06.26.2010 Cowboy Boots

Meet the newest additions to our family.

The grey one laying across the top of his sister is "Cowboy" (BOY)

The Black & White striped one on the right is "Boots". (GIRL) she has white feet

Brother & Sister...together they are COWBOY BOOTS.

Cute eh?

They are 10 week old kittens and we got them today.

We just love 'em to pieces.

I know you will too!

06.23.2010 Finished

Yes my dear ones...the painting is FINISHED!

I can hardly believe it myself. I would have posted sooner but i am actually crazy busy with work right now. The kids enjoyed VBS last week, and a new one this week. I have a Homeschool Curriculum sale to go to today plus work, work, work.

I will try to get some pictures posted later today/tonight. Not that anyone will be as thrilled as me, but hey, at least you can be here for my excitement!

06.19.2010 Busy Weekend as Usual

What else can i say? My weekends are always busy, busy!

This weekend was my friend April's garage sale. So i spent all day Friday over there helping out. It was fun. It was also today (Saturday) so i headed over bright & early to help out again. I even dragged a couple of boxes of outgrown clothes and some shoes and toys. When i left at 11am - i had sold $15. worth of stuff. Not bad for just dragging a few things out of closets.

We have a BBQ to go to this afternoon so i am home attempting to clean up, do some laundry & what not. Except i couldn't get downstairs - everything is taped off. I walked my laundry all the way outside to attempt to go thru the breezeway. Stopped again with more plastic.

I suppose that is progress....but man do i need to do some laundry. It sucks when you have all of 4 things to wear that fit. The 4 lbs. i have lost have not helped me fit into anything. LOL

So the boys are busy. It took ALL DAY yesterday just to prep (taping windows, scraping floors, vacuuming drywall dust, etc) I forgot it is about 2000 sq ft. Not a quick and easy task. So i was not upset. Honey finished up taping all the outlets this morning...and when i got home at 11am i heard the paint sprayer going.

I can actually smell all the primer now and i am getting a headache.

But progress is progress. As long as they stay busy and get it done i am all for tolerating the smell. Until one of my kids pass out. Then i draw the line. LOL

No plans for tomorrow - how about you? My honey actually has work scheduled on his calendar for tomorrow. He'll never get it. He just doesn't celebrate ANY holidays - even ones geared toward giving HIM a break. Oh well! I better get back to my busy work. Have a great Fathers Day weekend!

06.18.2010 Excited!

Guess why i am soooooo excited?

Ok...i'll tell you! Last night (after softball practice ended at 7:45) we drove to Missoula and got the Primer and Paint for the Basement! Yahoo.

Now i am sure that doesn't excite everyone as much as me...but after more than 6 months my basement is going to be done. The only thing left is flooring in a few rooms, but we have it for the office, classroom, and landing of the stairs.

I'm over the moon.

Wanna know something else cool? As i was picking out the color last night for the Theater Room - i knew exactly what i wanted. A dark espresso brown. When i picked the one i wanted guess what it was called?? "Cowboy Boot".

That is HILARIOUS to me. I was laughing. Even funnier is when the paint gal helping mix all the paint didn't put the lid on all the way in the shaking machine and lets just say there was Cowboy Boots everywhere! I got that can (or what was left of it) for only $5.oo. It was awesome!

So the guys start this afternoon, prepping then priming. If all goes well we should be able to actually paint on Monday. They might even get the theater room done today.

He promised if the TR got painted we could get all our house stuff out of storage. That is $75 less a month - - so...more for my budget. Some bills can be paid.

Excited!

06.15.2010 Sports have begun

(Daddy adjusting her batting helmet)

I knew it was a matter of time. No matter how hard i tried or wished upon a star that she would be a girlie girl forever....it is not meant to be.

Monkey girl is turning into a full fledged TOMBOY.

Not that it's a bad thing. It's just i so cannot relate. I love her anyway.

Softball seemed like a good idea. So we signed her up in the Spring. Summer snuck up on us way too fast. She missed the 1st practice while we were on vacation.

