Laundry Monster Slowly Dying!!

Today was laundry day! My mom is in town--and I hung out with her this afternoon and watched "The Singles Ward" (SOOOOOOOOO TRUE). After I picked up the kids from school, she and my dad headed up to Ulta to get Nailtec for my mom. It's her favorite thing for her nails-so it's always one of her stops when she is out here.

While they were gone-I had Jake help me bring up the 7 baskets of clean laundry. It needed to be folded and hung on hangers. I keep telling my mom--I have way too much laundry in this house--but I'm not quite sure she was expecting what she saw!! She and my dad came in with a Dunkin' Donuts treat for my boys (I'll explain in the next post), and then they both sat down and literally started to fold my laundry. It was so strange--my mom was working a pile--I was working a pile--and my sweet daddy was working a pile! I felt like a "sludge" but it certainly made the work that much more fun.

Grandpa was working on Barrett's basket of clothes and everytime he would he would pick up a shirt to hang on a hanger he would tell Blakelynn that it was her shirt. She would giggle everytime. Finally she caught on, and the next time he asked her if a certain shirt was hers-she'd giggle and say--Nope, it's yours! It was really sweet! My dad has asked for the past two days to take his Grand-daughter to school! I just love that she is adored by her two grandpa's!!

Blake's Bike!!

Blakelynn got this bike for her birthday when she turned 3. Her birthday is December 7, so she couldn't ride it right away anyway. Plus--it was a little big for her. We spent the summer in Utah last year--so she didn't have much opportunity to ride it at all. This year, we got it out--and she FITS!! She loves it--and looks like such a big girl zooming up and down the sidewalk on her own!!

My Mom Made It Home

I just got off of the phone with my mom. She just got off of the cruise ship and is waiting at her San Diego hotel before for her flight home tomorrow. It's been a week since I've talked to her. I hate weeks like this. My mom always laughs when people talk about trying to get your teenagers to talk to them. My mom would ask me how my day was (or didn't get a chance to ask) and I would go through my day-the bus ride in, 1st period, 2nd period, lunch, the bus ride home! Yep--she got it all! I'm a momma's girl! And she's back on dry land, and I'm gonna call her again this evening!! Wooo Hooo!!

My New Job

Last week I had a meeting with my husbands boss. It was to determine if what I did could help what he did. I walked in thinking there wasn't much need for the meeting and walked out with a job. I was kind of surprised by that, but am now on their Public Relations team. They meet every Friday at the first restaurant, so I need to pick up a Sony Vaio notebook in order to keep up during the meetings!

Time To Say Good Bye

Tomorrow is the going away party for my kids. We have about 15 kids invited, but no one has RSVP'd! I don't mind--I'm all for showing up if you can, but I'm very happy that I opted to just go to Chuck E. Cheese with my coupons rather than booking a party not knowing who all is coming.

We are doing it on a Monday night-so I'm hoping one of the long tables is 'un-reserved', but if not-we will just get 3 booths next to each other. If a group of 15 kids is anything like my kids--they rarely eat at the same time (if at all) so who cares if we aren't all sitting in one long line.

I figure I can get out the door having spent $100 to feed and 'token' all 18 children which is shocking considering the exact same thing for a birthday party this size would have cost $187!! I'm also thinking cupcakes are a ton cheaper than a cake--so now all I need is a new memory stick to keep the memorable moments of the night, safe and sound!

What A Beautiful Day!

Today has been a pretty good Sunday! Aside from the 15 toll free phone calls that have come through..."Sorry folks...I don't transact business on Sunday"! Not that calling tomorrow will get them any farther.

Today was a beautiful day. My husband worked out in the yard all afternoon, and even though it doesn't look like he's touched it, it is looking really nice! Next week is our Spring Cleaning garbage pick up. The one day of the year when you can put anything you want on the curb without a sticker...and they'll take it.

So for the next several days, we will be ridding our house, garage and yard of anything and everything we don't want to have hanging around for another year!

Tweakin' Templates!!

