Thursday, September 29, 2011

Every day

Has its own little perk!! And I'm liking it!!

Mondays, I have both kids and we're recuperating from the weekend...and I get to be lazy in the mornings

Tuesday is the first day with DJ in school all day, which is a nice break after Monday

Wednesday we have Sam's ballet class and then Awana

Thursdays are just me and Sam again, and if I have nothing planned, I don't put my contacts in to take DJ to school

Fridays are hot lunch days (some of them I work) and I don't have to make DJ's lunch, AND it's recess duty day AND its football nite!

Saturdays will be full of DJ's football games starting next week

And Sundays are typically an at home day for us after church

So far, I'm liking each day of the week!!! Thursdays are a wee bit better than the rest of them tho, I must say! Today was kind of awesome!!! We got home from dropping DJ off and made a nice breakfast for ourselves....then we watched tv....made a nice lunch for ourselves, and then tidied up the kitchen (which looking over the monitor right now, you can't tell!) and we took out the recycle from everywhere, not just the kitchen, did the bathroom garbages, and kitty litter, and I grabbed  day time shower!!!!!

The weather today was beyond perfect really!!!! Granted it started off cold, we needed jackets AND the heat in the truck....and when we left our mtn, it was sunny, the minute we get down to hwy 2, it's SOOOOOOO foggy out! But it all burned off and we had a rather balmy late September day! It was wonderful! Before my shower, we took Sam's polish off her nails and painted them blue for Jake AND DJ's football teams...she chose the sparkly one, go figure.

Then at 4:30 we headed into town (and I forgot my phone) to meet up with my newest Avon rep to give her more  books which is awesome!!!! We've been texting off and on about things and she sounds like she'll do well! Which is nice!!! I like that she WANTED to be a rep before I got her info, kinda like me! I didn't have to "sell" her on it...SO much easier to sign up! Then Sam and I did a couple other errands and headed home to wait for a the phone call to put dinner in the oven.

Howie picked DJ up from school and then hung around town til it was football practice time...so when they left the school, he called and I put the pizza in the oven for dinner. Worked rather well too as we were sitting down to eat within 5 minutes of them arriving home. Then I bathed them super fast and got them in bed shortly after 8...whew!! I got most of my chores done before sitting with Howie and watching more X Factor....which thankfully is done its painful audition rounds!!

Once Howie went to bed, I put Grey's on...which was good!!! And then Private Practice, which had me on the edge of my seat!!! Sheesh!!! Then I watched Whitney, which is proving to be very funny once you get past the normality of the cast...in appearance I mean...they're not super gorgeous, they're just normal, which is nice!

Til next time...God bless!

Moves Like Jagger

Today I woke up FROZEN!!!!! Its definitely Fall in these here parts!!! Brrrr!! Thankfully I had a heater box sleeping next to me...which made me wonder why his dad wasn't home yet from work! So we got up and got dressed....today was picture day and I was smart enough to talk it up yesterday AND have the decision fits about what to wear (yes, there were tears!!!!) and have him decide that my choice really was the best :) So, he'll be HANDSOME for his pix!! I can't wait to see them...this is the first time I haven't been with him for pictures to make sure he doesn't over smile, or look sad....fingers crossed!

Once we dropped him off, Sam and I headed my g/f Shannon's house for a play date...she's the one who hooked me up with the dance studio Sam's taking classes with...and since it's a hike to our house and then back to town for dance, we just stick around, and today we hung out at her place. Her daughter will be 3 in November and the two girls hit it off well...Delaney is her name, but Sam of course has her own version, Alaney...aww. Well Miss Delaney has all kinds of "new" toys that Sam hasn't played with, so she fully enjoyed playing in her room with her.

Dance, is just amazingly fun for me to watch!!! I get just as much enjoyment out of it as Sam does! Today she learned 3 real ballet moves (I looked them up!!!) such as Arabesque, Passe, and Plie....and she's been practicing ALL day long since learning them too!! Oh, on the way to the truck from Shannon's house she fell in the driveway and tore up the knee of her tights really bad!! Poor thing!! Now I have to find more tights for her by next Wednesday!!! Might as well buy two pairs just in case....lol

After dance we did the pizza pick up and dropped them off at the shed before coming home for lunch. Sam had hers in the truck of course, but I still needed to make mine...thankfully I had some almonds in my purse to snack on! Eating before 8 and not eating til 1 is not pleasant for me! Just after one we woke Howie up...he didn't get home til 9 and asked to be woken at 1. So while the two of them went outside, I went and took a nap in the bed....with Belle in her crate so I wouldn't have her listen to her barking out the window.

DJ came home (via the neighbours picking him up on their way home from their own school) and asked if he could wear shorts outside to play....I have to say I was SO groggy when he came in and woke me up! I barely remembered the conversation, and then I check outside when I got up, and sure enough he's out there shirtless!!!!!!! BRRRRRRRRRRR It was barely 60 I'm sure! I then went out and picked tomatoes...I got 26 nice sized "grape" tomatoes and one cucumber!!! YAY!!!!!!! I can actually grow things! Howie's been enjoying the tomatoes in his salads for lunch.

Since tonite was an Awana nite we ate early, but apparently not early enough as I was a good 10 minutes late for Awana....hate doing that!!! Must plan better for next week!! And tonite, just FLEW by!!!! It was kind of chaotic! We lost 2 kids from last year (they moved up) and gained a good 12 new ones with with them moving up to our group, or just plain newbies!! I sure felt it tonite!! Thankfully I only have 12 names to learn, unlike last year when I had 30 names to learn!!!! Whew!!

We got home about 8:40 and got the kids in bed and then sat down and watched X Factor...there was one 14 year old girl, Drew, that almost had me in tears!!!!! And I SO preferred her version of Bieber's Baby song!!! Should be an interesting show....I wanna see if they actually groom them to become the "it" they're looking for. Howie went to bed after that and I watched Modern Family, which had me in STITCHES!!!!!!!  and Happy Endings, which I'm SO glad they brought back!!! That one had me giggling too!! Then, thanks my nap, I watched Revenge, which is really hooking me in!! I like the storyline so far! Reminds me of the old Dallas shows!

Til next time...God bless!

Wednesday, September 28, 2011

Back in the saddle

This morning went pretty darn smooth if I do say so myself!!! Got up, got Belle taken care of, got the kids dressed, got breakfasts ready (they wanted truck ones) and ate, and we were on the road by 8:02...there are markers of the time we're making...like if I see the bus at the end of our street picking up the Sultan kids, we're SO late!!! If we're already on the road and get stopped by that same bus picking up kids before it, we should be okay, but the stopping part drives me batty!...and if we pass that bus before it makes of the stops in the stretch of road I'm travelling on, we're fine and dandy!!! Today was a fine and dandy day!!!!

I walked DJ in as I needed to chat with the ladies in the office a bit...Sam made herself right at home and took off her coat and went for the books....even tho we were there less than 3 minutes!!!! Then we went to the shed so I could pick up books...and really glad I waited as yesterday was a miserable rainy day, today was just cool and gray...even tho I had extra work to do with the new books being there already (I prefer to grab the old ones before the new ones come, I have more room to work with) and also discovered that someone snatched 4 of my boxes...not cool!!! SO not cool! That meant I was unloading and reloading up 4 of the newer boxes...and I'll be short again next week trying to play catch up! grrrrrr

Then we took the books back to town and to the home school resource center as they're up and running again, but since it was their first official day of school, they weren't ready for me...so I dropped 'em off at Goodwill instead and then we went home finally. Had a nice lunch my girl and I, and then we watched Despicable Me per Sam's request! About 2:20 I called Howie to remind him he was picking DJ up, and he informed me he was gonna be late due to a stop he needed to make. Now, I had talked to him just 5 hours prior and we talked about him picking DJ up....how on earth did he forget so quickly!!!!! So I hustled Sam out the door and we went back to town to pick DJ up from school. Just as I pulled into the driveway, Sam fell asleep....we were just talking seconds ago too! At least this gave DJ and I chance to chat on the way home and for me to find out about his day, which was wonderful! He had a "job" today in class, and he was the lights boy...so whenever they left the room, he was to turn the lights off....I can't tell you how much I love this school for helping me teach my son this!!!! He's terrible for this!!!

Also, something in his brain is clicking....at dinner, Howie asked him to go wash his hands, and within 5 seconds DJ was off washing his hands...and he only had to ask ONCE!!!!!!! How amazing is that!?!?!? lol It's the little things! After dinner I grabbed the quickest shower and then sent Howie to bed...he's on graveyard tonite and needed some sleep...come to find out, he was also leaving super early as he needed to get to Lowes before they closed at 9...blech!!! He got up as I reading to the kids, tucked them in and left for work.

I sat and was going to watch Glee...but my dvr royally screwed me over and didn't record it even tho it showed it was supposed to....made me sad!! So I watched New Girl live, and then Raising Hope (I want one of THOSE toilets!!) and then flipped on Parenthood, which was funny!!!!!!!  Belle also occupied herself with a pear...she's been eyeing them for the past couple days...and today grabbed one...I at first thought it was a dirty tennis ball, til I went to pick it up and discovered it was a pear....she chewed on that thing for hours!!!! And didn't even get half way thru it!! Nice!!!

Til next time...God bless!

Tuesday, September 27, 2011

It's a crisp kind of day!!!

This morning I woke up sounding like a man...yeah, my throat still hurts! So, before breakfast, I tried some of the homeopathic juice that I have for the kids when they have colds/sore throats....BLECH!!!!! Now I know why he makes the face he does!! There's no taste, and its slightly carbonated, I can't tell...but it's just odd! More like flat club soda...and it didn't help! (Altho, I'm thinking I may take a dose before bed to stop this coughing) Kids dose is 1 tsp...Adult dose is 3 tsp....just chug it! *gag*

After breakfast the kids took their time gettin dressed...but just before noon we were out the door to go grocery shopping...FINALLY!!!! I also did an Avon drop, a bank drive thru and an ATM usage...not too shabby an errand day!

