These are the ones I was especially taken with:
Saturday, June 13, 2009
New Photos of the Kiddos
I took the kids out to Picture People this morning for updated photos. We ended up having two sitting because when they showed me the first set of photos there wasn't a single one I liked. Not a single one. I was so disappointed. They immediately got us back for a re-shoot with a different photographer and the results were night and day from the first set.
These are the ones I was especially taken with:
These are the ones I was especially taken with:
Thursday, June 11, 2009
Thursday
It's been a long week. It seems like Friday but alas, it's only Thursday. The weather isn't helping. Tuesday was beautiful - sunny and warm and bright and I spent a good chunk of it sitting on the deck at a friend's house watching our children play while the moms drank cold coffee drinks and ate tasty treats. That was a good day.
The rest of the days have been dark and overcast and so winter-like. Not warm enough for summer clothes but too warm for winter clothes and yet - it *looks* like sweater weather out there.
Where are you sunshine? Where oh where are you?
Yes, I know. Soon enough I will be griping about how hot it is but for now? I'm ready for the happy feelings that sunshine brings. :)
Not that I'm ready for swimsuit weather but then I'm pretty sure even the the best diet pills in the world wouldn't get me ready by the time the sun comes out of its hiding place.
So what have I been doing to pass the time this week? Well - resist it though I tried, I have gotten sucked into Farm Town on Facebook. I've been receiving all the invites for months now to be a neighbor and I've seen the gifts that roll through my account but I've hit "ignore" for it all (except once which is what gave me a farm to start with). I didn't know what it was and I didn't want yet another reason to be sitting in this chair staring at the screen. I have enough of those reasons already. :) But....a friend of mine was talking all about it and then another friend started talking about it and then I started seeing all these status updates about it and the other day when Farm Town went down - there was panic among the masses! I was humored by it and even poked my fair share of fun at people but then.....oh but then.
Feel free to poke fun at me, too.
I have my farm up and going, my crops are growing and I have a nice fenced in area for the animals that are arriving. I'm dreaming and scheming on how I can get 70,000 coins to buy myself a house. And then a dog house. Maybe a pond.
Oh for crying out loud. I KNOW how ridiculous this sounds but here I am. And in some weird twisted way, it's fun. Part of me screams "What is wrong with you? You have enough things in real life to tend to! This is crazy!" and the other part says "Lighten up - it's just a game. So what if I don't make it back to harvest in time." And then another part screams even louder still "You CANNOT let your crops die! YOU MUST GET THE HOUSE!"
It's very confusing to have so many parts vying for attention. :)
I'd write more but I'm afraid I have to go check my grapes now. They grow in a mere 4 hours and then they have to be harvested or they die. I just can't fail at my farming duties....at least, not yet. :)
**Note: This is NOT my farm but it gives you an idea of what they look like. Mine is not where near this cool yet. :)
The rest of the days have been dark and overcast and so winter-like. Not warm enough for summer clothes but too warm for winter clothes and yet - it *looks* like sweater weather out there.
Where are you sunshine? Where oh where are you?
Yes, I know. Soon enough I will be griping about how hot it is but for now? I'm ready for the happy feelings that sunshine brings. :)
Not that I'm ready for swimsuit weather but then I'm pretty sure even the the best diet pills in the world wouldn't get me ready by the time the sun comes out of its hiding place.
So what have I been doing to pass the time this week? Well - resist it though I tried, I have gotten sucked into Farm Town on Facebook. I've been receiving all the invites for months now to be a neighbor and I've seen the gifts that roll through my account but I've hit "ignore" for it all (except once which is what gave me a farm to start with). I didn't know what it was and I didn't want yet another reason to be sitting in this chair staring at the screen. I have enough of those reasons already. :) But....a friend of mine was talking all about it and then another friend started talking about it and then I started seeing all these status updates about it and the other day when Farm Town went down - there was panic among the masses! I was humored by it and even poked my fair share of fun at people but then.....oh but then.
Feel free to poke fun at me, too.
I have my farm up and going, my crops are growing and I have a nice fenced in area for the animals that are arriving. I'm dreaming and scheming on how I can get 70,000 coins to buy myself a house. And then a dog house. Maybe a pond.
