 8, 2011

2011-08-08T11:27:00.001-04:00

My little monkeys have made it one full week with Steve’s parents and were turned over to my parents last night. Already, the girls have been shoe shopping. Thanks, Mom! One more thing I don’t have to get before school starts.

Having to think about school brings me to these….

This was their last day of school. Kindergarten for Sarah and 4th for Nathan. They both had awesome teachers! It’s so hard to imagine that this is his last year in grade school. Didn’t he just turn 5? 10? Oh, he’s pushing 11 and acting 15. Mothers: hug your babies!! Time goes by WAY too fast.

Children, I hope your week with Bubbie and Grandpa is fun! See you monkeys very soon!!!

August 3, 2011

2011-08-03T15:22:00.001-04:00

Finding things to do with the children every day in summer is not an easy task. We try to keep a low profile. Try not to spend lots of money. You know, be frugal but have fun.

Cobblestone Water Park is the perfect place. It is just up the street from us. It’s water fun. It’s frugal. It’s full of other children looking to have fun also. So, we went. Check out the fun they had….

Nathan and I got some pretty bad burns. We put on 30 SPF 3 times but it wasn’t enough. Sarah on the other hand…. well, we call her Pocahontas now. She just turns a beautiful shade of brown with no burning at all. My mom says I did the same as a child. Wonder what happened.

It was a super fun day for all of us and we will be sure to go at least once more before the end of summer. Maybe we can get Daddy to go with us!!

August 2, 2011

2011-08-02T13:24:00.001-04:00

Two days in a row? Yes! Here I am again. What should I share today? Hmmmmm….. Well, I could share that I went to the dentist today. I had to have 2 silver filling removed, cleaned out and filled with “tooth” colored filler. I took a picture of my swollen face on the right side but I think I’ll just share that horror with my mom. Your welcome.

How about some home improvement stuff?! Good? Good!

Here are the before pictures of the living room. Ty had already started on the edging but you get the idea. The entire house was painted in this ugly, brownish, grey poupon, baby puke color. The living and dining room were gifted the TWO TONE look. No. Not feeling it. We looked for a solid week for the right color. Green? Brown? Tan?

We settled on a color from Glidden called Cafe Latte.

It really is hard to get a good picture of the true color. Depending on the way the light hits it, you could see a light brown or even grey. It has a warm feel to it. Much better than the two tone!!

We did all this painting back in February. Let me go take a couple current shots….

Here is the living room all put back together. Notice that the clock is the only thing hanging on the walls? We can not find prints that we both like. It’s getting painful. I can’t say how much longer these walls will be empty. At least they are painted. Oh and he got a rug. What a baby he was about that! All we need is new sofas and prints for the walls and this room is done. Oh wait, we still need an insert for the fireplace.

Being an adult isn’t as much fun as being a kid… I think I’m ready to be a kid again!!!

Hope you liked my post today. Will you please leave a comment? Please?!?!?! Thanks.

August 1, 2011

2011-08-01T15:02:00.001-04:00

Is it August ALREADY?!?! I feel like the first 7 months of 2011 were a blur. So much going on. So much to catch up on. Let’s start with this….

Saturday, Steve and I drove the children to the NC/VA border to hand them off to Steve’s parents.

Are you smiling?

Are you “happy” for us?

We are happy that they get to spend time with family but not happy they are both away. For the past 10 years, we have had at least 1 if not 2 children in our house. We aren’t sure how to act. We had a very uneventful ride, a few minutes to hug and kiss and then off we all went. Of course I had my camera with me.

Breakfast at McDonald’s. Silly girl had pancakes without syrup just so she could in the car!

My new favorite picture of Steve.

Then they both napped since we stayed up WAY too late! I don’t think Nate ever really slept but Sarah was out like a light.

We won’t see them (other than on webcam) until the 13th. I think we will all be changed after these 2 weeks.

First change… Nate lost a tooth at 10:30 the first night. Really? Really?

I miss my babies.

It’s been a while….

2011-05-10T15:01:00.001-04:00

.. I know. But I can’t let Mrs. Tina Powell blog and just sit here. I’ve got things to blog about too, and I’m gonna blog about ‘em.

Oh, um, let me see….. what should I blog about first? Oh, I know

We bought our first house! Well, we closed on Dec. 29th but come on… I’ve been busy! I’ll tell you all about it very soon. Maybe even a tour on the inside if you’re really good. The children are great (tons to share with them), hubby is fine (OCD is getting worse) and things are generally doing excellent. I’ll be back… really soon! Promise.

Halloween 2010

2010-11-20T18:53:00.000-05:00

I love my husband!

2010-09-23T16:20:00.001-04:00

We have been married since April 17, 1999. We started dating April 17, 1994. He’s my best friend. Most days, he is very cut and dry. Give him the facts… Quickly… and stop. I’m sure he won’t find this post very amusing but I do!! This one day makes me laugh every time I see this picture:

I was going to the bathroom and when I looked at the door, this is what I saw. Now, if I wasn’t actually going to the bathroom, I would have wet my pants laughing. Here is why….

I was doing laundry. One of those days where nothing in the house was safe from the washer. I think I actually made the children take a bath so I could wash what they had on. Towels were on the list to be washed. Now, this set of hooks on our bathroom door, hold Steve’s towel and my 2 (the children have hooks in their rooms). The towels were finished in the washer when Steve proclaimed that he was going to take a shower. Oh crap, I’ll just put HIS towel in the dryer so it’s nice, hot and ready when he gets out. Right? Right!

As he finishes and the water goes off, I hear “BEC-KY!!!!” I check his towel in the dryer but it’s still mostly wet. I hurry back to the bathroom and tell him thru the door. Ok, he says. Didn’t seem mad. No additional help requested. I figured that he found the towels next to the sink.

Well, he found a towel. *snicker* A hand towel. *snicker* And he dried off with it!! *snicker* He’s 6 foot *laugh* 3 inches tall. *laugh* When I saw that hand towel on the rack drying, I grabbed it. Really trying not to laugh, I asked him if this is what he used to dry off with. He replied with the most serious face “of course I did, there aren’t any other towels in the bathroom”. *holding my side laughing* Poor man.

We have lived in this house for 5 years. I ALWAYS keep extra towels in the bathroom. I can’t say that he learned a lesson that day since it really didn’t phase him that he used a hand towel to dry off.

It still makes me laugh!!

Catching up….

2010-09-23T15:55:00.001-04:00

Man, do I have things to share with you!

We had our first day of school about 3 weeks ago. We did the typical back to school pictures. We did have to add Sarah to the list of pictures. But then, Daddy wanted in. Here is a bit of how that went……

View Full Album

Here we are at the Dr. office day 3.

Found out Nathan had food poison from the Lunchable he ate on day 1.

On the right, we are back the very next day to find out that he was positive for Strep Throat.

Welcome back to school, Nathan!

Everyone is healthy and happy now. Well, Steve says his throat is sore. Sarah cries when I drop her off… not everyday, she’s getting better. Nathan officially says he hates school. He says “6 hours of boring.” Seems tough to be so smart at 9. I wouldn’t know since I never had it as easy as him. I like having “6 hours of boring” right here every day! :-)

Once again, everyone is healthy and happy now. *wink*

Open House

2010-09-09T12:16:00.001-04:00

Don’t want to forget about the boy now, do we?! Of course not! His open house went great. He has Mrs. Anthony this year. Not sure how long she’s been teaching but a girl came in to visit and said she was 20…. if she was 9 in 4th grade… at least 11 years. Right? Right.