We got home and I unloaded....the kids had lunch while shopping...some salami and cheese from the deli, then they shared a lunchable, got a cookie from the deli and had a fruit snack in the truck...but I was starving when I got home!! So I heated up some barely soup and had some ham...yummy lunch!!! The rain coming down pretty steady ruined any chance of the kids playing outside, but they did end up next door playing....so I unloaded the dishes and got it loaded back up and running. Then got started on dinner....since it was raining, the plan was that Howie would take DJ to football practice and I'd stay behind and get dinner going. I chose to do the pesto chicken from the Southbeach book (which by the way, I hit the 50 lb loss mark!!! HUGE milestone!) and since Fall brings the squash prices down, we did Acorn squash and green beans. And since I have 20 lbs of pears taking their sweet time ripening, I did a pear crisp for dessert. I didn't have the Splenda brown sugar, so used the real thing for that, but everything else was healthy! OH it was delicious!!!!! Just a wonderful taste of heaven!!!

And it was nice to get the house finally heated up!! I asked Howie today when we could put the heat on since it's SO chilly in the mornings...and his answer was "put a sweater on"...meanwhile, I have one on!!! Dork! Then tonite at dinner, he complained about it being cold in the house....even bigger DORK!! lol I'm hoping with October being on Saturday, he'll reconsider and set the darn thing to heat!! If he doesn't I may be forced to take matters into my own hands...I'll keep ya posted!!!

We bathed the kids after dinner and put them to bed...then we sat and watched HIMYM which was HILARIOUS with the duck tie....and then Howie went to bed, so I watched what I recorded, 2 Broke Girls (verdict is still out on this one) and 2.5 Men (LOVE Ashton!!!!!) and Mike & Molly (SO happy this one is back!!!) and then watched last nite's Drop Dead Diva...what a nail biter that was!!!! I think it was the season finale as I can't see any more in the timeline....damn!!! Such a great show! Now the dishwasher is running again and lunches are made...

Til next time...God bless!

Monday, September 26, 2011

Back to life!!

This weekend has NOT been a fun one for me!!! Saturday I woke up with a concert hangover that was just awful!!! My hips hurt, my back hurt, my throat hurt, everything hurt! But we were up and at 'em nice and early cuz DJ had his first flag football game at 10 in Snohomish....and we needed to leave by 9 to get there in time. I made us eggamuffins for breakfast, per DJ's request and off we went. I have to say, the coaches did a PHENOMENAL job at using all the players and rotating them in and out of positions to get everyone equal playing time...even if they were bad...or just stood there like DJ watching it all happen. He's definitely a daydreamer on the field...but they won 20-14 and the kids don't even know it, which I think is the best part. GO CHARGERS!!!!!

When we got home, Jake was waiting on the front lawn, he'd come to the game and drove ahead of us and beat us home....and at this point I'm REALLY not feelin well, so I went a laid down...and slept for 3 hours!!! Unheard of!! And even then, it took me an hour to get out of bed...I had Howie bring me the thermometer and sure enough, I had a low grade fever. At 3:30 I got up to go grocery shopping, and decided at 4, just as I'm headed out the door, that we REALLY don't NEED anything specific, and the groceries can wait another day or two...and back into bed I went!

For dinner I had soup while everyone else had real food...my throat was just awful!! My gland were (and still are right now even) swollen pretty bad. Got the kids in bed before 8 even and I left at 8:15 to go  do the Panera run with the gleaners....which if I hadn't had someone to train (which meant she could do the heavy lifting) I would have asked for a switch off. Got that done and was home at 10:15 and watched tv til bed.

The nite was awful with tonnes of wake ups...but at some point the fever broke...and at 5 something Howie got back in bed as the fishing scene was far too windy for the boat on the water today...DJ even went back to bed and the kids slept til 8:30. Sam came in at one point with her stuffed dolphin to help me feel better...awww!!! I got up at 9:30 and had breakfast with the kids...Howie didn't get up til 11 or so and then Sam and I took off at noon to go Avoning.

She's such a little sweetheart! She wouldn't let me have the radio on and instead sang to me for most to the time we were in the car....and she did grab a 35 minute nap too, which was nice of her! We got home just before 6 and got dinner on the go. After dinner I gave Howie a haircut and then jumped in the shower to get those prickly hairs off me. Got the kids in bed just before 9 and sat down to watch me some Desperate Housewives!!!! I missed the first 2 minutes and was a lil confuzzled as to who died, but clued in pretty quick.  Then I watched Amazing Race, which will be a good one!!!! Not sure who I'm rootin for just yet...time will tell. Then I watched The Good Wife...which is now on Sundays instead of Tuesdays, that'll take some getting used to! It was very good season premiere tho!! Now, the lunch is made, the coffee is set on timer and I'm headin to bed!

Finished up Summer Sisters, and now moving on to either another Janet Evanovich book, or another Debbie Macomber book...those are my two fave authors!! :)

Til next time...God bless!

Saturday, September 24, 2011

Favourite colour is Chrome

Today was all about Trace Adkins...you know, my future husband!! But first the kids had to be taken care of first....so SamSam went to daycare at Howie's work...SO cute her little good bye to me this morning at 6 am! And then DJ went to school...for the first time this week. How is it that, with only one child I could get him up at 7:45 and to school for 8:20...but when its both of them we're up at 7 and barely there for 8:20 sometimes....that much of a difference!?!?! Dang!

I got home at 8:40 and didn't know what to do with myself! A nap sounded good, but was still kinda early...then just before 10 my Avon showed up, so I worked on that...then Sarah showed up to get a cheque...then I hopped in the shower to get ready...Oh and the school called me at noon to tell me that due to the walkathon tonite, there was no e-care...which is how today was all supposed to flow so easily. No e-care really messed my plans up! But we got it figured out and off to the school I went for recess duty. Glad I remembered that  yesterday in making plans for travel!

After my duty was done, I signed DJ out of his class and he came with me to meet up with my girlfriends...then we met up with Howie at his work exit on the freeway and he took DJ and off we went to the fair. What should have been an hour long ride turned into 2 thanks to a different route my g/f chose...but finally we got there! And just in the nick of time too...we made it to the KMPS booth to get in on the drawings for meet and greets for Trace....and wouldn't ya know it...I was 509 (my g/f was 510) and they called 511 (now, had my g/f been with us when we got ours, she would have won!!!!) and 514...SO bummed!!!!! How else am I gonna let Trace know my intentions!?!? lmao

The concert started at 7:30 with Gloriana opening....now I knew two songs by them, so it was odd to sit there listening to them and not know anything really. And they saved my fave song to last. In between their set and Trace's set they were doing autographs over my merchandise, so we headed over there and got some autographs and pix before heading back to our seats.

Trace was PHENOMENAL!!!! Just love his energy on stage! His presence is very evident, not just by his size or the tone of his voice, but his whole personality! And he came out with both guns blazing song wise!! It was awesome!!! I had a 10th row seat and enjoyed it immensely!!! When he was all done, I headed up to the stage to get whatever I could from the crew guys...got a pic from the mic stand...and then another "fan" one which I gave to my g/f  and then a few mins later I got a set list from the stage....I scored big time!!!!! Its nice to have the list to know what exactly he sang when. At least for this Virgo! :)

When we finally left, we went in search of a funnel cake...which I split thankfully! That was WAY too much sugar! If one could o.d. on sugar, that would be the way! I still feel it buzzing in my veins!! The ride home was short and sweet!! They dropped me off at costco where the truck was and I came home....and home by 12:20 was impressive!!! Now, I'm ready to go to bed as tomorrow starts awful early for a Saturday!!!

Til next time...God bless!

Friday, September 23, 2011

Last day of summer

And I finally have healthy kids!!!!!! They were both up about 8 and full of energy! So  much so, that they got the  magnets down from on top of the fridge (not sure how, and probably don't wanna know how) and created me a tower on the fridge of the letter magnets...awwww  So we had breakfast and they bounced around for a bit before heading outside...to wait for me.

We were off to do some actual grocery shopping!!! Costco was the plan for today and they both enjoyed the samplings that were offered. Oh, on the way to costco, we were talking about marriage...and how DJ and Sam can't marry each other (ew!) but that they each have to find someone smart to marry...and DJ pipes up with "Well, when I go to college, if there are no girls there, I'll just go to a girl college and find a smart girl to marry" Out of the mouths of babes....and bestill my beating heart! We just got him into kindergarten and already he's thinking college!!! Don't anyone blink....it might happen tomorrow....

After costco we stopped at the dollar store to grab what was needed from there and then head home for lunch...the kids wanted pizza, so pizza they got! I enjoyed a chicken caesar salad myself. After eating DJ went out to draw with chalk in the driveway but was sad that K wouldn't come play with him...so Sam went out with him for a bit, and then they both came back inside. Howie finally got home after his 4 day absence around 4:20 and they mauled him! Good thing he let them too!!

We decided not to do dinner before practice, and eat after....whoa was that a bad mistake!!! First of all, practice ran late, so it wasn't til 7:05 we got home...but I cheated and did a micro dinner and we were done by 7:45...which left time for baths for the kids....and only baths, no foolin around either. Samantha totally cracked me up (and got mad at me for laughing) when she said "I'm so tired, my legs can't hold me up!!" and flopped on my lap....it was hilarious!!!! She sure did perk up tho when we gave her a backpack with its own lunch pail...then she was bouncing around the house with it on.

Once the kids were in bed we watched Big Bang Theory which started back up tonite....just a funny, FUNNY show!!! Thoroughly enjoyed it! Then Howie went to bed and I watched Grey's season premiere....I have to say, I don't think I could amputate someone in the middle of a crisis if my life (or theirs) depended on it!! Seriously! I'd be puking and heaving all over the place...it wouldn't be pretty! Nice to have it back tho! Then I watched a new show I'd dvr'd called Whitney...now that was FUNNY!!! I enjoyed it greatly! Here's hoping it sticks around!