Oh for crying out loud. I KNOW how ridiculous this sounds but here I am. And in some weird twisted way, it's fun. Part of me screams "What is wrong with you? You have enough things in real life to tend to! This is crazy!" and the other part says "Lighten up - it's just a game. So what if I don't make it back to harvest in time." And then another part screams even louder still "You CANNOT let your crops die! YOU MUST GET THE HOUSE!"
It's very confusing to have so many parts vying for attention. :)
I'd write more but I'm afraid I have to go check my grapes now. They grow in a mere 4 hours and then they have to be harvested or they die. I just can't fail at my farming duties....at least, not yet. :)
**Note: This is NOT my farm but it gives you an idea of what they look like. Mine is not where near this cool yet. :)
Wednesday, June 10, 2009
TAKE THAT!
It's Wednesday and for the second Wednesday in a row I was forced to deal with a home repair project that I was none too thrilled with. This week the main bathroom toilet decided to begin flushing painfully slow. I mean the slow that makes you stop in your tracks and slowly creep back into the bathroom wondering if you are going to find water beginning to cascade from the bowl. The slow that starts ringing the alarm bells in your head. Non-working toilets are very, very bad.
Monday found me plunging and plunging and dumping bucket after bucket of hot water down to see if something would give way. And it worked - at first. Yesterday I noticed it not being quite right again and last night it was definitely not right. *sigh*
Dakota was out the door this morning with a kiss, a hug and a "Good luck with the toilet." UGH! I don't WANT to have to fix the toilet. Do I LOOK like a handyman? No. No I do not. But knowing full well I had no choice in the matter I put Kelton on the school bus and loaded Kaylen into her car seat. Off to Home Depot we went.
I knew I needed a snake. Beyond that - I was clueless and apprehensive. I found the right aisle and my eyes fell on something call a 6ft Toilet Auger. I read the label information and checked out my other options (which all seemed rather wimpy next to this bad boy!) The auger was the clear choice because I was NOT coming back to have to buy something else.....and I really, really, really didn't want to have to fork over money to a plumber. I'm cheap that way. :) Plus it promised to not scratch the bowl and hey - I'm all over not having ugly scratches in the toilet bowl.
There was a 3ft one but upon inspection it was only long enough to snake through the toilet itself. If the clog was in the stack (hey - look at me! I learned something today!) then it wouldn't reach it. The 3ft one was $31.00. The 6ft one was $49.00 (plus tax, mind you). That's a lot of money to unclog a clog but waaaaay less than calling a plumber. I weighed the pros and cons and then grabbed the 6ft one. Better safe than sorry, you know?
As I was putting it in the back of the car a guy walked by and said "Good choice! That's an excellent product - you won't be sorry. I use mine all the time and it's great! Lifetime warranty, too. Good that you got the 6ft one. Easy to use...blah blah blah." I'm awful but at first I thought "You use it ALL the time? How good could it be?" I thanked him and he walked around my car and got into his van.....PLUMBER! He was a plumber. Ok then!
Feeling better about forking over that kind of money I drove home. I set Kaylen up with an activity and then got down to business. I carefully followed the step by step (with drawings!) instruction and just as I was thinking "I must be doing this wrong..." the cord hit something and then pushed through. And just to let you all know I was wise in my decision making - the clog was inches away from the end of the 6ft line. INCHES! The 3 footer wouldn't have even come close to clearing it.
VINDICATION!!
I retracted the auger and then stood there, unsure if I should try to flush. I finally did and VIOLA! Success! It flushed perfectly fine. YAY ME!
I stood and flushed it four more times for the mere satisfaction.
I did it! I can now add "plumber" to my resume. :)
Check out this bad boy. I found this photo through Google and I have to say - mine is much, much prettier. No rust on mine....yet. :)
Admit it - you're a teensy bit impressed right now, aren't you? :)
Monday found me plunging and plunging and dumping bucket after bucket of hot water down to see if something would give way. And it worked - at first. Yesterday I noticed it not being quite right again and last night it was definitely not right. *sigh*
Dakota was out the door this morning with a kiss, a hug and a "Good luck with the toilet." UGH! I don't WANT to have to fix the toilet. Do I LOOK like a handyman? No. No I do not. But knowing full well I had no choice in the matter I put Kelton on the school bus and loaded Kaylen into her car seat. Off to Home Depot we went.