Any way. He knows just about everyone in his class. He got to pick his desk… for now! I tried to get a picture of him with Mrs. Anthony but one mother was just “blah, blah, blah” so we moved on to pictures of him……

I asked him to look

happy and I got this….

Geesh!

Then we traveled around to see some other teachers. Not many of his previous teachers are still at this school. Most were chased away by the horrible principle they used to have. We LOVE our current principle, Mr. Joseph!!!

While visiting with one of the 3rd grade teachers, one of our very favorite families came over…..

Meet Ja’shawn. They have been together every year since Kindergarten, except 1st grade. J is our best buddy. He’s had sleepovers with us. We trick or treat with him and his sister every year. He makes us all laugh!! What a fun boy for Nathan to be such good friends with.

A side note about J…. he was born without thumbs. You can’t notice unless you really pay attention. He can do anything that we can do. In fact, he learned to tie his shoes WAY before Nathan did. Nathan told me in Kindergarten, “there is a boy in my class with 8 fingers.” I don’t know if that is what has drawn Nathan to him but we are happy to have J in our lives!!!

Have an excellent 4th grade year, boys! We love you tons!!

Pink-ity Goodness

2010-09-02T10:17:00.001-04:00

Yesterday we had to cut nails and re-polish! You know we have to look our best at Kindergarten open house. She is always wanting to do more than one color. I put my foot down and told her to pick one for her toes and one for her fingers. As we were polishing, here is what she said… “I have to have purple on my toes and make sure my fingers show pink-ity goodness!” Glamour.

Open house went GREAT. Here is our big girl with her very first teacher, Ms. Miller. There are 5 kindergarten teachers this year so it’s a very large bunch. Sarah’s class is the last Kindergarten class before you hit the four 4th grade classes. Perfect! She couldn’t get any closer to Nathan unless she started in 4th grade. :-)

When we went to check out the classroom, she looked around and asked where her teacher was. I said, right there, and her comment when she looked up at her was “Oh she’s beautiful!!!” Nothing like some sweet talk on the very first visit! Can you say teacher’s pet?!

Hey! Holla!

2010-08-31T14:48:00.001-04:00

Yes, that is exactly what she was saying. We were in line for the boat ride out to Fort Sumpter and she wasn’t quiet about it. Everyone laughed. Then she was embarrassed.

Whew! We were busy this summer. Or maybe we were just super busy in August. I don’t even remember anymore. What I DO know is that my 2 rug rats have exactly 7 more days of summer fun and it’s off to school! This year may just be a hard one. The boy is going into 4th grade but little missy is (finally) in Kindergarten. We have open house for her Wednesday and him on Thursday. Kindergarten gets a day all to themselves! And you know what we say about that……

HEY! HOLLA!

HUH?

2010-04-22T09:35:00.001-04:00

What is wrong with me? Didn’t I say I was gonna get back to blogging? Geesh! It is a week until May is here and I have no idea why I haven’t blogged. I’ve read your blogs. I read blogs every single day. Google Reader is the first window I open. Ok, so let’s get caught up so we can get current again. **Specially for you Gram!**

Nathan and I won 1st in our class at the Pinewood Derby. He was the fastest Bear (sad, he’s the only bear) and I was the fastest leader. Not sure what I’m leading but I was fastest!

That’s Becca in the picture with us. She loves Nathan.

Nathan turned 9. NINE! Wasn’t he just born? He’s happy that this is the last year of single digits and wants to be 10 sooner than needed. Hope this blog is around when he’s in his 20’s and wishes he was a kid again.

Happy Birthday, Little Man! Love you!

Stephen had a birthday also. No, this isn’t a picture of him!!! He is infatuated with Kratos.. God of War. It’s a video game for those that don’t know. He’s finished 1 &2 and has been DYING to get 3. It released 2 weeks before his birthday but here is the catch… you have to buy PS3 in order to play the game. We don’t have a PS3, only PS2. So, he now owns this mask, the collector’s book (cheats!) and not just the game but the game in “Pandora’s Box”. Geesh! Mind you, he can’t play it, but he’s got it all!

Both Sarah and Nathan have joined The Little Gym and they both LOVE, LOVE, LOVE it! Sarah is doing tumble, tap and ballet. Nathan is in an all boys gymnastics class. The only thing I wish is that they could do it more than once a week. They both look forward to their classes and don’t want to leave when they are over. Nathan is all about making friends while Sarah is more into copying the teachers and doing her own thing.

One other exciting thing happened in March but I will have to make that another post. Stay tuned!!!

Favorite Things Swap.... YIPPEEE!!

2010-03-11T17:37:00.006-05:00

I got my package yesterday from my buddy, Wani!! It was so wonderful to get fun mail instead of bills!! :-) I've already eaten the chocolate, duh! I did forget the body wash this morning on my desk so I'll have to use it tomorrow. Thanks again, Wani! You are the best! ;-)

This was the 2nd time swapping with Mamarazzi's Swaparazzi and I'll do it again!!

Beautiful Day

2010-03-10T15:02:00.001-05:00

Man, we had such a beautiful day yesterday! Monday too. Today (Wed. March 9) I’m too tired to see how nice it is but I’ve heard it’s suppose to be nicer than the last 2 days. Ok, back to yesterday… the kids and I decided to take a walk down to the creek (my Jan 4th post was at the creek!). I wore Capri's and the kids had shorts and t-shirts on with their slip on shoes. They both were so ready to get in the creek and play a bit. Camera in my pocket and we are off. Let me say for the record that little Miss Sarah has had me laughing so hard these past few weeks. I see her trying so hard to be big but she gets words confused. Had to tell you that first so you understand just how funny this story is going to become.

So, we get to the creek and it’s moving pretty good. Not too fast and not too slow. There is a ton of slimy algae growing on all the rocks and around the edges. Ewwww! I don’t really want them in that water but they came to the creek to get wet and they are determined to get wet! They both take off their shoes and find a place to get in…..

Nathan is way braver than Sarah but I’m thinking she’s just being cautious. He’s in and making his way across….

Yup, he slipped and fell in. Half his butt is soaked so why not just crawl to the other side? Sarah has a better plan….

She’d rather show her cuteness from the bridge!

Now, the real fun begins. Nathan realizes that the ground hurts his feet and now wants his shoes back. Sadly, we are on opposite sides of the creek. Would be best if one of us crosses the bridge but hey, why not “throw them”?!?! *mental note: don’t throw anything to Nathan across the creek EVER AGAIN!* I tell him NOT to let the shoe fall in… what happened… you guess it, the shoe falls in. He races down the creek so he can get it as it passes him but wait! It gets stopped by a rock. Enter stage right, our heroin, Sarah….

She rescues the shoe!!! Yippee for Sarah! She has saved the day! Nathan is forever grateful! She’s all proud of herself when the funniest thing comes out of her mouth. Picture her eyebrows together, her voice is stern and a bit loud when she tells Nathan….. “I risked my LIFE in the allergy to save your shoe, Nathan!”

Good thing I went potty before we left or I would have peed my pants right there. Love you, Sarah!

Circle Journal

2010-02-23T10:18:00.001-05:00

I joined the girls over at Just add Glitter and Stir to do a circle journal. I’ve been wanting to do a circle journal for a long time and I’m so excited to be able to finally!