Now I have to go make lunches and breakfasts....enjoyed my break this week from it all! :)

Til next time...God bless!

Thursday, September 22, 2011

Halfway there

This morning I thought we were all the way there...both kids happy, healthy and fighting!!! Even the squealing Samantha was welcome! So, to celebrate, we ate breakfast (dry cereal for both of them) and then headed out to do the pizza run and do the book share as I've been cooped up in this house since Sunday nite.

Off we went, each with a toy in hand to the shed....the books took longer than I thought they would as there was WAY more this week than the past couple weeks....and typically I don't put them out on the shelves of late....DJ meanwhile was having meltdown after meltdown in the half hour I was doing books. Then we headed into town to do the rest of the runs and pick up pizza....which he BEGGED me for, but I said no, pineapple and ham with cheese is not a good "day after being sick" food choice. But the whining kept on and he was Grumpy!!!

We got home about 1:30 and I took his temp...sure enough, he's back up over 101...poor kid! He took a nap while Sam and I ate our lunch. Thankfully the puke monster stopped after that first day! About 4 I went to lay on the bed while they watched Caillou...I can only handle so much of THAT whiny voice too!!!...and DJ came to lay with me in a fit of tears....he then started complaining about his ear hurting...and popping a lot...which mine did in my last sinus infection a month ago...took a good week to clear up too! But I made the executive Mom decision and fished out the unopened antibiotics from the last ear infection in April...and started him on that. And gave some Motrin to help with the fever.

While Sam and I had dinner (she was completely fine all day, singing and dancing away!) DJ laid on the couch going in between sleeping and watching Caillou...but he did want to eat, so I heated up the soup from the other nite and he ate some of that. Even in his delirium he asked to have it for breakfast too! Silly boy! 

I finally got them both in bed by 9 and Sam was out FAST!! DJ on the other hand, wasn't sleepy but humoured me and laid in bed...for all of 5 minutes! Just as I'd gotten settled in to watch X Factor, Howie called...and before I'd left DJ's room he said to me "If Daddy calls, bring the phone to me"  So I went to check if he was still awake...sure enough he was...so they got to chat for a bit. Once done on the phone, I left DJ in his room and got comfy again. No sooner was I comfy but he was out asking to call daddy back...we tried, but no service. Then he tells me he's hungry...so he ate some more soup and I let him lay on the couch to watch X Factor with me. Thankfully the worst audition (and the first for the Seattle stop) was over...some idiot shakin his dick on stage while attempting to sing....I mean REALLY...do we NEED to see that shit!??!? Come on! OY!  Thankfully, there was some real talent showcased and it should be a good show!

Once it was over, I tucked DJ back into bed and didn't hear a peep from him....then watched Survivor (Oh Brandon, you're a dumb ass!!) and Modern Family (LOVE this show!) and Revenge (which totally SUCKED me in!!! Right from the opening quote!! "Before you embark on a journey of revenge, dig two graves"...doesn't that sound ominous??) and now I'm heading to bed. I did finally finish The Secret Life Of Bees and am not all that anxious to see the movie...you know what they say, the book is always better than the movie...and I didn't care for the book....yeah. I'm now reading Summer Sisters by Judy Blume...chosen purely for the author, but the book is a strange one!

Til next time...God bless!

Wednesday, September 21, 2011

Second verse, same as the first!

I swear, it might be Tuesday, but it sure felt like Monday all over again!! From the time DJ joined me in bed, to the times they both got up for the day, everything! The only real difference...NO PUKING!!!!! YAY!!!

I also had a first, as a parent...calling the school to let them know my son won't be attending due to illness...that was surreal for me!! Kinda like coming full circle in a way.

Sam's fever was broken, and she was a HUNGRY girl! So I let her have some dry cereal, and not a lot of it either, but she gobbled it down! DJ on the other hand, was still fevered and quite the same as yesterday....so he got sips of water til we were sure it wasn't coming back up....then he graduated to a sippy cup of water and Sam to a sippy of crystal light.

Lunch was the same...Sam got some bread and peanut butter and some pretzels and DJ got more water...he also wasn't asking to eat, so that made it easier. The afternoon passed away with a nap or two...both of them dozed off at some point...oh and I painted Sam's nails...her toes are ballerina pink and her fingers are night plum...she's happy!

About 3 I gave her a bath...both of them smell sickly, and my poor nose can't take it anymore! So in the bath she went! DJ was napping when we got started and then came in and sat with us...but wouldn't take a bath. Then her fever spiked back up again....she'd done well all day...but back up to 99.9 it went. :(  This means no dance for her tomorrow....haven't told her that yet....good thing she doesn't know days of the week yet!

Then around 5, DJ let me bathe him and we got the stink off him too! Whew!! Can't do anything about the sick breath, but at least he's huggable again! For dinner they were both hungry, so I made them some broth with noodles in it...they ate what they wanted and it was good! They both enjoyed it too...which is great as they're not soupers! After I ate my dinner (which they both drooled over while sitting with me) I decided to grab a shower myself...DJ fell asleep and Sam came in to wait in the bedroom for me...and fell asleep on the bed waiting. I put a diaper on her and changed her into pj bottoms and covered her up....then DJ woke up and I decided he needed to go back to sleep...so we read a book. While reading to him, Sam came in and sat with us. Then they both went to bed and it was barely after 8! WOW!

I tidied up the kitchen and sat down to watch tv. GLEEEEEEEEEEE is back!!!!!!!!! Oh this was so exciting for this Gleek!!! Not sure I like the change in characters...but I'm sure there's a reason....but yay it's back!!! So is Raising Hope...which had me guffawing out loud!!! And the new show in between, New Girl, was pretty okay...we'll see. Parenthood was great!! Like, really great!!! And then, since I was totally uninterrupted, and it was still early, I watched last nite's Castle...which was just as good! DJ was the only one to wake up for a bit while I was watching Glee...so he watched it with me and then went back to bed no problems. I'm anticipating him being awake again soon...guess I'd better get  myself to bed then!

Til next time...God bless!

Tuesday, September 20, 2011

When I went out of town...

I didn't leave behind sick children!!!  I was a good parent and left healthy ones for my husband to take care of! What does he leave me with!?!? Two fevered, pukey, stinky, sleepless kids! Oh the fun we've had today!! NOT!!!

It all started at 3 am when DJ wanted to sleep with us...he got in the middle and was a heater!!!!! Howie got up around 4 I believe, he'll correct me if I'm wrong, and got ready for work...at which point I hear crying coming from Sam...at first I thought it was my dream...it wasn't...she was crying on the toilet and was burning up!!! Since Howie had already vacated the bed, she came to lay with DJ and I...so I got to be in the  middle of a heater sandwich!!!

They were awake off and on throughout the rest of the nite and at 7 DJ needed to throw up...thankfully its on an empty tummy....and while he's throwing up, Sam's right beside him at the toilet doing the same dry heaving. This has to be the most helpless feeling in the world as a mom...watching your two children dry heave into the same toilet! I'm quite thankful that it doesn't set me off and all 3 of us weren't using the toilet to heave into.

After the tummies settle, DJ wants to go watch tv...so I settle him with a blanket and take Sam back to bed...she dozed off til 8 and was up to go join DJ....at which point, they let me finally sleep for 3 hours and it was almost 11 when I woke up with a start. Ran out to check on the kids, and then got dressed and got Belle outside to do her thing. I was shocked Belle was as patient as she was...she's getting older for sure!

Since they were still fevered, 102.9 and 102.1 I didn't let them eat...but let them have water...and then they'd throw up...gave them some Motrin, and Sam threw hers up a half hour later. She dozed off a couple times and DJ went between the chair and the couch. I'd sit with them for a bit, but their combined body heat made it feel like a hundred degrees in my own skin. We did all take an hour and a half nap on the couch about 2. Poor Sam was puking again as soon as she got up.

I ate dinner while they watched, which was kinda odd, but they both knew they couldn't eat...and at least I ate something they wouldn't have eaten anyways. Then, on the advice of my mom friends (and Fifi) I started giving them 2 tsp of water every 15 minutes so they wouldn't get dehydrated....and after an hour bumped it up to 4 tsp for DJ and 3 tsp for SamSam...and we did Crystal Light instead water to give them some sugar to help their systems not go into dehydration.

About 9 Sam asked to go to bed, which I didn't say no to...so off she went. I finally made DJ go to bed at 9:20 and then sat down to watch my dvr'd shows. Tonite kicked off HIMYM and 2.5 Men...both of them were hysterical!! And I have to say, Ashton is a welcome addition!!! I've missed seeing him on the little screen since he got so 'big' since doing That 70's Show...yep, I won't miss Charlie Sheen at all! 
About 11 DJ woke up and snuggled with me a bit...before I put him to bed, he wanted some crystal light...so I gave him 4 tsp again and he instantly threw up...poor guy! On the plus side, he did pee after, and that's a good sign! As he was resting on the couch, Miss SamSam came out thinking it was time to get up for the day! She was sadly mistaken and quite upset to see it was still dark out (can't argue with that fact!) and so I read to her once I tucked DJ in. She then had to poop (and pee) so off we went for her to do that...another good sign! I finished our story and tucked her back in. Now, I'm off to get some sleep before they barge into the bed with me!

Til next time...God bless!

Monday, September 19, 2011

Weekend Update

What a FULL weekend!!! Whew! Kinda glad tomorrow is Mellow Monday!

Friday after dropping DJ off to school, Sam and I went to Sky Valley Education Center for a clothing swap...I took in 6 boxes of shit clothes, and only came away with 2...not bad!!! From there we went home for lunch and a short rest time...then we went to the school and did recess duty and waited for DJ to be done school...met Marty's mom (who constantly talks about DJ at home, as does DJ talk about Marty) and then came home to have another short rest and make dinner. Then I was off at 7 for Jake's football game while the kids stayed home with the babysitter.