I knew I needed a snake. Beyond that - I was clueless and apprehensive. I found the right aisle and my eyes fell on something call a 6ft Toilet Auger. I read the label information and checked out my other options (which all seemed rather wimpy next to this bad boy!) The auger was the clear choice because I was NOT coming back to have to buy something else.....and I really, really, really didn't want to have to fork over money to a plumber. I'm cheap that way. :) Plus it promised to not scratch the bowl and hey - I'm all over not having ugly scratches in the toilet bowl.
There was a 3ft one but upon inspection it was only long enough to snake through the toilet itself. If the clog was in the stack (hey - look at me! I learned something today!) then it wouldn't reach it. The 3ft one was $31.00. The 6ft one was $49.00 (plus tax, mind you). That's a lot of money to unclog a clog but waaaaay less than calling a plumber. I weighed the pros and cons and then grabbed the 6ft one. Better safe than sorry, you know?
As I was putting it in the back of the car a guy walked by and said "Good choice! That's an excellent product - you won't be sorry. I use mine all the time and it's great! Lifetime warranty, too. Good that you got the 6ft one. Easy to use...blah blah blah." I'm awful but at first I thought "You use it ALL the time? How good could it be?" I thanked him and he walked around my car and got into his van.....PLUMBER! He was a plumber. Ok then!
Feeling better about forking over that kind of money I drove home. I set Kaylen up with an activity and then got down to business. I carefully followed the step by step (with drawings!) instruction and just as I was thinking "I must be doing this wrong..." the cord hit something and then pushed through. And just to let you all know I was wise in my decision making - the clog was inches away from the end of the 6ft line. INCHES! The 3 footer wouldn't have even come close to clearing it.
VINDICATION!!
I retracted the auger and then stood there, unsure if I should try to flush. I finally did and VIOLA! Success! It flushed perfectly fine. YAY ME!
I stood and flushed it four more times for the mere satisfaction.
I did it! I can now add "plumber" to my resume. :)
Check out this bad boy. I found this photo through Google and I have to say - mine is much, much prettier. No rust on mine....yet. :)
Admit it - you're a teensy bit impressed right now, aren't you? :)
Monday, June 08, 2009
Expecting a Visit from the Tooth Fairy
Kelton is expecting a visit from the Tooth Fairy tonight. He lost tooth #6 at school today. Interestingly enough, this is the second tooth in a row that came out during the school day.
I didn't realize it was as loose as it was until this morning at the bus stop. I bent down to kiss him good bye and I just happened to notice his tooth was sitting at a funny angle. I asked him how loose it was and he wiggled it. "DANG!", I said, "I bet that falls out today."
He has two more that are very loose so I won't be surprised if those come out in the coming weeks. Somehow, these aren't nearly as traumatic for me as his upper front teeth. Losing those were hard for this mommy.
I didn't realize it was as loose as it was until this morning at the bus stop. I bent down to kiss him good bye and I just happened to notice his tooth was sitting at a funny angle. I asked him how loose it was and he wiggled it. "DANG!", I said, "I bet that falls out today."
He has two more that are very loose so I won't be surprised if those come out in the coming weeks. Somehow, these aren't nearly as traumatic for me as his upper front teeth. Losing those were hard for this mommy.
Summer-like Weather? Not so much!
Kaylen saw the sun shining for a brief moment in time today and excitedly asked if I would set up her pool. I had my doubts so I checked the weather which said it would be "mostly sunny with highs in the mid 70's". Decent enough, right?
I got the pool ready and filled it up.
And then......the clouds started rolling in. It is so not "mostly sunny". It didn't bother Kaylen, who insisted she needed sunscreen (oh really? Yeah - not so much. An umbrella maybe...but not sunscreen for the 15 minutes she was going to be out there.). She changed into her swimming suit and climbed in.
She stayed in longer than 15 minutes but not more than 25. Personally? I don't know how she made it that long at all. Brrrrrr!
I took this photo (above) and then not even a minute later took the next one (below). Look at those clouds!!
A new skill. She can cross her fingers! :)
BRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR!!!!!!!
I got the pool ready and filled it up.
And then......the clouds started rolling in. It is so not "mostly sunny". It didn't bother Kaylen, who insisted she needed sunscreen (oh really? Yeah - not so much. An umbrella maybe...but not sunscreen for the 15 minutes she was going to be out there.). She changed into her swimming suit and climbed in.
She stayed in longer than 15 minutes but not more than 25. Personally? I don't know how she made it that long at all. Brrrrrr!
I took this photo (above) and then not even a minute later took the next one (below). Look at those clouds!!