I have to say!! New Years time I set a goal to learn how to tweak a template to really make it my own! I have had a ball learning how to do just that! I'm no where near where I want to be--but have had a lot of fun taking an existing template and shaking it up! If you take a look at the first several blogs under family blogs on the sidebar--those are some of my attempts at "web design". Currently I'm working on a template for my sister--and by the end of the year--I'm hoping to be able to create my own templates from beginning to end! That seems like a lot of work--but from what I've learned already--I'm really excited to learn more! If anyone knows how to get a design to cover the entire background---I would love to hear from you! That is one skill I haven't mastered as of yet!! But man is it addicting!!

Jakey Time!!

Well, our date night came quickly and seemed to go just as quickly. I picked the boys up from school and hurried home, so Jake could get his homework done. He had forgotten his spelling list at school--and that was the only homework he had--so he will miss recess today to get it done. So we headed out. He decided that he would like to see "Bridge To Terabithia" and then go to dinner. So off we went. We caught a matinee, which only means that snacks cost more than the tickets to get in--but hey--how often do you get to take your 9 year old out. Yep, he got spoiled! The movie was pretty confusing to me. I loved the underlying story of friendship--but was very confused by the whole Terabithia thing. At the end, the boy learned to share what his friend had taught him with his little sister, who adored him. So needed in our family. Jake and Blakelynn do not get along at all. She adores him, and pesters him for attention--he gets annoyed with her and generally yells at, or scares her.

So at Bakers Square--we kind of talked about the movie and how it kind of mirrors our life at home. I pointed out the relationship between the brother and sister and how they fixed the relationship in the end. I then reminded Jake that Blake loves him and just wants to play with him. Then I asked if between now and our next date--if he would read her a bedtime story every night. Nothing more--just a story that she picks. He said he would. I think this little act of service on Jake's part--and little bit of attention for Blake--will truly be a miracle in their relationship! I HOPE anyway!

It was a wonderful night--we talked about things going on in his life. I found out he has a crush on a girl in his class, how long has this been going on! We talked about boys growing up, and things that will start to happen. We laughed, we snuggled--we were the only ones in the theater until just before the movie started. So I leaned over and told him that if no one else came--we could just make out the whole time! OH....the look on his face was CLASSIC!! He definitely thinks his mom is crazy!!

Next week is Grayson--and then it will be Jake's turn again. I can't wait!!

RANT**RANT**RANT**RANT!!

Since I generally write about products that I find interesting, I would like to try or have tried and love--I thought I would take a moment and RANT about the crap I hate!!

First off--when we were very first beginning this process of purchasing a home I thought, "Hey, what better way than to have lenders compete for my business!" You know the catch line, you've seen the commercials. So I head on over to Lending Tree's website and input our information. Not too bad--I'm expecting some emails to start arriving at any moment--but what do I get? A FLOOD of phone calls--8 in 1/2 hour--all from these lenders competing for my business. But it didn't stop, it went on and on for days--in fact, a month later I'm still getting the straggling phone call. Of course, we tell them that we've finished the mortgage cycle, and not currently interested in their product! But after literally 300 phone calls--I owe my husband a HUGE "Sorry, Honey"!!

So last night...we are needing to find home owners insurance. Our car insurance is with Geico--but who's ever heard of Geico selling Home Owners Insurance--so me, I go to Insweb.com. I put in the information we need--and am expecting the final page to come up with 6 or 7 quotes from different companies--that's what I got a few years back looking for auto insurance--but nope--to my HORROR--I got a page with 10-12 company names--letting me know that they would be contacting me shortly! WHAT THE HECK?? Sooooooo NOT what I wanted. So I did it again--today they are calling en masse, and I've gotten 16 emails! Ok--I LOVE getting emails--I hate getting phone calls. If you call me--you've lost my business immediately!! So again, I owe my husband a HUGE "Sorry, Honey"!!