What a good game too!! I missed half of the first quarter as I was stuck in a line outside the field waiting to get in! I get there with a good ten minutes to spare and there's a ridiculous line! ARGH!!!!!!! We won 27-7, so that makes us 3 and 0 so far!! AWESOME! I then had the pleasure of introducing a girl to Jake that he didn't recognize from elementary school...that was funny actually! She's an absolute doll!!!!

Saturday I got to sleep in, but really it was just lay in bed by myself as my body is getting used to the early mornings now :( Then I took the kids to Freddy's and signed a gal up for Avon...the kids went to Playland while I did this, which gave Howie time to hook the  boat up for fishing the next day. Got home from Freddy's and quick hopped in the shower to get ready for a Miranda Lambert concert...you know, Blake's wife!  Howie and I headed out shortly after 1 and got to the fair about 2:30...smooth sailing all the way! Found cheap parking and walked around the fair for a few hours before going to our seats. The rain started around 5 while we were trying to win some backstage passes....that didn't happen :( 

Thankfully our seats were under the grandstand roof, so we weren't gettin soaked like the ground floor peeps...and they were SOAKED!!! She did a full 90 minute concert and whatever she was drinking, she was drinkin fast!! Those red dixie cups don't let ya know what's in 'em!!! She also does a lot of stomping and spinning and head banging...guess there's  a reason I haven't been to a female concert in more than a few years! I will also say, she's far skinnier than the mags suggest!! She looks GOOD!! After the concert we headed to Everett to my g/f Jackie's garage party...and she'd texted me a pic of her new engagement bling!! YAY!!!!!!! They're getting married at the same chapel we did on the 29th of February...I'll be watching online for hers like she did for mine! Kinda wild!

Today I woke up to DJ in bed with me and then he got up and Howie got back in....he didn't end up going fishing as it was WAY too windy on the water. Then he was gonna stay home from church as he was having tummy issues, and as we're on our way to church, he got called in to work for a power outage. He didn't get home til long after we were done lunch...then unhooked the boat and started packing for Vegas. He leaves tomorrow for a "work thing"...you know, one of those bonding things!

We had an early dinner and I took off for Everett to meet up with my g/f Shirah to watch The Help. I'd heard SO many good things about this movie, and I wanted to read the book first, but time is running out on it being on the big screen, so I'm doing it backwards!! Oh what a fabulous movie!!! Now I definitely need to read the book...we all know the book is better!!

Got home and two minutes after I get here, DJ is crying in his room....and he's burning up! Fever of 100.9, poor guy! Gave him some meds and let him lay on the couch for a bit. I check on Sam and she's on the floor...apparently she tried waiting up for me...I put her in bed and she gave me a kiss on the nose....even half a sleep she's an angel!!

Now, I gotta go make some coffee and hit the hay!! You're all caught up and I'm done typing! :)

Til next time...God bless!

Thursday, September 15, 2011

Presto Chango

This morning was COLD!!!!!!!!! Like, stick your toe outside of the covers and shiver kind of cold!!!!  The "I don't wanna get out of bed" kind of cold!!!! Brrrrrrrrrrrr Turns out, it was 58 degrees...and with our window open a bit, I'm sure it was that temp in my bedroom too!!! DJ was next to me, as he'd peed his pj's and changed and crawled in next to me...but that was after I'd put him there as he started out behind me...and Howie's alarm went off an hour early, then he slept thru the time he was supposed to be up, but I woke up as DJ was veclroed to me...ugh!!! Have a slight kink in my  neck from all this unnecessary bed time shenanigans!

The kids both slept til 7:15 as I had the brilliant idea to have DJ eat his breakfast on the way to school...which put us there at 8:20!! NICE!!! Then Sam and I came home and had our own breakfast since we had no other plans for the morning. And what a nice feeling that was!! NO PLANS!!! So we snuggled on the couch and watched tv....and we both loved it! There were quite a few kisses given and received...just awesome!!!
Then before I knew it, it was 1:30, so we ate lunch, and cleaned up...then it was time to get DJ...picked him up, brought him home and I got started on dinner. Now, I haven't had pizza since February, but this one looked good...so I ate it for my dinner (we also had football practice at 5:30) and boy did I regret that decision! Before we even got to the field my tummy was rumbling something fierce!!!! I used the bathroom at the school (sorry to the girls who came in after me, I know, it STUNK) and was grateful it was open due to basketball.  Then it was a race to get me home so I could use the bathroom again it was just that bad! I feel okay now, but damn!!!

We had Kristopher with us for practice, so when we got home, it was speedy baths so they could go back out and play with him til he went home. Then both kids went to sleep instantly and I got busy sorting clothes. We're attending a clothing swap tomorrow and I needed to sort thru some of it as my g/f just had a baby and some of it could go to her easily. Howie went to bed already and now that I'm done blogging early, I'm gonna go veg and watch some tv...maybe even knit...I have all 4 animals in my area, so I doubt my lap will be empty :)

Til next time...God bless!

So incredibly precious!!

That's my little girl!!! An absolutely beautiful princess!!! I discovered her beside me this morning when DJ woke me up 2 minutes before the alarm!! Not gonna lie, it was tough gettin up this morning!! I've been doing good about getting to bed and asleep by 1, but I'm thinking I need to move that up a bit.

DJ, bless his heart, knew INSTANTLY that the syrup was different today....we've been eating sugar-free syrup for so long now...but ran out a couple days ago, so today, I cracked open a bottle of REAL syrup and used that on his waffles...he HATED it!!! In the end, he only ate 2/3's of his waffles...and that was because I helped him!!

I also got to see what it's like to be a minute late to school...it didn't help that we got caught waiting for a long train too!! That was at least a minute if not longer!! I let him do the round about today, and be escorted in by one of the teachers there....he was doing a hot lunch so there wasn't anything to separate in his backpack. Then Sam and I wandered around town for a bit....today was her first Pre Ballet class....no sense going all the way home to turn around and come back to town. So we headed to the library...doesn't open til 10! No bueno! Then I suggest the craft store...doesn't open til 9!!! Its only 8:36 at this point. Then I remember I need receipts for picking up pizza, so we headed to the shed to get those and then came back to Ben's...he was open then :)

We wandered around there for a good 40 minutes before we left and headed to the dance center. We were the second ones there, so we hit up the bathroom and got changed...and used the toilet which I'd hoped would be the last time til after class.  OH she looked ADORABLE in her little outfit!! SO stinkin cute! I got a few pictures, but couldn't quite capture the sheer joy at twirling and walking on her toes. She was definitely cut out for this!  She lapped up every single minute of the 30 minute session....oh and when she 'found' herself in the mirror, she was HOOKED!!! Kept checking to watch herself as she did stuff. Ay yi yi!

Once done dance, we headed to Freddy's to get the right syrup and a couple other things...then we stopped by Lowes to take back the sample of pergo we had as it matched the cupboards to a tee and I just can't handle THAT much light wood look....found two more that I liked and brought those home to try. Picked up the pizzas at Papa Murphy's and dropped them off to the shed before coming home for lunch. Remind me to pack some almonds or something!!!! Thankfully I'd bought pretzels, so we had those as an appetizer in the car.

After lunch Sam went outside while I stayed in looking wistfully at the couch and debating on taking a nap...I didn't :(...Instead I got the dishes unloaded and reloaded with what was on the counter...and got started making sketti sauce and even made some sugar free Blondies I'd found at Freddy's this afternoon. They sure smelled heavenly baking!!! Howie picked DJ up from school while I was in the shower...that worked well!! I also had pick up everything I could in the bedroom as Howie was going to spray the flea killing stuff while we were out at Awana.

Awana....started tonite and Samantha again was totally in her element!!! I swear both of them grew up a bit tonite....Sam for even going to Awana...and DJ for moving up in clubs so that he's now a Spark....he might have even grown 4 inches in an hour!!!! The first nite was a bit crazy, and I've got some new kids' names to learn...but for the most part it went SO smoothly!! I was done long before I normally am, and it was nice to peek in on DJ and Samantha while they were doing their thing. The drive home was chatty with both of them commenting on how dark it was already.

When we got home Howie was waiting with a clean (and hopefully from now on, a flea free) house and we got right to the business of bed time! Howie also had a surprise for Sam...a wooden doll house that's about 4 feet tall!! The day care at work is doing some updating/renovating, and the doll house didn't match the new decor, so Howie got to bring it home for one VERY excited little girl...when she finally clued in that it was in her room! Oh that was a cute moment! She had a tough time going to bed with that newness in her room! But both of them were exhausted!!!

Howie was watching AGT when I came out, but went to bed once iLuminate was eliminated....seriously!!??!?! How on earth did they NOT win!?!?! I was disgusted really! Then the singing dude one and I was shocked!!!!! Didn't see that one comin! I also watched the first episode of Survivor...GO OZZY!!!!!!! lol Not a big Coach fan....unless its the purses we're talkin about...even then I'm not all that familiar with them!!

Til next time...God bless!

Wednesday, September 14, 2011

My little wide reciever

This morning DJ was up again 4 minutes before the alarm...and very proud of it too! His comment to me "I did say extra early!!" hahaha and he did! Rascal! So we got up and did the breakfast thing and headed to school. Right after I dropped him off, we stopped at the Chiro's office so I could have a consult...and I decided with the Chiro that I don't need any work done as I'm feeling back to normal really. And we talked about Howie and how he's doing and that was that. Sam and I then dropped off the books to the Goodwill, dropped off books to my local rep, and then headed home.

She wanted to snuggle and so we did!! I love how its all about what she wants these days...and she's catching on pretty quick that its like that! So we snuggled and watched Calliou...and Sesame Street....I love how she interacts with the tv now...and answers Elmo's questions. Its cute! Lunch was left overs for both of us as my bag of salad had expired and was a slimy mess! Hate that!

When we were done eating I then ventured into the kitchen, first to clean it, and then to make something I'd never made before in my life!! White Chicken Chili...I've heard so many other moms rave about it, and I finally saw the seasoning packet when looking for regular chili, so I got it and have been anxious for a while to try it. And with DJ's first football practice and a school orientation immediately after that, tonite seemed like a good nite for chicken chili!  I have to say, it smelled just like regular chili, but when I'd go to stir it, my brain got confused as to why it was so light coloured...very odd!