A new skill. She can cross her fingers! :)
BRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR!!!!!!!
Monday
I am completely not motivated to blog. Is it because I have nothing to say, too much to say or just no desire to say it? Maybe it's just the weather - which is not so great. Last Tuesday the clouds rolled in and set up shop. Thursday we had a downpour, complete with hail, for a brief window of time. Not the storm they had been promising us but for the 15 minutes or so it was definitely something.
The storm came on the heels of loading the car with a bunch of stuff for a garage sale. I'd spend a good portion of the afternoon sorting and pricing the bags of stuff that have been accumulating in the garage - mostly toys and clothes that have been outgrown by the kids. I have to say, I wondered if the garage sale would go on as planned since the ground was thoroughly soaked. But - go on it did!
I loaded the kids into the car early Friday morning and went over to my friend and fellow PTO board member's house. Ingrid lives on a great street for garage sales - no ads or tons of signs needed - which is perfect! Ingrid invites all her friends to participate in the sale which meant there was TONS of stuff. I put Kelton on the school bus that Ingrid's kids take and then continued with the setting up. Before we were even half way ready the people started streaming in. The traffic was crazy all day even though it sprinkled on and off the entire time.
By the end of the day I had sold almost all the stuff I had brought and I was completely exhausted. Too tired to deal with dinner and since the kids were asking to go out, I agreed. Only....they couldn't agree on where to go. I let them hammer it out for close to an hour before the decision of McDonald's was reached. They have a play land and that seemed to win out over Red Robin. I was ok with it because it meant I could take a book and read while they played.
Saturday morning I was up and at it again. Dakota had to go into the law school for her bar review class and shortly after she left, the kids and I headed over to Ingrid's to help set up. We stayed a couple hours and then I brought them home to have lunch. I scrambled around cleaning the house and getting it ready for company. Once the bathrooms where shining, the floors were swept, mopped and vacuumed and surfaces dusted I loaded the kids back into the car and we went to Game Stop so Kelton could spend his take of the garage sale proceeds. (Make no mistake - my kids have the "If I agree to sell my stuff then I get the money." down pat. Which is ok because it does help lighten the toy load around here.) Kelton, of course, opted for yet another Pokemon game for his DS. I even tried having the guy who worked there explain that the games are all pretty much he same. I lost my footing though when the oh-so-helpful guy explained that what was great is that you can transfer all the Pokemon that you catch from game to game which gives you a HUGE collection of Pokemon. (Are your eyes glazed over? Yeah - mine too.) I lost the battle on that one and Kelton very happily made his purchase.
Back to the garage sale we headed. I stopped at a couple sales along the way and quickly realized that hitting garage sales this year will be unlike years past. This year I will be hearing "Hey! Don't you work at Crestline? MOM! She works at my school!" a good time more than in years gone by. It was startling the first couple times - I'm so used to going through life without often seeing people I know or who know me - but then it got to the point where it was just downright funny. I even passed a couple kids playing in their yard who recognized me and waved and yelled "Kelton's mom! Hey Kelton's mom! HI!!!". It's actually kind of fun. :) I guess that's what happens when you practically live at an elementary school. :)
We arrived back at Ingrid's and stayed another hour or so before it was time to pack up my unsold things and get home to meet our niece and her kids who were coming over for an evening of fun. It didn't take long to pack up - more than 3/4 of my stuff had been sold.
Soon Dakota arrived home from school and, not to long after her, Amy and her kids arrived. We had pizza and drinks while the kids played and played and played. Not to be left out, the adults started a game of bowling on the Wii. :)
Bailey, our 8 year old great-niece, and Kelton thought it would be fun to have a sleep over so we said goodnight to Amy and Alise and got busy settling in the kids. It was late and settling down didn't come all that easy. The older kids wanted to sleep in a tent. I couldn't arrange that but came up with shoving the couches together to make a fort (or sorts). They loved it! I got Kaylen to sleep but thanks to Dakota's silliness and stories, the older two were still awake at 10.
Morning came early - like at 4:30 when Kelton stood beside me and said "Mom! Can I get up now?" to which Dakota and I both said "Uhhhhh....NO! It's 4:30!" He headed back to the living room but I stopped him in his tracks when I said "And don't you dare wake up Bailey!" He turned around and came back to our room. I moved into Kaylen's room to sleep and Kelton took my spot. He never did go back to sleep. Bailey was up at 5:30 so Dakota let them go in and watch TV for a while. Kaylen joined them at 6am. At 7am Dakota and I were treated to breakfast in bed - complete with coffee! It was Bailey's idea and she and our two worked together to put together breakfast trays. It was really sweet.