Here is Maggi’s book.

Maggi sends to me each time. Since we are in our 1st month, I have HER book. Maggi and I have been emailing back and forth and each time, I tease here just a bit. Tee Hee. It’s so fun to tease her. She hasn’t let on that it’s bugging her so I hope she’s good with it. Enough suspense……

Here is the left side. I had fun putting random things on the page that I like. I was really happy to use one of my girls. I think it could have used more things on it but I’m happy with it just like this. The hippo picture was fun to find. My tattoo looks so close to that pose. Pink ribbon for my mom. Flip flop for summer and Sarah.. oh and Jenny. Giggle since that is what I do best. lol And snow…so nice to see it here in VA since I grew up with it and actually miss seeing it.

I have to say that my right side I cheated. Most of it is just the paper. I added a few 3D stickers that fit me. The CIA logo I couldn’t get online, I had to use from one of my notebooks. So, you know, Maggi, I’m a grad of the CIA. I don’t cook anymore professionally but I love it. We cook new things here all the time so I knew that had to be in my best things pretty big. The paper is new Graphic 45.. isn’t it yummy!??!?! I love that vintage look. Wish I could scrap that way.

That is my part of Maggi’s Circle Journal. Hope she likes it. I can’t wait to get the next one!!!!

Swapping Time

2010-02-18T15:56:00.002-05:00

Mamarazzi is swapping our favorite things once again. I don't want to miss out since the first time around was Soooooooooooooooooooo much fun!!!

If you want to join up.. you better hurry... spaces fill up super fast! :-)

February 4, 2010

2010-02-04T18:52:00.001-05:00

Are you in shock? I am. It took me a minute to remember what program I use to blog. Blog. Why haven’t I been around? Hummmm. Would you believe that aliens took me away and… no, I doubt you’d believe that. How about… I’ve been so busy… lame. Maybe, the kids have been… sorry, try again. No reason not to blog. There, I said it. No reason at all. Back in August, I got caught up with my mom’s birthday celebration and then school started. Before I knew it, a month had passed and I didn’t blog. So, why not “recap”? Yeah that’s a good idea. But then what happened to me Oct., Nov, Dec. and Jan???? No idea. Aaaaaaaaaannnnnnyyyywho, here I am!!! :-) Are you happy to see me blogging again? I sure hope so. I can’t promise I’ll be doing this everyday again but I will try more than every 4 months, K?! K!

Ok, so have you seen the weather we have had here lately? Snow! OMG! We got some back in Dec. in fact it snowed on the kids 1st day of winter break. Home to play in snow without school… SURE!! Able to do last minute shopping.. Not so much. Although, Steve got up the next am at 7 to shovel himself out and had a blast at the mall with Nathan ALL ALONE! He said if shopping was like that all the time, he’d go more often. Ha ha ha silly man.

Our most recent storm dumped over a foot on us but it was the fluffy kind. We got sleds for the kids that they used maybe once. They had more fun making a “cave”. It’s all good. Before it got too melty, we all took a walk. By all I mean Nathan, Sarah, Jenny, Jasmine (her dog) and me. Took some good pictures I think. Let me share them before I bore you to tears with my rambling. Enjoy and I’ll see you all again soon…. Promise. :-)

Guess What, Guess What!!!!!

2009-11-16T18:52:00.001-05:00

I know I’m behind on blogging and I promise, I really promise to catch up (at least do recaps).

I just HAD to post this…….

We had to take Nathan for a hair cut and Sarah decided that today was the day that she got a haircut too.

I had to ask a million times…”are you sure????”

She said yes every single time.

We will be donating her hair to Locks of Love…

Here she is getting the full treatment…

And the final outcome…..

Is she not the cutest thing ever? I could just dip her in chocolate and nom, nom!!!

Walking to the truck I said “Hey, where is my daughter… who are you??” She said “It’s just me, Mama, Sarah!”

September Recap

2009-10-29T13:07:00.001-04:00

Way too much time has passed for me to post each day that I missed. So, I decided to do a recap of the month. Actually, I’ll recap September and October and start fresh each day on November 1st! Good plan? Good plan!

Let’s see…. My mom had her actual birthday on Sept. 3rd. HAPPY 60th BIRTHDAY, MOM!!!!

Nathan started 3rd grade! He wished and hoped and prayed to get Mrs. Meals for a teacher. When we got to open house, he was in Ms. Williams’ class.

Bummer.

Oh wait, Ms. Williams’ IS the former Mrs. Meals!!!! Horray for us!!

We changed out his old furniture for Grandpa’s old stuff. This Daniel Boone bedroom furniture was made in St. Louis over 70 years ago. My dad and his brother had matching beds, a night table and a dresser. I’m so amazed at how nice it all still is. My brothers used it all when they were young and my sister’s nephew used it till Nathan. We all just have to get used to walking out a bit further so that gun barrel doesn’t keep stubbing our toes!!

Stephen got very sick. It all started with a simple cold, turned into a lung infection and he ended up sick for 2 1/2 weeks! The best thing to come from that was……HE QUIT SMOKING!! His doctor told him if he did not quit smoking, he wouldn’t be around much longer. It is SO nice to have a smoke free house now.

Here is a funny (sorta). We watched a show one night about the affects of Meth. It was very sad to see so many young kids affected so horribly but it was a good way for Nathan to learn a bit about drug abuse. While we were in CVS, Nathan asked if that was meth. I looked over and said that the drugs behind the counter are the ones that you use to make meth like on the TV show. He said no, THAT….. Holding in laughter, I said, “No, Menthol cough drops are NOT meth.”

Sarah got new bedding from Aunt Jan. I think the bright colors really change her room. Don’t worry, Cinderella is in the closet and we will bring her out again.

We had a girl day. Tina, Jenny, Sarah and I. We had lunch at Sagebrush. Sarah was loving being able to throw our peanut shells on the floor! After we ate (and looked a bit at Michael’s) we checked out the costume shop. Now, you might not find this picture of Tina very funny but we couldn’t stop laughing. I had to point my camera at her and hope I got a good picture ‘cuz I was laughing so hard, I was crying.

It’s always a great girl day when you laugh THAT hard!!

Not sure about you, but I like doing day by day. I hate to over load one post but so much happens in 30 days. Onward and upward!!

OMG! Check us out…

2009-10-15T11:28:00.001-04:00

My mom and I are on the Making Memories blog today!!! They asked for stories about breast cancer, either survivor or supporter. My mom and I both sent in stories and Wha-la! Bummer that they did a typo on the first sentence “Becky Thompson is a 2 time cancer survivor…” should have been “Michelle Barnett…..”. No matter. It’s very exciting to see us on their blog.

Love ya, Mom! *big hugs*

August 30, 2009

2009-09-15T17:11:00.001-04:00

See it? SEE IT???? It’s a leaf bug. It flew in the house one of the times that someone went out to smoke. IT WAS IN MY HAIR!!!!! I was screaming like a girl!!! Oh, wait, I AM a girl. Geesh! So, Jason tells me that he saw it fly out. I didn’t! I totally don’t believe him. See it!! It’s INSIDE the house!! You might not be able to tell but this is the ceiling. I had to zoom in when I cropped it cuz I WASN’T GETTING ANY CLOSER!! Blah! Oh and it was HUGE! It’s body was the length of my hand. Not sure that I’ve ever seen one of these before but I KNOW I don’t want to see one again! YIK!