Shortly after 2 Sam and I left to run some errands before picking DJ up...she fell asleep, so that made my errands that much easier really...drive thru at the bank, no suckers needed...dropping books off, no tag alongs whining...truly perfect!! Then we got DJ and I popped in at the Vet's finally!! Got all the necessary flea ridding crap and headed for Fred Meyer's to see about getting some cleats for DJ for football. They had none, so we went to Big5 next and found a pair. I had a choice between the 20.00 shoes and the 30.00 shoes....I hate these kinds of choices really as my wallet says "go cheaper" but my inner Dr. Mom says, "get the expensive ones as they're more sturdy and support the ankle better"....Dr. Mom won this round!

We got home and I got started right away on dinner for the kids and packing up a dinner for Howie and I to eat on the field. We left right at 5 and got to the field with a few minutes to spare. It was CRAZY there....the Bearcats were doing their photos and the parking lot was jammed!!! And we were way down at the farthest end! The practice was fun to watch....and embarrassing at the same time!  Who's kid was running the slowest...ours! Who's kid found a worm and announced it to everyone...ours! Who's kid didn't get the grabbing of the flag concept...ours!! Thankfully he wasn't alone (well, except for that worm incident) and since it was the first practice, it was cute to watch. They did expect a little much from the kids in terms of the warm up exercises...DJ has NO clue how to do a jumping jack...he just jumps and flails his arms! They did run some plays and put him in the wide receiver position...but he thought he was quarterback as that's what Jake told him he should be lol

We left when our baby sitter's mom came to be with the kids and take them back to her house...and we went up the street a quarter of a mile to the church where the parent meeting was for school. Then we headed across the street to the school for an orientation and to meet some of the other parents in DJ's class. Cliodhna's mom was there, so I met her (Lisa is her name) and 3 others were with us to listen to Mrs Hughes go thru what's expected of Kindergarten. It really just affirmed our decision to put DJ in this school...and we got to check out his handbooks and see his work already. Then I signed myself up for a variety of services for the school so I can work my 20 hours of volunteer to get a break in the registration for next year.

Finally we headed for home, with a quick stop at Freddy's to get some salad for lunches, and picked the kids up...they had FUN!! And were eating popcorn just like Kay promised they would! Got them home and in bed before 9 which was a feat! DJ was asleep before I could get to him...he was tuckered out!! Howie went to bed after watching AGT finals....I want iLuminate to win!!  And tonite also marked the premiere of Parenthood...YAY!!!!!! Not sure I like all the hairstyle changes with Haddie and Sara's daughter....it'll take some getting used to!

Til next time...God bless!

Tuesday, September 13, 2011

If all our Mondays are like this

They may become my new fave day of the week!!!! Seriously!! Well, for this school year...lol next year he goes 5 days a week...so Mondays will be old school (oh I'm killin myself here!)

But really, it was a nice way to wake up with no real rush or feeling like you're gonna be late for school...the kids enjoyed each other's company watchin tv while I enjoyed lazing under my blankets...Fall is here, the heat wave we've had for the last 9 days is gone in one fell swoop! Howie even turned the fan off for me this morning, which was nice! That would have been too cold for me! As is it, I'll be closing the window in the bedroom...seems like it was just last week it finally got open...oh wait, it was!

In any case, we ate and hopped in the truck to head out for DJ's hair cut...we're 2 weeks from picture day, and I wanted it to have a bit of regrowth time...in the end we didn't cut the top the normal shortness as I'm in love with is golden crown...Jake used to get that too from a summer in the sun, now his hair is far too long (and greasy) to go golden...maybe someday again.  After the cut we stayed for an hour and the kids all played for a bit and Anneke and I got time to chat while Karina went back and forth between us...she's such a sweet baby!!!

From there we went to the shed so I could box up the books and videos to go out....and sorted the extra boxes in the shed as we had way too many! Then we came home and had lunch...kids made it easy for me and finished off the pizza from yesterday while I had the salad standard.  The kids then went in and out and in again...and finally the 3 of us snuggled on the couch...Sam fell asleep, I dozed off, but DJ was gung ho! I only let Sam sleep til 3 and then DJ very sweetly (without being asked even) woke her up and they were off playing outside again.  I then got dinner thawing and did some more laundry. Mondays are going to be laundry days for sure!! So DJ has clean clothes for the following school day.

Howie got home and the kids and I took the dogs to the park...all was going well til DJ threw the ball over the fence and the dogs were not pleased...but I'd already run their butts off, so they weren't too heartbroken. The neighbour kids came to the park too, so the 5 of the romped around while Michaela and I chatted a bit. Then we headed home to get dinner going. I made burgers again...and combined with Howie's expert bbq skillz, they were DA BOMB!!!!!!!!!!! Even the kids think so! Sam finished hers off before her noodles were done! Now THAT says something!!! Little Miss Noodle Freak!

After dinner the kids got bathed and put in bed....I came out and Howie's watching Bach Pad...lol I had two things recorded and he got sucked into the Pad!! haha He didn't stay long tho and I started from the beginning and watched it. I am SOOOOOOOO glad Vienna and Kasey weren't even in the running for the final prize!!! I'd already heard about Blake's proposal to Holly, so that wasn't a shock...shocking tho, was the way the blindsided Michael with it right then and there! Dang dude! And I was bummed to hear that Jackie and Ames didn't make it work...and it seems like Ames didn't even try really. Oh, and WHY don't they have tissues available for those limo rides!?!?! Are they that cheap!!?!?! lol


Til next time...God bless!

Monday, September 12, 2011

I didn't mean to cry so much!

Today was, as EVERYONE knows, the 10 year anniversary of 9/11....and its tough not to be bombarded with all kinds of stories about it and what happened that day. Thankfully the kids are too young to even know or understand what everyone was talking about. Our sermon this morning touched on it briefly, and thankfully, again, they're too young to pick up on it and were far too interested in their fruit snack than what Pastor Dan had to say. I must say too, they both did quite well!! FAR better than last week for sure! Of course, it helps that DJ snores a half hour of it away...

After church we parted ways and I headed off to do Avon stuffs....I'd done most of it Friday, but because of Labour Day, my delivery was a day late, which meant that I didn't have the orders with me on Friday...grrrr In any case, I did get a good catch up visit with my g/f Joanne and her girl Morgin...and I had lunch there too. I left there shortly after 3 and headed to Lake Stevens to sign a new rep up...I'd gotten her name in an email last week, and we've been chatting and today was the day. I got there 15 mins early (traffic was GOOD) and used the facilities and then got myself  a chai tea latte and sat and waited...and waited....and waited! I texted her before 4 to remind her, and then called at 20 after 4 and left a message....she didn't show :( Rather disappointing! My other local rep was in the area and needed books, so she popped over and we mini visited and then I headed home.

Jake was already here when I got here, and busy playing with the kids...in fact, the only ones to greet me were Belle and Howie! I was invisible with the rest! lol  Perfectly fine with me...I went and changed and started dinner prep. Tonite's menu was steak on the barbie, awesome corn on the cob, steamed broccoli and asparagus...YUM!!!!! The kids went back out to play while we chatted with Jake a bit...then he went home, I went to the shed, I came home, the kids went to bed and we finally sat and relaxed a bit. Howie had the CBS special on about 9/11 and it was interesting to catch up with the firemen of that day...heartbreaking too!

Howie then went to bed, I grabbed the needles and started on the i-cord for the latest skirt and put on a Hallmark movie I'd recorded back in May...Hachi it was called. I tell you what...half way thru the damn thing I was bawling so hard I had put the knitting down, got Belle in my lap, and sobbed for the next hour! I kid you not! Oh it was heart wrenching! So many times we see what happens when a beloved pet dies, but this was the opposite...and showed what happens with the dog when his master dies. I'm chokin up now just typing this. AND it was based on a true story!!!! Come to think of it, there was very little dialogue...and it was such a powerful movie!! I then had to watch Friends just to get the hiccuping sobs to stop!!! And I'm not even pre-menstral!!! DANG!!!

Til next time...God bless!

Sunday, September 11, 2011

I'm beginning to think that

8:30 is the new sleeping in!!! Sad but true! This morning DJ came in to sleep w/ me and he was up about 7:30 and went to watch tv...I finally got up and out w/ Belle who was squawking up a storm! She likes the early schedule.

After breakfast I got busy online and on the phone trying to find a flight for my FIL...his sister passed away on Thursday and he is anxious to get to Winnipeg for the funeral. United Airlines had me on hold listening to some new age shit music for 45 (FORTY-FREAKIN-FIVE) minutes before I got a real voice on the other end. And within minutes, he told me to call another airline, he had nothing to tell me! Sad eh? So I called his recommendation: Air Canada. Surprisingly I was only on hold for 9 minutes before I had a lovely British accent in my ear w/ all kinds of good info for me!! We got things semi booked til I got more info. Once I got that from Dad I called back and was only on hold for 11 minutes and ended w/ a ticket in the email! Thank you Air Canada!!
Once that was all said and done I grabbed the kids and headed to church for kids day. We missed the beginning, but there were exactly 3 hotdogs left for us. They were just getting the ice cream trough ready, so we ate and the kids went and got some ice cream. Then we had a couple games to play, which most of the kids remembered from VBS, it was fun!! We then hung out another hour or so and then headed home. It was seriously hot out!! Even had the a/c on in the car!!
We got home minutes before a fish-less Howie. He was in a derby all day and between the 4 of them, they caught one humpy, and the derby was for silvers...SO disappointing!! Turns out the heaviest fish of the day was 11 lbs!! Not very big for a derby! Since he had no fish to deal w/, he went for a nap instead. I shooed the kids outside and got busy cleaning the house. Jake was to come for dinner, so I needed to clear the table. DJ sure has a lot of paperwork for one week of school!! How do I decide what to keep?!?! lol

Since it was so hot (and I worked up a good sweat just vacuuming!) I decided to go on a kitchen strike! Yeah, I called in for Teryaki and went to pick it up. SamSam came w/ and all she wanted to do was nap...rascal! Keeping her awake is tougher than DJ! I did it tho and we ate as soon as we gpt back! The kids bugged to go back out to play, so we let them for a bit before bathing them. Which we tag teamed since it was really Howie who let them back out to play!