We had all been up for about an hour when Amy and Alise knocked on the door. We all hung out for about an hour before sending Amy and family on their way. We've made plans for Bailey to spend some time here this summer and, hopefully, Kelton will want to go to their house for a couple days. They live about 2 hours away so I'm not sure Kelton will go for it but we'll see. At least I know Bailey will be good for coming here.
A couple hours later found Dakota and the kids heading out to see "Up" and me having the entire house to myself! Trust me, after the week I had I really, really wanted family-free time. I just hung out and watched TV. I am ashamed to admit that I got sucked into The Real Housewives of New Jersey but I did and it was great mindless entertainment. Oh the drama of it all! :)
The rest of the afternoon and evening where low key. We hung out in the yard and then the kids and I played some Wii. It was a nice way to end one week and start another. Hopefully this week will be more low key and less stressful than last. And for those of you who are counting, we just started week the of bar review. We're getting there.....slowly.
(Mel and Jeri: These two photos are for you. Now get off my back! :) )
The storm came on the heels of loading the car with a bunch of stuff for a garage sale. I'd spend a good portion of the afternoon sorting and pricing the bags of stuff that have been accumulating in the garage - mostly toys and clothes that have been outgrown by the kids. I have to say, I wondered if the garage sale would go on as planned since the ground was thoroughly soaked. But - go on it did!
I loaded the kids into the car early Friday morning and went over to my friend and fellow PTO board member's house. Ingrid lives on a great street for garage sales - no ads or tons of signs needed - which is perfect! Ingrid invites all her friends to participate in the sale which meant there was TONS of stuff. I put Kelton on the school bus that Ingrid's kids take and then continued with the setting up. Before we were even half way ready the people started streaming in. The traffic was crazy all day even though it sprinkled on and off the entire time.
By the end of the day I had sold almost all the stuff I had brought and I was completely exhausted. Too tired to deal with dinner and since the kids were asking to go out, I agreed. Only....they couldn't agree on where to go. I let them hammer it out for close to an hour before the decision of McDonald's was reached. They have a play land and that seemed to win out over Red Robin. I was ok with it because it meant I could take a book and read while they played.
Saturday morning I was up and at it again. Dakota had to go into the law school for her bar review class and shortly after she left, the kids and I headed over to Ingrid's to help set up. We stayed a couple hours and then I brought them home to have lunch. I scrambled around cleaning the house and getting it ready for company. Once the bathrooms where shining, the floors were swept, mopped and vacuumed and surfaces dusted I loaded the kids back into the car and we went to Game Stop so Kelton could spend his take of the garage sale proceeds. (Make no mistake - my kids have the "If I agree to sell my stuff then I get the money." down pat. Which is ok because it does help lighten the toy load around here.) Kelton, of course, opted for yet another Pokemon game for his DS. I even tried having the guy who worked there explain that the games are all pretty much he same. I lost my footing though when the oh-so-helpful guy explained that what was great is that you can transfer all the Pokemon that you catch from game to game which gives you a HUGE collection of Pokemon. (Are your eyes glazed over? Yeah - mine too.) I lost the battle on that one and Kelton very happily made his purchase.
Back to the garage sale we headed. I stopped at a couple sales along the way and quickly realized that hitting garage sales this year will be unlike years past. This year I will be hearing "Hey! Don't you work at Crestline? MOM! She works at my school!" a good time more than in years gone by. It was startling the first couple times - I'm so used to going through life without often seeing people I know or who know me - but then it got to the point where it was just downright funny. I even passed a couple kids playing in their yard who recognized me and waved and yelled "Kelton's mom! Hey Kelton's mom! HI!!!". It's actually kind of fun. :) I guess that's what happens when you practically live at an elementary school. :)
We arrived back at Ingrid's and stayed another hour or so before it was time to pack up my unsold things and get home to meet our niece and her kids who were coming over for an evening of fun. It didn't take long to pack up - more than 3/4 of my stuff had been sold.