Then, the other day-I'm signing up for some service plan--and it asks for my cell phone number. Since mine was dead at the time, I gave them my husbands. It didn't really matter--there was a line directly following the box for the phone number---"Don't worry, we won't call you"!! So, I finish putting the rest of the info in, and flip to the next page, and what does it say????? We just sent you a text message with your PIN, enter it here to see if you are a winner! Ok, what happened to the "Don't worry, we won't call" line! As soon as that thought entered my mind--my phone rang. Yep!! It was my husband. Something about getting a text message..."Sorry, Honey"!!

I'm sooooooo sick of having to say that! Yes, I say it a lot--I'm a freaky chic--but for things I never planned to have happen?? So, for all of you out there.....NEVER, I REPEAT NEVER try Lending Tree.com, and NEVER, I REPEAT NEVER try Insweb.com!! And if anyone says what's your cell phone number---we won't call you---Run!! And, just to let you know...Geico does offer Home Owners Insurance (Who Knew) and they were cheaper than all of the others--even before they add in our auto discount!

More Cleaning!!

Last week I got both kids bedrooms cleaned out. This may not seem like much to the outsider looking in--but this is HUGE! I have baskets and baskets of clean laundry just sitting in my living room. I needed to have the rooms clean so I could put the clean clothes in their places. So finally today--I get to take 4 baskets of laundry and get them on the shelves of the rightful owners-that will, in turn, clean my living room up! I'm so happy! I know-it doesn't take much to excite me--but I haven't had a lot of energy over the past couple of, well, years!!! So when I get enough to actually get some much needed tasks accomplished--it really makes me feel like a worthy human being!!

March Madness!

It' s March! That is amazing! March, of course, means NCAA Mens Basketball--and March Madness. I was talking to Jake on his way to Basketball camp--this is the first March Madness he's shown any interest in. He and his brother have worked out their brackets already! How, you may ask??? Well, they've made it up! All 64 teams--whichever team is a favorite--it's in the bracket! Now--I honestly don't know how many of their "dream teams" will actually make it to the Big Dance--but it's really fun talking about it with my 9 year old.

I think he's rooting for UCON!! When they go to Bulls games or watch them on tv--they do the starting line up word for word with the announcer--it's amazing to hear. But what was so funny is they kept saying "From Utah--Ben Gordon"--Now I have to tell you--I was raised on University of Utah basketball--and I'm pretty darn sure that I would have known if Ben Gordon came out of Utah!! So I started listening--and they don't say Utah--they say UCON!

We'll be Tivo'ing many of the games! I love that my boys have taken such in interest in a good healthy sport!!

Schedules!!

Oh, I'm still getting back in the groove of being back home. I don't know why everything is so out of control after a vacation! Add on top of that the fact that I'm going on 7 weeks of being sick--and I guess there is a little reason for it!

But really, this is ridiculous! I've got laundry coming out my ears--clean and dirty!! My living room is out of control--I have to clean the boys room before I can move the other things out of my living room and into their bedroom!

I've got 2 pinewood derby cars to paint with the boys. Painted they are--they just need to get their decals on and then I need to clear coat them and work on the wheels and the weights! Any good Pinewood Derby racer would know--it's all in the wheels and weights!

Last year Jake's car took #1 over all. Yep--all me with the wheels and weights!!

We will be defending our title this Saturday morning at our Pinewood Derby! Can't wait!

More Great Grandpa Paintings!!

Earlier today I put up two pictures that my great grandfather had painted. I got to talking to my mom and found out that before a reunion some time ago--other parts of the family had gotten together and photographed the pictures that they owned. My mom emailed me the pictures--I was amazed--because I had never seen any of these before. So I decided to put them up here as well!!

**Just an added note about these paintings. My great-grandfather was not a rich man. He couldn't afford canvas, so he painted on masonite. It's really an interesting choice because it gives the texture of canvas. He also couldn't afford to pile on the paint like so many have, so in some spots, as the paintings age, the paint is coming off and the masonite is showing. I don't know why this struck me as interesting--but they are such pretty paintings--so I thought I would share some extra trivia!!