They both went down easy....and w/ all the outdoor time today, it wasn't surprising. Oh I discovered that Jasper does indeed have fleas, and my lovely neighbour informed me that all the blood I'm cleaning off my counter top in the bathroom, is actually flea poop!!! EWWWWWWW gonna hit up a pet store tomorrow and get some stuff for them...all 4 of them! Snickers has been banned from the bedroom thanks to her little trip to the pig earlier today...oh she STINKS!! Howie said he'd bathe her tomorrow. Its vomitous, if that's even a word, altho it should be! Contact Webster and tell him I got a new word for him! If "bromance" and "omg" can get in there, so can vomitous!! Anyways, once Howie was done with catching up on football, I put on Rookie Blue and got all caught up on the season! Now, I'm whupped!

Til next time...God bless!

Friday, September 9, 2011

Baby Snuggles

This morning Sam was the one up screamin her head off at 5:43 as she'd heard Howie leave and was quite distraught at him leaving (which he does every day...) and took some consoling to get her into bed with me and back to sleep...whew! Plus, I'd woken up when Howie did as I heard his alarm and he didn't....so this was the second time! I hate disjointed sleep!  Then I woke up to my alarm and DJ almost simultaneously....and we woke Sam up gently and got up for the day. Breakfast went smoothly, and we were making good time for drop off at 8:30. He tried telling me that he doesn't need my help and he knows where his class is...yeah right buddy, it's only been 3 days, I'm not ready for THAT independence!! Maybe if it was raining....lol

Sam and I then went to get gas, and drop off some Norwex stuff, and some Avon stuff and then we got on the road to Marysville...I was off to see my newest birthday mate!! My g/f Pearl had her baby on my birthday at 10:28am and I've been itchin to get a baby fix since the news!!! Shoot, since before she was born!!!! So today it worked out perfectly for us to go and visit. I got a bit lost and turned around trying to find her...and then it became about finding a bathroom for both of us...so we found one at a nursery and bought Pearl a pot of Mums (fitting no?) and then got back on the road. Now, here's the part that wouldn't have happened say, 10 years ago....my mom called earlier while we were lost the first time...so I had her call back when we were done at the potty...and she looked up on her computer where I was and gave me directions....I kid you not! Kinda wild that she's 3000 miles away giving me turn by turn directions to a place she nor I have ever been to!! But it worked!! And we got there and I got my baby fix!!

Samantha was smitten!! Within 5 minutes she said to me "I like her" and then while holding her 10 mins later (with my help of course) she says "I love her" and kissed her on the head...awwwwwww! I really did enjoy just smelling her newbornness...kinda like that new car smell....only better!! Pearl's hubby was out getting a hair cut and when he got back told us about a fruit and veggie stand he'd been to...and cut up a nectarine for us to eat...oh it was delicious! Since they were headed back there to show off the baby, we followed and I got some corn and peaches and nectarines.  I'd paid attention on the way to the stand and back tracked when we left them and went to Burger King for lunch...hadn't planned on being out for lunch, but that's what happens...with babies, time flies!

After lunch Sam and I went to Target to get her a ballerina outfit for dance class next week....she was ecstatic!!!! We got the body suit/dress, the tights and some ballet slippers...and while there I did some Christmas shopping from their clearance section...and some birthday shopping for DJ for next year! Yeah, I'm that good! :P  Once checked out we got back in the car and headed to another g/f's house to drop off some knitted items I'd found that she could use for her photo shoots for Now I Lay Me Down To Sleep...and organization that photographs stillborns and dying babies....sad but needed. After that we finally headed home!!!

Sam took a nap while I drove and when we got back in town it was 3:01....so I could easily pick DJ up from school...originally I wanted to be home for lunch, and Howie would pick him up, but this worked out well too. He's finally remembering some names!!! YAY DJ!!! He's not like his father in this case after all!!! lol We got home and I pulled pork chops for dinner to thaw and went and laid on the bed in the cool darkness...Howie got home and I'm listening to the kids tell him I'm sleeping...HA like they'd be quiet enough for that!! Sam then put her ballerina stuff on to show Howie how it looks and twirled around for him....so stinkin cute!!! 

After dinner we did the divided bathing system we  have and then put them both in bed shortly after 8...whew!!! Then my evening chores started and I got lunches and coffee ready before sitting down. Howie went to bed shortly before 9 as there was NOTHING on tv for him to watch, and he decided to read instead...fine by me! I then watched and episode of Rookie Blue (LOVE those Canadian placement tags!) and then Necessary Roughness from dvr and then the season finale of Suits....another HIT in my tv viewing! Now, I'm all ready for bed!!

Til next time...God bless!

Thursday, September 8, 2011

Day 2 is done!!

This morning he was up at 6:30...freezing cold and climbed in next to me...now I know how Howie feels in the middle of winter and I get into bed!!!!! Brrrrrr And then he fell back to sleep for a whole 15 minutes before getting up for the day! He's not at all excited for school! I got up and got dressed and let Belle out...come out to the living room and he's all snuggled under the blankets watching the news...I'd forgotten to put it on a kids channel...oops! I got SamSam up and we all had breakfast before heading to school. Samantha was dallying far too much this morning for my liking, so she ended up going shoe-less to the school. Which also meant I had to carry her in...and around...and out...she's gettin big! Or I'm gettin weak! One of the two.

We got home just about 9 and I was more than ready for a nap!! Thanks to Caillou, I did get a 20 minute doze!! Not sure exactly where the day went as it was quiet...very quiet! I kept pretending that DJ was just next door playing, but there were no children noises...and he didn't come in for lunch...which was kinda nice to have with my lil girl! She's very accommodating and compassionate....its nice to see her qualities when she's not yelling at DJ for something he did to her.

Before I knew it, it was time to go get him....I did make the spaghetti sauce tho before we left...and I got to cook up that FINE ground beef I got from Zaycon...the 7% fat stuff, WOW what a difference!!! There was nothing to drain off!! NOTHING!!!! And it was tasty!!! Ok, back to the school we went, and while we waited for DJ's class to come out Sam got to try out the swings....this time she had shoes on!!! Imagine that! We got home and the kids stayed out to play (and swim) and I laid on the bed for a half hour which was nice for some down time. Then I got up and started with dinner...we were eating early as I had an Awana meeting to attend.

Howie had a massage and chiro appt, which ran late...REALLY late and we ended up meeting half way to swap vehicles so I could go kidless...turns out they could have come...oh well. Got all the details sorted out for next weeks first Awana nite and then came home. Kids in bed (teeth brushed even!) and Howie watching tv...finally got to catch up with him and start making lunches for tomorrow. He went to bed and I watched a movie on CMT I'd recorded called "To The Mat"...it was okay...I'm really ready for regular programming to resume!!!!

Til next time...God bless!

Wednesday, September 7, 2011

Look Ma, no tears!!!!!

This morning DJ woke up a whole 4 minutes before the alarm was to go off...not sure when he crawled in with us, but he was there waking me up at 6:56!! And I quote "Mummy, MUMMY!!! Wake up! WAKE UP!!! It's a school day!!!!!" and he was off to wake Howie up who was already awake from the first exclamation!! lol Crazy kid!!

I then woke Sam up and we got breakfast going while the kids watch tv...something that won't be happening on school days as it robbed us of some precious time for sure!! By 8 we were in the truck and on our way to school!! Of course, this was after we spiked DJ's hair into a faux hawk thing he's been loving lately....as long as it's not picture day, I'm good with it! lol We got to the school just as the bell was ringing so off we went to his classroom. Hung up his backpack, put his lunch box in his cubby hole and walked him into his room. Mrs. Hughes was happy to see him and had rearranged the seating a bit, so now DJ is in the middle section of seats instead of the side section. I blew him a kiss and off we went...but not before getting a present from the teacher...a package of tissues with a poem wrapped around it.

I waited til we got in the truck to open the paper up and I read the title "The First Day" and put it down on the console as I knew if I read it, I'd be needing those darn tissues!! When we got home I took it in the house and read it....hope you have a tissue handy....

The First Day

I gave you a little wink and smile as you entered my room today
For I know how hard it is to leave and know your child must stay.

You've been with him for five years now and have been a loving guide
But now, alas, the time has come to leave him at my side.

Just know that as you drive away and tears down your cheeks may flow,
I'll love him as I would my own and help him learn and grow.

For as a parent, I too know how quickly the years do pass,
And not long ago it was my turn to take my child to class.

So please put your mind at ease and cry those tears no more,
For I will love him and take him in when you leave him at my door.

Author Unknown


DID SHE WANNA MAKE ME CRY!!??!?!?!?!? Dang!! I was choked up for sure, but still far too happy to have him learning and be in the care of such a wonderful teacher I'm sure we'll never forget!! She's a pastor's wife, and has been teaching at the school for 22 years now, so he's definitely in good hands!

We then puttered around til it was time to leave again...Sam was Howie's shadow in the garage the whole time, leaving me to deal with my Avon order and last minute orders and then we were off for Howie's chiro appointment and me to do the pizza run for the shed before picking DJ up. We got to the school a bit early, and since there were kids playing on the playground, Sam didn't get to play like I thought she would....oh well, she was engrossed in Tangled anyways. We weren't sure how the picking up process goes, but turns out they come out and we pick them up from the front of the school...rather easy! So off we went after getting hugs hello. He said he had lots of fun and made new friends....when I asked what his new friend's names were, he shrugged and said "I don't know..." lol That's my boy! 