August 29, 2009

2009-09-15T16:58:00.001-04:00

On vacation at my mom’s, we HAD to shop at Oh, Scrap! Jen has a small store but it’s full of such goodies!! After I shopped, as I waited to pay for my treasures, I let Jen know that if she ever needed displays I’d love to do some. So she gave me some supplies!! YIKES! Good thing I said something, huh! I took everything home to work on. I decided our pictures from Cherry Park were perfect for the papers so I printed doubles. Wha – la! Jen really loved this book I put together and is suppose to send me some more things to work on. How exciting, don’t cha think?!?!? I do!

August 28, 2009

2009-09-15T16:46:00.001-04:00

That’s right, the fun doesn’t end when you are on staycation! The bowling alley is still doing free bowling for the children so.. why not. I can’t bowl since my carpel tunnel is acting up (I think my cortisone shot has wore off) but Steve can. We used to bowl all the time when we dated. It’s such a fun thing to do. Don’t you agree? Sorry you can’t see Sarah very well in her picture. Steve had to help her. See the edge of her pink shorts? Cutie! Only a few more days left of Staycation.

August 27, 2009

2009-09-15T16:35:00.001-04:00

Today is Nathan’s first day of Fall Ball. We are all so excited. He was in the rookie league last year (with machine pitch). Since he will be 9 when the spring season starts, they put him in the minors (live pitch). We have all we need… hat, cleets, mitt… wait… where is his mitt? WE CAN’T FIND HIS MITT!!! Are you kidding me? Geesh! Off to Dick’s sporting goods to get a new one! Just what I was planning on spending that $50 on….. NOT!!!

Wait, did I say we were buying a mitt? LOL Yes, we did get a mitt but they all had to show me their amazing baseball stances. I think Sarah is just about fashion “does this bat match my shoes?” Steve looks like I was a major league recruiter. Wow. We still had fun. Most importantly, Nathan has a new mitt, and we aren’t going to lose this one, and we love it, and it’s the best mitt ever and, umm, I can’t remember what else. Yeah fall ball, here we come!!

August 26, 2009

2009-09-15T16:19:00.001-04:00

Yuk day 2 of staycation for Steve. He had the left side of his mouth deep cleaned. Unlike yesterday when the girl did his teeth, today Dr. Murphy did it. Zip, bam, boom… DONE super fast. They told us it would take 1 1/2 hours, it only took 45 minutes!

But, hey, how cool is this….

… Our dentist office is at the end of a strip mall. Um, right next to Pier 1?! HUH? Barnes and Nobles is next. Bed, Bath and Beyond, Petsmart, MICHAEL’S, Dick’s sporting good, Party City… not too shabby. I know I won’t complain when it’s my turn. *grin*

August 25, 2009

2009-09-09T18:37:00.001-04:00

Today is Doctor day. Since Steve only gets certain days off, he has to see the different doctors when he can. First, he went to see Dr. Klassett for the bump on his back. He had it removed last June (by another doctor) but it grew back, bigger! Not much fun but the doctor numbed his back and removed it. I won’t gross you all out with the inner parts, here is his back after stitches….

Funny that I married a red head with freckles and when I took this picture, my first thought was “WOW, there are a bunch of freckles"! After being together for 15 years, I guess I don’t see them anymore.

After this doctor, we went home to have some lunch. At 2pm, we both had appointments to see a dentist. I’ve been really good about taking the kids every 6 months. Now it’s our turn to get on that cycle. What we found out is that we both have horrible plaque build up and need a deep cleaning. I need to have a filling, a wisdom tooth (fully exposed) and 2 wisdom teeth impacted removed. Steve needs to have all 4 of his wisdom teeth (all fully exposed) removed by an oral surgeon. Steve immediately has them start on his right side. Poor guy! First his back and now his mouth. Not such a good staycation day for him.

August 24, 2009

2009-09-09T18:26:00.001-04:00

First week day of Staycation, nothing too exciting happened. I did want to share this from our vacation in SC.

Here is Sarah in…. ready….. My sister’s Purse! We, or should I say I, gave my sister a hard time the entire vacation about how large her purse is. It’s not even just a vacation purse, she uses it all the time! I wanted to prove to her that a small child could fit inside of it and … here you go! I moved her wallet and things to the side and Sarah got in. THAT is a BIG PURSE.

Whew!

August 23, 2009

2009-09-09T18:18:00.001-04:00

Before I go any further, I have to share this. We picked up Sarah’s glasses the day after we got back from SC. I find it hard to take pictures of her with the glare. Does she remind you of anyone with her glasses on? I think she looks like the little girl in Hope Floats…. Bernice. Anyway, I love her in glasses and I really hope she doesn’t have to wear them for too long. Cutie!

August 22, 2009

2009-09-09T13:06:00.001-04:00

Guess what…. Now Steve is on VACATION! Man, the fun just never ends around here. We decided to just do little things around the house. More of a staycation instead of vacation. “LET THE GAMES BEGIN!!”

Check out this bicycle made for 2. Cool, huh? I had to take a picture of it while we were at the bike shop today. OH, I got a bike! It’s used but now I can go for rides with the children. I’ll show you all my bike in another post.

Now for the bad news. Sarah and Nathan were riding around the store. Sarah on her big girl bike (with training wheels) and Nathan on his scooter. I believe that he was gaining on her and she panicked. As she rounded the corner, she ran her bike into a display bike. The display bike was adult size so as she fell, the pedal scrapped her thigh from the end of her shorts almost to her knee. The pedal didn’t break the skin, just made her blood come to the surface.

See how sad……

August 21, 2009

2009-09-09T11:11:00.001-04:00

As if we didn’t already do a bunch of stuff. Today we met with Tina and Madison to see G-Force movie! It was cute. My favorite was Tracy Morgan’s voice… Holla!

August 20, 2009

2009-09-09T11:08:00.001-04:00

One of the things I didn’t get to share while on my trip. Here is a shopping cart at Food Lion. These Carolinians think about racing EVERY WHERE!! Ha ha ha ha Love it!

August 19, 2009

2009-09-09T11:03:00.001-04:00

We are on the road again. Heading home finally. Oh but wait! We can’t leave town without seeing Mae (Steve’s mom)!!!! And since Auntie Shawnie is just up the street, she can come over with the cousins! Oh the amount of family is never ending in the Carolinas!!!!!!

Cool, I forgot I DID take a picture of my new curly hair. Sweet!

August 18, 2009

2009-09-09T10:57:00.001-04:00

My sister and niece leave today. So sad. We moved the furniture out of her van, into our truck. Mom got a couple tarps just incase it rains. Why do vacations have to end? We all miss seeing Aunt Jan and Hannah. Oh but before they can go we can’t forget our family picture!!!!

We have been doing this every year since Nathan was a baby. It’s so fun to watch the children change from year to year.

August 17, 2009

2009-09-09T10:49:00.001-04:00

Back to “normal” if you can call it that. All the family has gone home but me and my sister. Today we don’t have many plans. How about taking the kids to Cherry Park? Good plan!

This one is my favorite of Sarah. You know, the one in 500 pictures that you take that you really, really like.

This is that ONE!!!