Soon Dakota arrived home from school and, not to long after her, Amy and her kids arrived. We had pizza and drinks while the kids played and played and played. Not to be left out, the adults started a game of bowling on the Wii. :)
Bailey, our 8 year old great-niece, and Kelton thought it would be fun to have a sleep over so we said goodnight to Amy and Alise and got busy settling in the kids. It was late and settling down didn't come all that easy. The older kids wanted to sleep in a tent. I couldn't arrange that but came up with shoving the couches together to make a fort (or sorts). They loved it! I got Kaylen to sleep but thanks to Dakota's silliness and stories, the older two were still awake at 10.
Morning came early - like at 4:30 when Kelton stood beside me and said "Mom! Can I get up now?" to which Dakota and I both said "Uhhhhh....NO! It's 4:30!" He headed back to the living room but I stopped him in his tracks when I said "And don't you dare wake up Bailey!" He turned around and came back to our room. I moved into Kaylen's room to sleep and Kelton took my spot. He never did go back to sleep. Bailey was up at 5:30 so Dakota let them go in and watch TV for a while. Kaylen joined them at 6am. At 7am Dakota and I were treated to breakfast in bed - complete with coffee! It was Bailey's idea and she and our two worked together to put together breakfast trays. It was really sweet.
We had all been up for about an hour when Amy and Alise knocked on the door. We all hung out for about an hour before sending Amy and family on their way. We've made plans for Bailey to spend some time here this summer and, hopefully, Kelton will want to go to their house for a couple days. They live about 2 hours away so I'm not sure Kelton will go for it but we'll see. At least I know Bailey will be good for coming here.
A couple hours later found Dakota and the kids heading out to see "Up" and me having the entire house to myself! Trust me, after the week I had I really, really wanted family-free time. I just hung out and watched TV. I am ashamed to admit that I got sucked into The Real Housewives of New Jersey but I did and it was great mindless entertainment. Oh the drama of it all! :)
The rest of the afternoon and evening where low key. We hung out in the yard and then the kids and I played some Wii. It was a nice way to end one week and start another. Hopefully this week will be more low key and less stressful than last. And for those of you who are counting, we just started week the of bar review. We're getting there.....slowly.
(Mel and Jeri: These two photos are for you. Now get off my back! :) )
Wednesday, June 03, 2009
I ROCK!
I just wanted to post and tell you all how much I rock. I mean - I rock HARD! I'm just sayin.......
This morning when I opened the blinds in Kelton's bedroom I noticed, much to my utter dismay, that Maddie had knocked out fence boards YET AGAIN! Now mind you, Dakota just fixed a board in that section this weekend. A section that has been bad since the winter storm. Well - to be fair, it was bad before that but the winter weather made it even worse. At one point, Dakota and the neighbor had to work on the section and brace it back up as it was all but on the ground. The fence is old. Very, very old but neither the neighbors not us are in the pace to be able to replace the entire thing.
Skip ahead to this morning. I went out there to check out the damage and what I needed to do to make it function. Shaking my head in frustration, I knew the only logical thing was to replace the section.
Never mind that my day was already busting at the seams of things needing to be done.
The dogs are in the house when we leave so I knew all was well for now. I went forward with my busy morning of being at the school to do yo yo inventory, paperwork and taking everything to the UPS Store for shipping back. My fellow PTO-er, Ingrid, and I gathered the things to tonight's Kindergarten RoundUp and troubleshot a few million other things. And then off to Home Depot Kaylen and I went.
After handing over $45.00 for 16 fence boards, two 2x4's, metal bracing for the cross bars and a box of galvanized screws we were on our way home.
In only an hour I had rebuilt the fence section. The board spacing? Not perfect but definitely respectable. And most importantly? It's solid. YES!
This is a great example of how life has changed in the past 4 years. I can promise you that 5 years ago I would have NEVER attempted to replace a fence section. But today? I looked at it, counted boards, made my list (and ONE trip to Home Depot, thankyouverymuch!) and tackled the job.
And you know why? It's because I ROCK!
It's a thing of beauty, isn't it? :)
This morning when I opened the blinds in Kelton's bedroom I noticed, much to my utter dismay, that Maddie had knocked out fence boards YET AGAIN! Now mind you, Dakota just fixed a board in that section this weekend. A section that has been bad since the winter storm. Well - to be fair, it was bad before that but the winter weather made it even worse. At one point, Dakota and the neighbor had to work on the section and brace it back up as it was all but on the ground. The fence is old. Very, very old but neither the neighbors not us are in the pace to be able to replace the entire thing.