I checked his backpack and found his work from today...they started with the letter 'a'...and the story of John the Baptist baptizing Jesus...and then I found the real tear jerking work...a picture of his hand print and this poem:

The Kissing Hand
by Audrey Penn

It's my first day of school
And the "Kissing Hand" is what we read.
It's about a raccoon
Who did just as his parent said.

Like the raccoon's first day at school
I was scared and little shy.
But because of what you said
I was brave and I got by.

All through the year
I'll make more things for you.
So as I change and as I learn
You can see my growth too!!

And then he printed his name....and there's a hand print he did in red paint on the right hand side. SERIOUSLY, IS SHE WANTING ME TO BAWL!?!?!?! haha, no, this was quite darling tho!!! I'll be saving this one for sure! So sweet! *sigh*

The afternoon went too quick...I did manage a half hour nap on the couch while everyone else was down in the garage...then I bathed Miss Belle as last nite I noticed a bunch of moving organisms on her belly that shouldn't be there! So I looked up home remedies and bathed her with dish soap...that was educational to say the least!!! Watching the fleas scramble to get off her, and die mid movement or flop into the water was unexpected to say the least! Not sure what I was expecting, but dang! So far tonite, I've only seen 2 and killed 'em both!!! I also gave her the sample tablet flea thingy we got from the vet that will kill off the larvae (Oh that word makes me cringe!) 

I then showered (who wouldn't after giving a flea bath) and got ready to head out to an Avon thing...one of my local reps and I headed to Southcenter to go to a presentation all about the new Christmas stuff that Avon's coming out with...I can't wait!!!! They really dropped the ball last year Christmas wise and realized it and made up for it this year!!! It was a good meeting to attend and good to see my girls!!

I got home after 9 to a quiet house and took Belle out right away....guess my noise scared Howie and he came out to investigate...I then made DJ's lunch and got Howie's coffee ready for morning before sitting down to watch tv. Since I had nothing new to watch, I watched a movie I'd recorded on dvr back in June....Parent Trap II...with Haley Mills in it too!! I'd never seen the sequel...it was cute! Not sure I'd watch it again...lol

Now I'm off to bed...way earlier than last nite for sure...that 7 am thing is EARLY!!!!! :)


Til next time...God bless!

Tuesday, September 6, 2011

The last day

Of his pre-school  life!!!!!!! I honestly don't know who's more excited...him or me!!! Him because he gets to make some new friends and learn about everything and me because I won't have to cater to his every need for up to 6 and a half hours!!! AND I know he'll be in the best school and learning SO much more than I would ever have the patience to teach him! To think he'll be reading, really reading, by Christmas makes me giddy!! He's pretty excited about it too!  Did I tell you the name of the girl who's next to him...Cliodhna...drop the d and h and its pronounced Cliona (so WHY put the d and h in there in the first place?!?!?) He's practiced her name...I also know next to her is Marty...and further down is a Mackenzie...I didn't look to his right to see who was there, but hopefully he can tell me after tomorrow.

My baby is growing up!!! Ahhh!! I knew this day was coming since getting pregnant with him almost exactly 6 years ago (the 10th) and its really happening...next thing I know he'll be losing teeth....then growing even taller, and taller than me...then the voice will change....and all that jazz!!! Ok, maybe I'm not so ready as I thought I was! Jake is a senior this year, but it's not affecting me the same way as he's not my baby....and Howie hasn't made a big deal out of it, so I guess its not hitting as hard!

Today we slept in til after 8 and then got up and had breakfast...DJ wanted the waffles I bought last week shopping....so he got that and Sam and I had eggs....my lil egg lovin girl! It still cracks me up that she wants salt AND pepper on the egg...gets mad at me if I fake it too! So I don't fake the pepper, but I do still fake the salt. And today with her egg she didn't want anything else....which was okay with me the egg held her for a long while. Lunch was on the back deck at the picnic table as it was yet another GORGEOUS day here!!!

After lunch I got ready to go to a bbq, but we needed to stop at the shed to do the books first....so we did that and as we're on our way to town, my phone rings, and Howie's working til after 7, possibly 8...so I turned around and headed home instead. Kind of a let down really, but saved the gas in the end. DJ was fine either way as there was a pool in both places...home and the bbq. But on the way home he told me he was in trouble with Mr Erickson and that he'd been mean to Caleb....so he got sent to his room for that one to think things over.

While I was out watering the garden some time later, and Mike was also out, I let DJ come and talk with him...turns out, he didn't like the way DJ ignored my calling for him three times this aft to get going, and wanted DJ to be a better listener. I like that idea! So the two of them went over to "help" him in the back yard and I got started on dinner....which DJ chose pancakes and sausage. YUM!!! And it was yummy too!! I had part of mine with some of the peach jam I made last week....oh my stars was it good!!!! Mum will LOVE that jam!!!!!

Howie got home just as we were brushing teeth after the bath....so he read to DJ and I read to SamSam and they got tucked in...not one word from either one after that!! I made Howie his dinner and we watched a bit of AGT....which made me realize I've missed the entire season of SYTYCD...how sad!!! Oh well, I'll live! Once Howie went to bed tho I flipped Bach Pad on to watch the shenanigans on there. Even got a bit of knitting done too! Two nites in a row!! Yay me! :)

Til next time...God bless!

Monday, September 5, 2011

What a great weekend!!!

Yesterday was a busy day....Sam and I were left behind while the boys went fishing, they caught 6 Humpies (a kind of salmon Howie doesn't care for) and so we went grocery shopping after a lovely and leisurely morning. When we got home the boys were just washing the boat to put it away for the week....so I made us lunch, the kids didn't eat, but we did...and then Howie went back to the boat stuff. I then puttered around the house and remembered I'd promised DJ that I'd do up a bunch of water balloons for the kids.

I spent the next hour filling those darn things....man, they're NOT easy! I did about 100 and for those 100 there was probably 15 busted before I could fill 'em! That's frustrating! And I did do up 14 for myself...after explicitly explaining they couldn't throw them at me, only at each other, and they had to wait til I got up on the porch, I then turned around and pummeled them with the ones I had to get them wet and not afraid of them "hurting"....oh what fun that was!!!!

At 4 the football began...and in 4 hours I swear we watched 10 games, even tho Howie says it was only 3...my brain begs to differ! And in between plays, he was watching some Mel Gibson movie...so random!!  Dinner was delish and thankfully I'd bathed the kids before dinner, so that wasn't an issue after we ate, it was late, so they went to bed at a normal time for the first time in a while!!! And Samantha threw a FIT at my leaving to go do the Panera run for the shed...apparently she screamed bloody murder for a half hour after I left! Poor thing! I was sure to kiss her when I got home!

This morning the kids let us sleep in til 8 which was nice...and then Howie got up with them and I lazed in bed til it was time for me to hop in the shower. We actually made it to church ON TIME!!!!! It's a first for sure!!! lol  And Miss Samantha decided she didn't want to go to class, that she'd rather sit with us....and be buggy! I didn't enjoy service one bit this morning thanks to them both pulling at me in different directions! Oh, she did good with being quiet, but was ALL OVER THE PLACE!!!! Dropping books, pens, earrings, papers, anything and everything...ugh! DJ was no better...but he was louder with his interruptions!

After church we headed to the outlet mall to do some birthday shopping....but first we stopped at Carl's Jr's for lunch...Howie wanted to see what the hype was about...the kids had nuggets (are ya surprised?), Howie had a burger and I had the cranberry, walnut, apple salad which was quite filling! Then we hit the mall...and boy was it crazy...just to find parking!!!! Finally someone signaled us that he was leaving and we waited for him....great spot too! We walked around for a bit, checked out some stores that were too crowded, Nike especially!! And I didn't think their "outlet" prices were too "outletty" (yes, I just made the word up!) Next stop we went to Dress Barn...I'd never been in one...and after walking around, I know why! They're a business casual place....and I have no business and am far too casual really! I did find a skirt there tho on the half price rack! My second skirt purchase in 10  years!! lol

My main goal was to go to Lane Bryant...the big girl store! I grabbed a bunch of stuff, and the focus was on pants!!!!! In the end I got 2 pair of pants (one jean, one sweat), 2 pair of capris (one sweat, one khaki), 2 pr of undies (you needed to know that right?), and a tank top....and I got an extra 15% off for getting their credit card which earns points and becomes dollars....kinda likin how it worked out!! Howie was glad I was out of money to spend LOL...he was gettin tired of wrangling kids!!! So we headed home as we were having Jake come for dinner.

What a lovely dinner too! I made homemade burgers with the beef I finally packaged up a few days ago....I got a recipe off my recipe site and "doctored" it up a bit...HP sauce, garlic, onion, Worcestershire sauce, egg and panko with a bit of fresh ground pepper....oh they were tasty!! The kids gobbled them up too!! I couldn't believe how fast they ate them! Nice and juicy too, but that has more to do with Howie's skillz on the Q!  After dinner we all went for a walk with Belle and headed up the street to see the breeder for a bit. Belle had fun being off leash in their yard rompin with her mom and dad....who could have cared less for her lol 

Jake stayed and watched most of an Indiana Jones movie I'd never seen....I think it was #3 or 4...something about a crystal skull....He left shortly after 9, and Howie went to bed shortly after 10 and I got sucked into the dang thing and watched to the end...it was okay. Then I watched Drop Dead Diva and thoroughly enjoyed that...but more so as I was able to pull the needles out and do some knitting....Belle was in a good mood tonite!!

Til next time...God bless!

Saturday, September 3, 2011

Are you ready for some

FOOTBALL!!?!?!?

This morning the kids blissfully slept til 9:30!! We ALL needed it!! I was even sound asleep last nite by 12:30 I was so tired!! Not usual for me for sure!! So we got up, and lazily ate breakfast while I tried to decide what to do...grocery shopping is supposed to happen this weekend...and it's a long weekend...terrible timing!