August 16, 2009

2009-09-09T10:41:00.001-04:00

Today my aunt permed my hair! I’m a curly, frizzy mess at least for 2 days till I can shampoo again. No, no pictures of this! We did get to spend some time together as a family though. That was very nice.

August 15, 2009

2009-09-09T10:15:00.001-04:00

Since this day has passed, I can share the secret… We are throwing my mom a surprise 60th birthday party today!!! OMG. My aunt and I have been working on this for a year! Sad to say that my mom found out about it a month ago. She got an email (somehow) that my dad sent out. She was a good sport though and didn’t let on. We figured that at least she didn’t know the complete guest list (or that her sister is coming) so she’d be surprised at that. Well, my uncle (he’ll remain nameless for now) talked to her this morning, asking if he can visit and said “oh I’ll just park at Honore’s (mom’s sister) hotel.” ARE YOU KIDDING ME?

Ok, on to the fun of it all. My sister and I took her for a pedicure to get her out of the house. Here we are…..

Aren’t we gorgeous???? Yes, yes we are! This nail shop did a super job so we will have to go there again next year. Then we are off to the other side of the parking lot to Michael’s to kill time. We blindfolded Mom so she couldn’t see where we were going or the guests waiting for her. It was such a good time! I don’t want to bore you all with a million pictures.. just a few….

Here is all the family that was at her party. Most of us haven’t seen each other in YEARS!!!!

Ignore Sarah’s sour puss!!

Isn’t she lovely?!?!?!?!? I totally forgot that I bought these glasses for her. Luckily, family stayed for awhile so she wore this to open her cards. She was smooshing all the cards as she opened them to figure out if they were home made or store bought. My aunt asked her if she was Carnack. Too funny!!!!

August 14, 2009

2009-09-09T09:43:00.001-04:00

Crap! I’m off by a day. See what happens when I don’t keep up with this. Today is the day that my sister and niece got in town. So here is extras that I took….

Most days I get to take a picture of Sarah sleeping since Nathan is always up early. I got him for the first time in a long time. He’s so sweet sleeping. Ahh, my angel’s sleeping. Or is it all just the quiet before the storm? Hmmm. Either way, I love them both!

August 13, 2009

2009-09-09T09:29:00.001-04:00

Today, my sister and niece finally drive into SC. They drove from Chicago. Two days. Yuk! But, they drove so they could bring Nathan Grandpa’s furniture. I’ll show and tell about that later.

We had several things going on today so dinner never got started. OUT TO EAT!!! Yummy Mexican for dinner. We had such a good time and the food was super yummy. And, if you’ve been reading my blog, it’s tradition to take pictures when we eat out Mexican food. Here we all are being silly…. Not sure how my mom dodged the camera but she did.

Here is my sister and I showing just how old we really are. A shame really but at least we can laugh about it!

August 12, 2009

2009-09-09T09:05:00.001-04:00

Are you kidding me that I’m this far behind? OMG. What have I been doing???? Oh yeah, trying to get the most amount of fun in before school started. This is solid proof that I need a mini laptop with wireless internet so I don’t get this far behind again!!

Ok, on this day, we drove to South Carolina. Nothing too eventful happened on our trip. The kids did super. Sarah did her usual “are we there yet” a million times. I answered “YES, we ARE there!! See!!!” Geesh!

This sign is beautiful to me since it means we only have about 30 more minutes to get there. This trip, we stayed on 85 to 77 (instead of taking 485) and the children got to see Charlotte’s sky line. They were very amazed at how large the buildings were. Nathan went crazy when he saw Panther’s stadium. So cute.

Mom and I escaped without children for her stamp club. I made cards this time so I could share and not feel guilty. All the ladies we such fun! We made 3 projects: a beaded pen, a pop up card and punch art. No, Tanya, I haven’t taken a picture of “her” yet… I will!

Here I am with Wanda and Beverly.

Look at all so busy working! Oh the fun to be crafty with other women. I had a great time and wish I lived closer to do this each month with them.

August 11, 2009

2009-08-12T15:47:00.001-04:00

I never want to leave Nathan out of the fun. Yesterday, he tried on glasses also. He was looking for the Harry Potter look. Here is what he came up with…

And then to be super cool, he put on a pair of sunglasses…

so cool!

Nathan does NOT need to wear glasses though. His vision is just fine. He didn’t get any.

He’s still super cute in my eyes!!! *wink*

August 10, 2009

2009-08-12T15:43:00.001-04:00

Today the children go to the eye doctor. Oh the fun of doctor appointments these days. Whew! Both of them did awesome! Sarah watched Nathan get the puff of air in his eye first so she said that she just couldn’t do it. After I explained that a puff of air was WAY better than getting a shot… she did it no problem. In the exam room, Nathan didn’t strike me as odd being tested. Sarah on the other hand made me laugh so I had no choice but to take her picture.

OMG! Can you see just how small her face is compared to the machine she is looking thru? Way too cute!!! It was so cute when she was reading the letters on the wall. “C, um, circle, I don’t know that one, the letter in Daddy’s name”. Way too funny!

Here she is with the news that she will be needing to wear glasses. She is far sighted and the glasses will help her eyes not work so hard.

Can you see that these are so heavy that they are crushing one of her nostrils? She asked me to stand up and when I did she said I looked taller. Interesting.

So we are off to pick out glasses….

Here are some.

Here are some more. She kept trying to get adult sizes but when I explained to her what she needed…..

These are the ones that we settled on. Or al least a pair just like them. The outside is a purplish blue and the insides are pink. She was really insisting on pink glasses. They will take a week to come in so we should pick them up when we get back from our trip.

Isn’t she cutie with glasses on?!?!?

August 9, 2009

2009-08-12T15:17:00.001-04:00

What to do on a lazy Sunday? BBQ? Sure. But we are lazy.

Oh, I know, play Gods of War II on the Play station 2. SURE! Sounds like tons of fun. This game has become Steve’s most favorite game. He tells everyone he meets about it… and he meets plenty being a driver for UPS! Kratos (main character) is amazing in what he can do. Hence, the name GOD of war! DUH!

Steve informed me today that he will be investing in a PS3 when the new God of War III comes out. It will only be able to be played on the PS3 so spending the $500 to get it is what MUST be done. Just so long as we are clear when there are scrapbooking supplies that I MUST have, we are good!

August 8, 2009

2009-08-12T15:08:00.001-04:00

How cool that this butterfly was on Nathan’s bike. There was just a bit of water on the grip but the butterfly found it. Very cool to see it drinking. The kids immediately started telling me things about butterflies that they had learned when we went to Lewis Ginter. They both amaze me sometimes. Nature amazes me. A very neat and unexpected surprise today.

August 7, 2009

2009-08-12T14:49:00.001-04:00

Ok, Monday the kids had their 6 month check up at the dentist. Everything was super with them. Dr. Bob asked me to make an orthodontist appointment for Nathan. HUH? Already? Just a consultation. Ok, they had a cancellation so today was his appointment. Here are the shots that they took and let us have a copy…

I won’t enlarge that picture too much since I’m sure you really don’t care to see his mouth like that. I told my mom they gave us poses that I wouldn’t have really preferred but what ya gonna do. He doesn’t need braces right now. They want us back once a year to keep up with changes and growth. The Dr. doesn’t think he will need braces in the future but he might. Nathan was really hoping that he’d get braces today. He already picked out the neon blue set so his mouth would glow in the dark. Oh the joy of it all.