She cried the entire 2nd practice. (All the girls were bigger, "they all KNOW HOW to play!", waaaah-waaaah) Let's just say daddy was not too supportive.

But we tredged on. Got her a new glove. The baby one that fit her hand unfortunately did not fit a softball! Cleats, a face mask (what is this full contact?!...not so sure why we need that - but if it prevents her from losing some permanent teeth she should keep i'm all for it). The bat and batting hemet are pink. What can i say..she is after all still a girl (for now). Lucky for us they called to tell us since so many girls signed up they would be splitting the team and the younger/less experienced girls would go to a different team.

Yay! I'm all for that! So she suited up...asked about 20 times today if it was time to go yet. "No Honey", i would reply "not till six and it's only 2:30" (repeat/repeat/repeat).

Anyhow i have a School Board meeting i have to go to, so i will miss yet another practice. I did however, in the spirit of mommy blogging, run over there real quick to snap a photo or two to share with you.

Your welcome!



P.s. this was BEFORE practice, before dirt, or tears, or ...dare i say it...sweat!

Notice the great hand positioning on the bat. Oh yeah, she's a natural. *snicker* *snort*

06.14.2010 A little Re-arranging

We had a great weekend.

I finally managed to get all the stuff put away from our trip and give the living room/dining room/great room a much needed cleaning. The best part was Mr. OCD was home so it was REALLY cleaned. When he gets to cleaning - WATCH OUT! He is far better than me. Every cord is dusted. Every item moved and cleaned around. For all the drawbacks of Excessive Compulsive Disorder there are equal benefits. It may take 10x as long to get a job done - but it's always done well. I have to admit, because of this, he is a better "cleaner" than i will ever be. With our busy schedules i am generally happy just to have it "picked up".

While surveying our cluttered mess.. i just dropped a thought of moving our kitchen table to in front of the picture window. We have no formal area and when you walk in everything is just open. Just the way we like it.

Except that it has made it a challenge for TV placement & viewing. Having 2 big couches doesnt help either. We also had to move our desk temporarily into this area bcuz the basement (and future office) is still not finished. That's a whole 'nother post for another time!

Anywhoo - with some strategic rearranging we are both super happy with the result. My table looks great in front of the window & actually fits even with the leaf in it. We get a great view while eating! Moving the table really opened up the room since there is more than a 2ft. wide area to walk through!

The couches we switched all around, and you can still see the TV. Since the island still doesnt have a top, it's been serving as the divider/gathering place of "stuff". I am glad it's only 18 inches wide - since i shudder to think how much stuff we could pile on there on a daily basis!




Anyhow, it feels great. It feels comfy. It feels homey. Now if we could get some stuff hung on our walls it could actually look complete.

We still have to prime & paint the wall we built, install the fireplace and mount the other TV. Having that huge projection TV over there is kinda ugly. We have no window coverings since the guys broke the great roll down shade, so my goal is to find something economical to put up as a temporary solution.

While he was in the "getting stuff done" mood we did a few things in the master bedroom. We moved the TV from the guests room to there for now (since the guest room is loaded with moulding & trim). Got TV all hooked up and i even finally got my mirror screwed back onto my dresser and the cutains hung! It makes a HUGE difference especially for keeping the late afternoon sun out, and the cold evenings warmer since it's not just glass doors next to my side of the bed. The floors were dusted & cleaned and we slept great.

A little re-arranging always recharges my batteries.

06.13.2010 Precious

 

I love when i capture real life on camera!

The other night i was looking for the cat (to make sure he was inside before we went to bed) and i found this. The 2 boys sound asleep curled against each other in Bubba's bed.

It makes my heart smile.

06.12.2010 It has begun...AGAIN

 

The drawbacks of vacation for me are obvious. I eat too much. I splurge. I overdo. I have 13 extra pounds to prove my point.

I was already up about 10 over the last year so 13 more is just not o.k. Nothing fits. I look pregnant. Not good.

So it has begun. My favorite. Yummy food and lots of water. Much needed fiber. What could be more fun?