Skip ahead to this morning. I went out there to check out the damage and what I needed to do to make it function. Shaking my head in frustration, I knew the only logical thing was to replace the section.
Never mind that my day was already busting at the seams of things needing to be done.
The dogs are in the house when we leave so I knew all was well for now. I went forward with my busy morning of being at the school to do yo yo inventory, paperwork and taking everything to the UPS Store for shipping back. My fellow PTO-er, Ingrid, and I gathered the things to tonight's Kindergarten RoundUp and troubleshot a few million other things. And then off to Home Depot Kaylen and I went.
After handing over $45.00 for 16 fence boards, two 2x4's, metal bracing for the cross bars and a box of galvanized screws we were on our way home.
In only an hour I had rebuilt the fence section. The board spacing? Not perfect but definitely respectable. And most importantly? It's solid. YES!
This is a great example of how life has changed in the past 4 years. I can promise you that 5 years ago I would have NEVER attempted to replace a fence section. But today? I looked at it, counted boards, made my list (and ONE trip to Home Depot, thankyouverymuch!) and tackled the job.
And you know why? It's because I ROCK!
It's a thing of beauty, isn't it? :)
Tuesday, June 02, 2009
Summer-like Fun!
We've had a string of amazingly perfect summer-like weather. A bit warm, some might say, but given that we have air conditioning I'm ok with it being hot, hot, hot outside because I know I can cool down inside. Quite a difference from 4 years ago when I was stuck in the throes of hating the summer heat with a passion usually reserved peas. :) I can't thank the heavens enough for our radiant ceiling heat going out so we were forced to change our heating system and well....it was easy enough to add "cooling" to the system. YAY!!!! :)
Today is not nearly as nice outside. It's overcast and warm but the warm isn't warm enough to leave the sliding glass door open for the dogs to come and go at their pleasure. It's not warm enough to have the A/C on and it's not really warm enough for the short sleeves and capris I am wearing. To look outside one might think "Hmmm....a cloudly cold day in March."
But fear not; I have some summer-like photos to share that just may pull me out of my ho-hum state of mind. You just knew you could count on me for photos, didn't you? :)
Let's roll back to last week:
Photos of some of the cards and gift Dakota received for graduation. Check out the book my sister gave her:
Today is not nearly as nice outside. It's overcast and warm but the warm isn't warm enough to leave the sliding glass door open for the dogs to come and go at their pleasure. It's not warm enough to have the A/C on and it's not really warm enough for the short sleeves and capris I am wearing. To look outside one might think "Hmmm....a cloudly cold day in March."
But fear not; I have some summer-like photos to share that just may pull me out of my ho-hum state of mind. You just knew you could count on me for photos, didn't you? :)
Let's roll back to last week:
Photos of some of the cards and gift Dakota received for graduation. Check out the book my sister gave her:
Yeah - not really bar as in "big test to become a bar-certified attorney". More of a "mix me a drink, will ya?" I like the way my sister thinks! :)
The week was very busy. There were bubbles to blow, a ceramic baby deer to carry around and ice cream to be eaten:
And of course, what is a hot day for if not splashing in the cool water of a pool?
Any guesses what happens after this photo (above) was taken?
You got it! Kaylen was dumped in, according to plan, but Kelton didn't anticipate his head getting dunked under as well. And that, my friends, is what they call karma! :)
There were trips in the Barbie car (which really brings to light how big they have gotten. I remember the first summer we had that car (a garage sale find for $40); Kelton was 3 and Kaylen was 5 months. I'll have to dig those photos up...and the ones I've taken each and every summer. I'm glad I did, too. What a great way to chart their growth. This is clearly the last summer for two in at one time. :)
We also had a trip to the mall to a Children's Festival which included the highlight of face painting!
And Sunday brought about our first family day in a week and more swimming time. This time it was in the bigger pool that we got to accommodate grown ups. As cute as the whale pool is, it just doesn't cut it for anyone above 7 years of age. :)
Kaylen stayed in the pool most of the afternoon and evening. She is definitely a water bug if ever there was one. She is more than ready for swimming lessons this summer, that's for sure. :)
So - all in all, a good week with tons of outside playing and even some reading time for me. I picked up a book on Sunday and made a sizable dent in it. I had hoped today's cloud would have burned off, making way for a sunny afternoon but the water droplets that have recently appeared on the leaves outside the door are saying otherwise.