August 6, 2009

2009-08-12T14:34:00.001-04:00

Took a picture of Nathan’s bed frame to share with a friend. Since my sister is giving Nathan my dad’s furniture, we have to get rid of this frame. She didn’t want it. Guess I’ll have to put it on Craig’s List when we get back to try to sell it. I’m also going to put in his current dresser since it’s a set with a changing table and crib. He’s getting all new, well, new to him.

August 5, 2009

2009-08-12T14:16:00.001-04:00

We decided after having our first yummy red tomato eaten to bring inside the green ones to ripen in the window sill.

Take that!

At least now WE will eat them.

Here is one of the little peppers that is growing. We have larger ones growing but these little tiny ones are so cute. (back to the mini butter love) Maybe all the peppers will be ready at the same time then we can eat stuffed peppers from our garden. Mmmmm. I can’t wait!

August 4, 2009

2009-08-12T14:09:00.001-04:00

OMG!! Our first tomato has turned red! I saw it as we were heading out the door. Nathan, Sarah and I ran over to get it. Look….

Some animal already took a bite. WHAT?!?!?! So not fair. Now the ants are eating on it too. What a shame. We will have to stay on top of this!

August 3, 2009

2009-08-12T14:04:00.001-04:00

I’d like you all to meet Princess (white) and Mama Kitty. They are Jason and Jenny’s cats that prefer to stay outside. We leave the garage door open for them to come and go. This is what they do most of the day. Nice, huh?! Princess isn’t as eager for us to love on her but Mama is more than happy to get some lovin’. I really don’t like to have cats outside but I can’t put these 2 inside with our 2. I guess as long as I see them everyday, it won’t be too bad.

August 2, 2009

2009-08-12T13:53:00.001-04:00

After yard work today, Steve flopped into the pool. He is fully dressed. Pretty good way to cool off, huh?! The kids were amazed that he was in the pool but surprising enough, they didn’t want to get in with him.

August 1, 2009

2009-08-12T13:40:00.001-04:00

Sarah was hungry. Here was how that went…

Sarah: I’m hungry

Me: You could have a yogurt.

Sarah: I don’t want that.

Me: How about some string cheese?

Sarah: No.

Me: You can have a knuckle sandwich!

Sarah: That is just your this….

Me: Daddy has one you can have

Sarah: His is hairy!

July 31, 2009

2009-08-12T13:36:00.001-04:00

Jenny and Jason are now living with us. We moved our futon into the back room for them. Wish we had an extra bedroom but we don’t. I know, we just got Ty out of here. Guess we are gluttons for punishment.

Jenny likes to encourage Sarah to say “it’s all about you, Mama, all about you”. Sarah used to say it like that all the time about a year ago but now………………. “it’s all about you, Jenny, all about you”. Too funny.

While we were getting ready to leave today, Jenny did this… just for me!

Nice, huh?!

July 30, 2009

2009-08-12T13:20:00.001-04:00

Our first tomato is turning red! YIPPEE!!!

Now waiting for it to turn totally red will be torture.

We all are on tomato watch now.

July 29, 2009

2009-08-12T13:15:00.001-04:00

Today was family free movie day. We saw the movie Doogle. Not sure that I remember it being in theaters before. Very cool to see so many day care busses there. What a fun thing to do with the kids… and it’s FREE!! It was a very cute movie. We were all glad that we saw it.

Next week we are going to see Star Wars the clone wars. I’m very interested to see that.

July 28, 2009

2009-08-12T13:06:00.001-04:00

Our garden is doing so good!! There are a ton of tomatoes growing and the peppers are finally coming in. So glad our garden isn’t any bigger. This size is hard enough to take care of.

July 27, 2009

2009-08-12T13:02:00.001-04:00

Monday is scout night thru the summer. The boys are making 2 tables for us to use in our scout room so we can give the table back to the church. Buddy was kind enough to help the boys get things sawed and hammered. We didn’t get the tables finished, but we will!

July 26, 2009

2009-08-12T12:56:00.001-04:00

There is a new princess in town….

.. her name is Eevee and she doesn’t want to be messed with! Now leave the princess alone so she can rest!

July 25, 2009

2009-08-12T12:53:00.001-04:00

Chad spent the night last night. This morning, Terri came over at 10am. She has been gone for 2 weeks so it was good to see her again. Steve made them all pancakes for breakfast since he is the best pancake maker. The 4 of them were so silly, I had to snap this. I love it when they all laugh together. It’s so much nicer than when they fight and argue.

July 24, 2009

2009-08-12T12:50:00.001-04:00

Do you buy real butter? We have to for Steve’s taste buds and some recipes.

How cute are these half sticks? OMG Much easier to use in the butter dish and cooking. Most of the time, both full sticks and half are at the store, I pick these. Maybe because I love things in mini form? Maybe it’s mind over matter. Maybe I just have to have the “latest greatest”. Who knows but you will now find these cutie bootie half butter sticks in my fridge.

July 23, 2009

2009-08-12T12:41:00.001-04:00

Nosey Rosey back at asking questions!

Here is my bed. It is a queen size that desperately needs to be turned into a king. We ALWAYS use flannel sheets because they are so super soft and comfy. Notice that my pillow cases don’t all match. That would be because Steve has to have 4 pillows for himself and no set has that many. Not to mention I have 3 for myself. Pillow heaven! Our comforter is the one that Steve bought back when he was single. Nothing too special about it but it’s a little heavy so that makes it extra comfy. Not sure why but it does. No headboard. No reason, just don’t have one. If I had to buy new everything today, I’d prolly stick with dark warm colors. I never did like things too girly.

July 22, 2009

2009-08-12T12:29:00.001-04:00

How horrible am I not keeping up with my blog?!?! Geesh! I knew this would end up happening. Bear with me.. I have almost 2 weeks to catch up and I’m gonna do it right now!!!!

Steve stayed home today “just to make sure” he’s feeling alright. He’s just fine! He was in and out all day. Did some much needed yard work and spent time with the kids. I will be glad when he goes back to work.

I didn’t mention that yesterday, while at Lewis Ginter, I ran into Clair and Katie. Totally unexpected! Clair is such a sweet person. Oh, you don’t know them? Let me explain. Katie is Jenny’s baby. Jenny put Katie up for adoption and Clair adopted her! Jenny is very much in Katie’s life and Clair wouldn’t have it any other way. I am always so amazed when I see Katie because of all of Jenny’s 4 kids, she looks the most like Jenny. Katie was also born the same month as Sarah (I can’t remember if it’s before or after her b-day). It was very to run into them so unexpectedly.

July 21, 2009

2009-07-28T15:17:00.001-04:00

Steve is feeling a bit better. He stayed home today so he could start his full dose of steroids. I’d love to stay home a play nurse (not) but I have plans today. Tina with her 2, Wati with her 2 and me with my 2 are spending the day at Lewis Ginter Botanical Gardens!!! I have lived right here for almost 9 years and today I get to finally check it out.

I’m so impressed with the gardens that I just might have to get a family membership! There are tons of things going on in here. It’s absolutely beautiful. The kids have a special section to learn and play and even have water fun. I can’t possible post all 235 pictures that I took so here are my favorites….

View Full Album

July 20, 2009

2009-07-28T13:35:00.001-04:00

Steve woke me up to check out his stings this morning. 2 looked pretty bad so he called in, crawled back to bed and slept a bit. Off to Patient First when he wakes up.