Around noon I got a call from Lara asking if we were heading into town, and we were, I'd decided to brave costco and get that portion of the shopping out of the way....and since we were, she asked if I'd pick up Michaela at her friend's house and drop her at the fair (they went again today!!!!) which turns out it was 3 of them, thankfully I had the room! Dropped them off and off we went to costco. We ate lunch first in hopes it would keep the kids happy...it worked! That and samples! Most of them were spicy ones, and it was funny to see the kids try it and get all worked up about it!! haha I tried to tell them....they knew better! In the end, I managed to get another birthday gift...a new set of fleece sheets in a lovely lavender colour...now we have two sets!!!! I just know Howie will be thrilled! We've already argued on when they're going back on the bed...I want them now, but Howie wants to wait til October 15th!!! That's just nuts!!! I'll settle for the 1st of October tho...we'll see! Apparently we're to be getting temps in the 90's this next week...kinda odd for September, but then again, this whole year has been odd weather wise!

Since we were in Woodinville already, I stopped by and got Howie his fishing derby ticket for next weekend...didn't get one for DJ as it was the same price and that's not worth the 30.00 to me for him to be gone all day...nope, not worth it! So it'll just be Howie doing this one and then DJ can join him for the one 2 weeks after that kids are free for.

It wasn't til 3:30 that we were headed back home...the time I wanted to be home by!!!! Yes, costco really was that crazy!! We got home, I rushed to put stuff away and hopped in the shower to get ready for the game tonite. Then put the pizza in the oven and made dinner for us. We got on the road a lot later than I would have liked, and were 15 minutes late for the game...but we made it! I'd packed LOTS of snacks and the kids ate every last morsel!! The Mavs won 41-7 and it was a beautiful nite!!

On the way home the kids were funny....DJ asked how long we'd lived in Monroe for, and I said, almost 2 years, and without any hesitation he says "So when I was 3 and Sam was 1?" That blew me away!! Math already!?!?! Dang!!  A few minutes later Miss Samantha pipes up and says "Its way past my bed time, and I'm very tired"  which it was...more than 2 hours past!! They both had fun tho and that's all that matters! AND they were out pretty fast again tonite!

Now, its my turn to join the slumbering crew...

Til next time...God bless!

Thursday, September 1, 2011

It was a fair day

To say the least!!! The kids both woke up early, but crawled in with me and we all slept til 8:40...and as my hubby would say, "how's that practice for school mornings coming along?" But after getting home SO late last nite, they needed the sleep for today more so than the practice!

When we got up we had breakfast and the kids got dressed....they then went outside while I packed up a lunch and a bunch of snacks to take to the fair with us. But before we could do that...we went to DJ's school and dropped off his school supplies, and saw where he's sitting...kinda surreal really! I also found out he'll need a morning snack, and a lunch...but the afternoon snack in e-care is provided, so that's good! Turns out, it'll likely be Tuesdays and Thursdays that he'll need e-care as Wednesdays my neighbour will be able to bring him home on her way home, and Fridays I'll have to get him as that's Howie's late day to work. Not too bad really.  I also got us all t-shirts with this year's slogan on it...even Sam will have a shirt!

From there we headed to the bank to make a deposit and while there, we stopped at McD's to have lunch since it's MUCH cheaper than fair food!!  Then we were off! We parked at our church since they offer free parking every year, and it's the same walking distance as some of the parking spots way in the back! We got in and found the neighbours near the Ferris wheel. I got DJ an unlimited ride bracelet and he was set!! No sense getting one for Sam as she's too little for most rides anyways....not to mention fearful of them! And I wasn't going to do them with her...next year! Instead, we went and saw the animals and she got play for a while on some pedal pushing tractors and then ground some oats into flour...that was a fun 2 hours for us! DJ stayed with Mike and the boys and only got lost once...yeah, he came off a ride and couldn't find Mike, and wandered off...Lara had gone in search of the boys so we could all get a photo button done together and found him. When we all met up again, DJ was like velcro!!! That scared him! Me too and I found out AFTER the fact!

At 6 we went and watched the All Alaskan Pig races....the kids got into that one!! Then Lara and I went to get food while we waited for the Lumberjack show...DJ remembered it from last year and was excited to see it...and it was nice to sit for a spell! After that the kids did more rides...DJ definitely got his money's worth out of his bracelet!!! And I have to admit, it was only kinda scary watching him on the Ferris wheel and the swings, he's so small when on those rides!!! That's my baby!!!  The last "ride" we did was one of those fun trailers where you climb up, the floor moves, you slide down....and the gal was REALLY nice and let the little ones go on too...but she made me do it with them!! HA! They got 5 rounds on that before some ornery carnie cut the little ones off! They were totally loving being with the big kids. At this point it was 9 and I was done!! My feet were hurting and I was ready to be home...so we walked back to the church and came straight home.

Their feet were black from the fair so we washed them up, read a book and they were out faster than a speeding bullet! Now, I gotta go make Howie's lunch and hit the sack myself! I'm whupped!! The weather was PERFECT too!! The sun was out, but there was a breeze and by 6 we needed our sweatshirts as it started sprinkling a bit, but never full on rained...it was nice!! Couldn't have asked for a better day at the fair!!! Food wise we did good too...the kids split a corn dog (a jumbo one!) and I had bbq beef on a bun...delish!! Oh and two bites of a funnel cake (the kids weren't impressed and it was Lara's) and two bites of cotton candy, which was GROSS!!! Won't miss that anymore!

Til next time...God bless!

My Own Fiscal New Year

This morning I woke up another year older....but still only 29!!! Like I explained to my sister Joanne when she called, if 40 is the new "30" then wouldn't 39 be the new 29!?!?!?!? Right!?!?!!? I like my math!!! Don't try and change my mind either! My Nanny (dad's mom) lied about her age my whole life!! It wasn't til she went into the nursing home and they found her birth certificate that we found out that she was actually 5 years older than she let us all believe! Well, I'm pushin for 10! Times have changed, so why not! LOL

It was very cute that when DJ woke up beside me that the first words out of his mouth were "Happy Birthday Mom" and he was so excited to be first!!  Then Sam came in and laid with us and I asked her if she knew what today was and she said "no"....I kinda hmmm'd and the then yelled out "Its your birthday!!!!" and giggled! Little tricker!!!  I then read the NUMEROUS messages on fb with birthday blessings!! Made me smile!!

We got up and had a lovely breakfast together...after some spilled milk that is...DJ's getting bigger every day, and today he poured his own milk on his cereal...and proceeded to spill it trying to carry it to the table...wasn't paying attention at all! After breakfast he went next door in search of a playmate...and found two! Sam finally  joined them after getting dressed, but wouldn't let me do her hair. It was spitting a bit, so they came in to play and then back out and then back in....all over the place really.

Then the sun broke thru around noon and they were outside playing in it...which was nice! I got some laundry going, did the dishes, put laundry away...all uninterrupted for the most part too! And I did a lot of chatting online which was nice too...it was my birthday after all! :)  The kids had lunch outside and I tried to enjoy the peace of them outside giggling til Belle went crazy that Snickers was with the kids and she wasn't....so I crated her butt!! THEN I was able to enjoy the peace fully!!!!!  While working on the Norwex stuff from last nite, I realized I'd given the WRONG portion of the receipt to the customers...and they got the part with the actual credit card info on it while I had little black boxes...won't make that mistake again! So I called the ones who paid via credit card and got that taken care of...and if that's my only mistake, I'll take it!!!! :) 

Before I knew it, it was 3:30, so I called SamSam in to get cleaned up...they'd been playing in the dirt for the whole afternoon and it was gross!!! Her water was black, and that's not normal for her really....which meant that DJ was more than filthy!! For his, he got completely wet and we drained the tub to put fresh water it since it was so gross!! Clean kids are a wonderful thing!!! But then because they were clean, that put an end to the playing and the fighting began...lovely!  Howie was at a massage and chiro appt after work and it ran late, so by 6 he called and said to meet him at the restaurant...so I told the kids to put shoes on and let's go...it took DJ 20 minutes to find shoes...that's just nuts!! I was *this close* to leaving him crying on the steps I was that upset with him over this. I then open the garage (where he said he looked!!) and found them!!! The ride to town was somber to say the least...he was grateful to be with us and didn't want to mess it up!

The restaurant we (DJ) picked was Red Robin (yum!) and Howie was already at a table waiting for us...and what does Sam want to do the minute we get there...use the potty! I swear, she likes using public facilities, which is the exact opposite to me! So we go in there and what do I see on a floor...a freakin used tampon GROSS GROSS GROSS!!!! So we go back to the table, and look at the menus and order....I asked for the sugar free iced tea with no ice, she brings me ice....I asked for no tomato on my burger (which she did get right) but had to come back and check as she couldn't read her own writing! And the funniest goof up...she send the "people" to sing me happy birthday TO THE WRONG TABLE!!!!!!! And that was after Howie had to remind them to do so...that was funny to watch these unsuspecting people (who are in the middle of eating) get serenaded and all the while shaking their heads!   They did make it to our table and I passed the ice cream on to the kids....and Sam needs to potty again, so off we went! Howie grabbed my purse and effects and waited at the door for us...which meant my birthday cards were left at the table...OY!!!!

The kids each get a balloon and Sam lets hers go by accident running along the sidewalk...so she and Howie go back in to get a new one...and Howie tells me she lost the 2nd one too, and that the 3rd one finally made it to the car!! DJ and I headed to Fred Meyer to check out the clothes and see about getting me some stuff that FITS!!!! I've gone down 4 sizes and have such a limited wardrobe pants-wise...shorts I'm set, but the weather is changing (yes, already) and I need some new pants!!! In the end, I found two nice long sleeved shirts and a "fur" vest with a knit back...no pants....well, there was one pair, but I think I'll wait to see what Lane Bryant has on Sunday at the outlet mall.

We finally get home about 9:30 and put the kids straight to bed...Howie too for that matter! I then got busy with lunch prep and bagging the 20 lbs of ground beef to freeze...my hands were FROZEN after that!! With all my chores done I finally sat down for a spell...watched Royal Pains and that was it. Now, with all the typing I've done my hands are finally warm!!! Off to bed I go...another full day tomorrow! :)

Til next time...God bless!