Plus i get to eat all kinds of delicious salads with lots of toppings. MMMMMM

06.11.2010 Summer is Here!

 

Well, officially, summer started LAST Friday for my kids. That is when school ended for them. But we were on the road so this will have to do.

I love days like this - kids playing - laughter, giggles, and imaginations engaged in play. It was a fun day. Then they ordered up some Mac 'n ' Cheese (and mom threw in a lil fruit for good measure) and smiles abounded.

I love summer.

We are hoping for about 60 more days like these...or more.

06.10.2010 Happy Birthday SIS

(My sis & her husband Lloyd - June 2008)

Today is my sister Darla's Birthday! Yay! She is 47 which is far older than me haha!

We got to spend lots of time with "Auntie Darla" during our recent vacation in California so that was great. We all enjoyed ourselves and that slice of family time.

I love my sis, though it hasn't always been so. (Kidding) As a young girl - having a sister that was oh so much older was fun. More for me than for her. I can remember pestering her when her friends would come over. She'd lock her bedroom door and I would spend the next hour trying to get it open. You see, she was the automatic resident Babysitter like it or not. The oldest of the 5 girls. She had no choice. (Poor Thing) She was good and evil all rolled into one. She would tickle me until i peed my pants. I will never forget the time she and her best friend Pam stripped me down to my Birthday Suit and threw me into our front yard. (...OH YES THEY DID!) And then locked every door and window so i couldn't get back in. Fun times. Maybe i deserved it for all the pestering?

But there were really good times too! Like when having an older sister was a bonus - and she "contributed to minors" by buying me & my friends things other than soda for a night out on the town. Or taking me in when as a 17 year old i could no longer live at home. Or helping pull some strings to get me my first REAL job. Cakes and Baby Showers and shopping. As we got older and i grew up it only got better.

She was always there when i needed her. No matter what, no matter when. It's still that way even though i am thousands of miles away.

So Happy Birthday SIS!


(Me & Sis @ Redlands Falls May 2010)

06.06.2010 WE'RE HOME!!!!

First off...it's good to be home. No...make that GREAT to be home.

We loved every stinkin minute of our vacation (..well maybe not the excess hours amounting to about 6 days in the car but not counting that...) it was fabulous.

I am hoping to get the pics up tonite or tomorrow of some of our fun. I do have them uploaded. I am however, EXHAUSTED.

I am ever so busy unpacking, cleaning, and making grocery lists. The cupboards are bare. The house has construction/drywall dust just about everywhere. There are animals that need to be loved on and such.

The last leg of our journey was not without drama though. You see, we were about an hour from home -all happy and smiles about getting to hold our kitty boy and take a shower, and sleep in our own beds.......then WHAM!

Literally.

SHORT VERSION - We hit a deer. Very hard. Very dead deer. Very smashed car. Smoking, leaking car. No cell phone coverage until about 10 miles up the road. Nearly Dark-Nine p.m.

And this next part my friends is why i love that i live in Montana. About 5 minutes later a car came along. Not only did they stop and help us push car out of the road, they also wrote down the phone numbers of some friends they could call once cell coverage was available. And they did. Then, the next car that drove by offered to take me & the kids to Darby (a town about 1/2 way home) where we could wait where it was warm and make some calls. We did. Our friends arrived to pick us up, take us back to the scene of the crash, and the tow truck i called arrived about 5 minutes after that.

So a bad thing, worked out o.k. We will see Monday how much the damage is - we have no clue- but as you can tell from the photo below - it is bad. The radiator was completely smashed and into the engine compartment and the hood was smashed up about a third of the way. Whatever other liquids are in the very front were demolished.

Not the happy end to our trip we were hoping for. You know what though? We are BLESSED!

Blessed by the opportunity to have an entire month with our family and lots of experiences the kids will never forget. Blessed to have stayed healthy and avoided the ailments our family got- but that we narrowly avoided by going to a new place before we had a chance to catch it. Blessed that no one was hurt and no airbags deployed (cuz my feet were on the dash at the time) Blessed that we have wonderful friends that would drive an hour each way to pick our stranded butts up and take us home! Blessed to be home and enjoying our animals. Blessed in more ways than we can count!

We're Home!