He IS having an allergic reaction. He also found another bite on the top of his right hand. So, he has stings right above his right knee, right hand, on his belly between his belly button and hip (on the right) and one right above his right elbow more to the back side of his arm. So not fun. They gave him a steroid shot, a steroid z-pack and told him to stay home tomorrow.

Around 8pm he starts to feel bad again. He’s sweaty, clammy, stomach not right, very thirsty and after he scratches the one on his hand notices it swelling more and more. All of the bites started swelling almost like they were balloons being blown up. The one on his hand swelled so bad, you couldn’t see his knuckle. The one on his upper arm was as big as a soft ball and 3/4 around his arm.

Off to Patient First again.

Now his got a shot of Epinephrine, a script for 2 Epi pens and Benadryl. Super, a second reaction. He was really shaky when he got back, she said he would from the shot. Poor guy!

Nurse Thompson, reporting for duty.

July 19, 2009

2009-07-28T13:22:00.001-04:00

Suppose to be a relaxing day. I had a couple things to pick up at Wally World and the Fresh Market. I managed to get off by myself.. NO KIDS! Yippee for me!

I pull in the driveway to see Jason at the gate…

Jason: do you have any other wasp killer inside?

Me: no.

Jason: well, we need some right away.

Me: I need to put my cold things away and then I can go. Why?

Jason: (starting to smile) Well, I wish I had a video camera ‘cuz we could go on Funniest Videos! Steve was edging near the fence and got attacked by bees. He walked back and back and back and fell right in the pool! It was the funniest thing I ever saw!

Me: OMG! Is he alright?

Jason: Yeah, he’s inside changing his clothes.

So much for a relaxing day! He got stung 6 times by a swarm of yellow jackets. Good thing he fell in the pool!! The dang things were burrowed under the ground between us and the neighbors.

Funny that after he got attacked, the daughter says “Oh yeah, me and Alicia got stung 20+ times the other day. At least you don’t have hair for them to get stuck in.” WHAT?!?!?! 20+ times? And you were gonna share this with us… when? Would be important information for us to know when MY husband is the only one that makes sure the fence between our yards is tidy.

I’m sad to report that I did not take any pictures of this event. Steve seemed to be alright the rest of the day. I kept a very close eye on him.

July 18, 2009

2009-07-22T19:54:00.001-04:00

Our challenge this week is to show our kitchen and answer a few questions.

Since we rent, we can’t really paint. She says we can but we have to paint it back white before we move out. No thanks. If I could paint it, I think I’d go with either yellow or green. I have maroon as accents (rugs and a few towels) and I’m trying to find the old time metal signs to hang on the walls. Ok, let’s see the real things……

This is the doorway to the dinning room. I love the butcher block table. My mom gave it to me. I do most all my prep work right there. It’s the perfect height for me. I also use the hooks to hang recipes off of. Love it!

The stove we got up the road for $75. We HATE it. It is off level, the burners work when they want and the oven is no where near calibrated. Hate it!

Here is the dreaded refrigerator. I’ve posted about it before, it was a gift from Steve’s mom. We are very grateful! Without it, we would have a cooler in it’s spot and be buying bags of ice everyday.

Four years into owning it, it leaks. It leaks down under the drawers and then onto the floor. I really, really, really want a new one. Hopefully soon!!!

The door leads to Nathan’s room but we blocked it on both sides. Dog bowl on the floor, cat’s on the table. If the cat’s food wasn’t on the table, they would never have any food. Poor girls. The mini fridge is our “beer fridge”. It was an idea of Ty’s since every time he came over, there wasn’t any room for his beer in the big fridge. So, this one holds nothing but beer. Actually, the bottled water is in there too. The bag holds recycle cans and the box is recycle for pick up. We have gotten very green around here. :-)

This cabinet was made custom for us by (cough, hack) George. I would be lost without it. It stores all my Tupperware, fryer, crock-pot, toaster, tool box, Dutch oven. On top is the microwave and toaster oven. Plus Steve’s 2 cup coffee maker from Gevalia.

La, tee, da.

Here is the doorway to the back room. The step stool had to be pried from my mother’s hands. See, it was my high chair as a baby and I used it as a step stool all growing up. It’s been painted every color under the sun… white is a good match for now. I keep the trash on it so the cat’s don’t knock it over. Funny that they can prolly get in it better on the chair but they don’t mess with it at all! I’ve seen copy cat chairs like it at Target and some blogs. Mine is the true blue vintage chair. Thanks for parting with it, Mom! Love it!!

And here is the last of our kitchen. Actually, this is all we got when we moved in. The rest of the kitchen was totally empty. I love having a window at the sink and a dishwasher. I hate that we only have 2, yes two drawers. My silverware is on the counter. I do have them in cute holders from Ikea but I’d prefer them neatly in a drawer.

Ok, Nosey Rosey, that is my kitchen. It’s not what I prefer but it’s very workable. My true dream is to have glass front cabinets … LOTS of them and so much counter space that I complain it’s too much to clean! One day. Maybe.

July 17, 2009

2009-07-20T16:23:00.001-04:00

I forgot to tell you all that we set up our pool. The children have only used it once so far. It really hasn’t been very hot. I tried to convince Steve to get the 12’ pool at Wal-mart. That didn’t work. Maybe next summer! Now that the pool is set up, when it gets hot, I’ll be able to work on my tan. I have a flip flop tan already. It’s not very attractive. I like when my feet do NOT have white straps across them. Sorry, I got side tracked! I’m sure there will be tons more pictures pool side. I’ll have to get some good ones of them in their suits. Sarah is so adorable in her little 2 piece number while Nathan is nothing but a surfer dude in his WAY huge long trunks from his cousin. Whew! I’ll share more of all that later.

July 16, 2009

2009-07-20T16:17:00.001-04:00

I’d like you all to meet Jasmine. She is Jason and Jenny’s dog… mostly Jason’s. Jasmine is a very good dog. She usually comes right in and eats all of the food left in Jack’s bowl. Then she searches the house for each of us so she can lick us clean. All the while, shedding as much black hair around the house as she can. Outside, she makes sure that none of the children can play ball without her. Any ball!

Here she is eating Jason’s bomb pop. She tried several times to take it out of his hands but without thumbs of her own, she kept dropping the stick. She licked the whole thing though.

Good Girl, Jazzy!!

July 15, 2009

2009-07-20T16:10:00.001-04:00

We visited the local pet store today. I didn’t get too close in this room… reptiles. Ewwww. I did think these little lizard type things were pretty cute. Oh not to bring home! How dare you even think that! They were just cute all looking at us at the same time. This is what I wanted to bring home……

I could just eat this puppy right up! So adorable and lovey. There would be two problems with this puppy. First, we already have Jack and his old age plus being deaf… not a good idea. Second, the pet store wanted $859 for him. That was $850 more than what I had in my wallet.

One day, puppy, one day.

July 14, 2009

2009-07-20T16:04:00.001-04:00

Did you know that AMF has a program where your kids can bowl 2 games for FREE, every day this summer? Tracie shared the website with me….. TAKE THE KIDS BOWLING. Thanks, Tracie! *wink, hug*

I do have to warn you that shoe rental is NOT free! Our bowling alley charges $4.77 per pair. If we had our own shoes, it would be free. I’ve found out that finding bowling shoes for children is close to impossible. I did found them online but I’m not totally sure about shoes online. Bad part is that we only go 2 times a week instead of 5. Good part, it’s fun for them both and just costs me $10 each time.