Hopefully tomorrow.
Monday, June 01, 2009
Really Cool Crocs
Ok - the story goes a bit like this:
My kids LOVE Crocs. As in L.O.V.E. They are the only shoes that Kaylen will wear and it's been like this since she was not yet two. Oh sure - she has other shoes. Shoes, in fact, that she willingly picked out with the promise of "I love them! I'll wear them! I promise!" And, to her credit she does wear them. Once or twice. Three times if I'm lucky. But Crocs? Those are reliable, comfy footwear for her.
And no kidding - she's been wearing the same pair for almost 2 years. Crocs are great because they cover two sizes. Hers are size 8/9 and they are still fitting fine. Starting to get small but fine overall. The tread though? Practically non-existent.
So it is time to buy her another pair. I thought to myself; "Self? Save money and watch eBay." So I did. And I had my eye on a perfect pair of purple ones, new with tags (the same color as a pair that Kelton has). I watched it for a couple days and then finally, with 8 minutes left to go...I placed my bid. I waited.....I hit refresh....I waited for more.
And then...like a bolt of lightning it hit me: I BID ON THE WRONG SIZE!!! Say it ain't so, Joe!
The seller had two pairs listed. One 10/11 and one 6/7. ARGH!!!!!!!
What could I do? I made the bid, the fate was sealed. I waited hoping one of the other two bidders would outbid me. They didn't....and I won...all for the low, low price of $9.05 plus $5 shipping. A serisouly great price for new Crocs. But a fat lot of good they will do me.
Ugh. Nothing like throwing money down the toilet.
So......I thought I would toss this out there; does anyone want to buy these very cute, durable and fantastic shoes from me? I don't have them yet but confirmation of their shipping has been received. :)
Please? Please someone? I will ship to you. Happily skipping to the post office. I'll even video tape the happy skipping. :)
Man I hate when I do dorky things. And the kicker is, I STILL don't have a pair for Kaylen. Ugh ugh ugh.
So? Help a mom out? :)
Happy Blogging Day!
It's that time of year again. The time when Lesbian, Gay, Bi and Transgendered families stand up and say "Hi. We're here and we aren't all that different from you."
So....Hi. We're here and we aren't all that different from you. :) I've been blogging about my family's adventures since July 2005. I was gearing up to begin a 4 long year stint of de-facto single parenting while my partner attended law school. At the time she started school we had a 6 month old baby girl and a 3.5 year old son. Anyone who has lived through the three's with a son knows I deserve some sort of medal...or at least a mental breakdown. Of which I had several. :) For a good time, go back and read through the archives. It's funny now...but not so much as the time. :)
We just completed the law school portion of our program. Dakota graduated last Saturday and this past Tuesday began an 8 week bar review course. So really? We aren't seeing her anymore than when she was in school but at least the end is in sight.
Our son, Kelton, is completing the first grade and, as he will tell you, will be second grader in 18 days. How did THAT happen? He is a silly, funny, amazing and beautiful child full of spunk and spirit. He never, ever fails to make me laugh....and he never, ever fails to make me pull out my hair. He is seriously one of the best thing I have ever done in my entire life.
Our daughter, Kaylen, is 4 years old going on 25. No, really. She would amaze you as much as she does us. The only thing we can figure out about her is she is an old soul who brought with her a great deal of knowledge and wisdom. She is wise far beyond her years and honestly...it can creep both of us out. She often talked of her "old family" and one time she told us in great detail how she "drown under the water and then lived with really pretty people who took care of her." I kid you not. She used to talk of it all the time she was around 2.5. She still can freak us out with the things she says. And before you ask, no we don't let her watch grown up TV shows and I'm pretty sure Dora the Explorer or Maggie and the Ferocious Beast aren't teaching her this stuff. But...what do I know? Maybe it's subliminal programming. :)
As for me, I'm a 44 year old stay at home mom. I have the same struggles as every mom in America. I worry a crazy amount about absolutely everything and I love my family with the fierceness of a bear. And I am also running very behind this morning. I am due at my son's school in 5 minutes and my daughter isn't even dressed yet. See? I really am just like you. :)
To find out more about us, and our crazy life, come back often. This summer is sure to be an experience as we navigate a summer without Mama, the bar exam......and life. Welcome! And I hope you visit often.
To read blogs of other LGBT Families go here.
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