July 13, 2009

2009-07-20T15:18:00.001-04:00

This girl is a very happy girl. She has eaten 3 servings of meat tonight. I made flank steak. Not totally sure that the meat is what keeps her eating.

She keeps asking for “1-A”.

Took awhile to get what she meant, but once we sat down……

We all love some “1-A”.

July 12, 2009

2009-07-20T15:07:00.001-04:00

We HAD to flea bomb our house today. We have been bitten long enough. Our poor animals need to rest from biting and scratching themselves. As Steve was pushing me out the door, I managed to snap this picture of the can in the back room. We set off 3 total and just hope and pray that all the fleas die.

We can’t come in for at least 2 hours. What to do? Well, we left the keys to the vehicles in the house. Can’t leave. Why not wash them? Geesh. I’m so lucky.

July 11, 2009

2009-07-14T16:14:00.001-04:00

Hard to imagine that this was a seed just a few months ago. It said it was a “miniature” sunflower. Seems like a full size flower to me. Maybe not a full size sunflower but full size regular flower. I love it. We HAD 2 other ones that were doing wonderful until…. Sarah and Nathan were playing and bent the stalks. Dead. Only this one is alive. Sad, very sad.

Oh, Tina and I had an awesome yard sale today. We both did wonderful selling our gently used crap. What did not sell went into the truck and straight to Good Will. It’s gone. Out of here. Now if I can just not go shopping……

Yeah, right.

July 10, 2009

2009-07-14T16:03:00.001-04:00

On my way home from Wal-Mart today, I spotted Speedy Gonzalez. Never noticed him up on that rock before. No Mexican holiday coming that I can think of. Interesting. Maybe he’s just passing thru town on his way to see his other cousins. Let me know if you spot him in your neighborhood.

July 9, 2009

2009-07-14T16:00:00.001-04:00

OMG!! BIG BROTHER IS BACK!!!!!

We wait all year long for Big Brother. We look forward to the drama each and every show. Now we are locked in every Sunday, Tuesday and Thursday nights till it’s over. I haven’t picked a favorite player just yet.. have you?

July 8, 2009

2009-07-14T15:14:00.001-04:00

I have never, in my life, seen boys with never ending perma-grins. I think these two missed each other WAY more than I missed Nathan …. AND I’M HIS MOTHER!! Holy Moly. These boys are best friends to the end. They each had to brag on what “amazing” things they did in their video games. Most of what I heard went like this:

N: I got a blank blank in my game.

C: No, really

N: I did!

C: Well, I got a blank blank blank in that game.

N: really? Show me.

(puke!) And they say that girls are catty. HUH? No, actually, they were both very cute. It was extremely clear that they both missed each other and were very glad to be back. I hate to spring it on Chad that we are leaving again for a week in August. Geesh. We might have to take him along. NO! NO! You can’t make me! They will have to miss each other once more. Last time till school starts.

July 7, 2009

2009-07-14T15:05:00.001-04:00

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, DAD!

We didn’t really plan to meet up with my parents until the last minute but it worked out good all around. We got to see my Dad the day before his birthday. Good for me since I didn’t mail a card! I know, I’m so bad. I would have made up for it but it was nice that I didn’t have to. We bought him $20 in gift certificates to Sonic. His favorite!!! He’s there EVERYDAY between 2-4 for his extra large diet drink for $1 or sometimes it’s free. Good thing Sonic is just up the road from their house. I think it takes him longer to cross over Celanese Road than it does to get there and back.

Hope you had a great day, Dad!

Love ya!

Oh and PS. My mom has Bronchitis (or like Nathan told me “bron-ca-hi-tis) and is sick now for 2 weeks. I hate when either one of them are sick and I live so far away. Get better, Mom!!

*July 13th she went back to work*

July 6, 2009

2009-07-14T14:55:00.001-04:00

This boy is a site for sore eyes!

Last night, on the phone, he said he wanted to come home. We all did some arranging and Wha-la…. we are off to meet half way (170 miles ONE WAY) and take him home with us.

I think since we live so far from family we don’t know what it’s like to be without either of the children. We are a family unit of 4 and that’s how we roll. Having my boy gone for 2 weeks was very hard on all of us. My parents are glad their grocery bill has gone back to normal with the bottomless pit gone.

Glad you are home, Boo. We missed you!

July 5, 2009

2009-07-14T14:28:00.001-04:00

Don’t mean to make you all jealous and all but I had to share.

I have a helper here with me.

My helper is willing and able to do many things.

My helper seems to pop around the corner just in time to “help”.

My helper sometimes begs to help.

Wouldn’t you like a helper like this? I bet you are smiling and shaking your head ~~yes~~ no. Here is my helper at work….

She is busy, very, very busy. Helping.

Helping to create………….…. THIS!------------------------------->

Is that amazing? Sometimes, I don’t even know what to do with the help that I get from her. So helpful. So, um, what are the words I’m looking for? Neat? Amazing? Interesting? Oh wait, I got it….. USELESS!

But she’s MY helper!

Go get your own!!!

July 4, 2009

2009-07-14T14:20:00.001-04:00

HAPPY INDEPENDENCE DAY!!!

I have to say that this is the best picture of the whole day. I’m not totally sure how I managed to get it but it’s a keeper! Steve was shooting off bottle rockets and I actually caught the smoke trail. If you look close enough, you can see the bottom of the stick!!!!! How cool is that?!?!

We brought back from NC $250 worth of fireworks. I think next to Thanksgiving (due to the food), the 4th of July is Steve’s most favorite holiday. He’s not so much a pyro, but loves the noise that accompanies the explosion. If you are into watching, I took video of all we did. You can find those videos HERE. Don’t feel pressure to watch any or all of them. I made them to post on Face book so Nathan could see them. He got to see the Charlotte Knights baseball game with their fireworks show. Lucky dog!

July 3, 2009

2009-07-14T14:05:00.001-04:00

I know you recognize these 3. Big bad meanie there at the bottom has been worrying us. He hasn’t eaten in 2 days but is breathing and looking around. Steve asked if I wanted him to flush it… umm, NO! We only flush them when they are dead and gone. This poor fish is suffering from something and a ride on the porcelain express isn’t gonna make him better. Too bad there aren’t fish doctors that make house calls. I’d call.

Get better big fat meanie.

July 2, 2009

2009-07-14T13:59:00.001-04:00

Doesn’t this excite you? Does me! I had to buy some more of my most favorite glue. Oh and of course, I had a 40% off coupon. Can’t waste that! DUH! I will have to remember to take a picture at the other M’s by me. It’s newer and fancy. This one will do in a pinch! :-)

July 1, 2009

2009-07-02T12:34:00.001-04:00

Steve was home.. again… today. I know it’s just 2 days but come on. Alright, he did get some good things done today. We mulched around our poor tree. Watered the garden before noon. Hung the curtain hold back thingies in Sarah’s room. Then we went and ate Mexican. YUM!

Isn’t Mark so cute?!?! We have made it our tradition to take pictures when we eat Mexican (not totally sure why but we do). He didn’t even see my camera come out and I’m sure if he wasn’t on the inside, he would have ran. Ha ha!! Gotcha, Mark.