10.20.2008 Monday YEAH!

Well it was a good Monday. I am feeling a bit better, the kids well for the most part also.

Danielle won 2 prizes for the Jog-a-Thon event. A prize for having 6 donors and another for collecting over $100 dollars!

Our trust Drywall guy showed up as promised and hand textured the Main bathroom. It looks awesome. It needs to be primed then painted and we should be good for setting the stuff in place to make it functional after a couple of busy nights work.

Our former dear employee (Seana) who left for vacation in California last month came back MARRIED! We are so excited for her, her new husband Josh and their blended family which includes 3 children (Isiah, Israel and Miah). They came to visit and are excited to get back to California and start their new life. We wish them the best and know they are truly blessed!

Financially i wish we could do something for them, but i can't even buy groceries right now. I hope in the next couple of days some checks come in, or my guests will be eating potatoes and whatever comes out of a box in my pantry! The Lord will provide, i know. It's just a scary time...and with the economy - makes me think I should pull my daughter out of private school but the other side of me knows she/we all need that loving, nurturing, Christian environment. And i am sure we will be blessed for making the sacrifice. It's been over a year since things were this bad financially, it's hard to go back to this place - especially at this time of the year. Well, this was a Happy post, so i am going to end it on a Happy Note!

Lastly, i finished the book that was recommended by all the Christian Marriage counselors - The 5 Love Languages. What an AWESOME book! (i'm reading the 5 love languages of Children also and have all the kiddo's figured out...but that's for another post!) Anyway, we had Seana & Josh take the "test" in the back of the book and read "if your spouse's love language is"....so it could help them in the many years ahead. And my goal was reached bcuz i in turn was able to have DeRell take the test (with me prodding "since they did it...it will be fun honey, really!") And i had already last week ranked the 5 I thought DeRell would say in the order i thought. I got his #1 right!!! Yay!!! but the rest were off, which is good for me to know. I also made him read the part about my Love Language ("Acts of Service") so he would know what to do to make ME feel loved. It was an eye opening experience especially because at the beginning i ranked what i thought my 5 were, and by the end of the book and the test i was wrong about myself! LOL Anyway, i am hoping applying some of the knowledge from the book will help us out and reconnect us in the love that we had during the Honeymoon/"In Love" period! So stay tuned!

10.19.2008 Great Saturday, but Home Improvement HELL???

HOW ABOUT SOME GOOD NEWS?
Saturday was AWESOME! My friend April staged an intervention to keep me sane. Her mother (Norma), our friend Judy and April all sacrificed their Saturday to help me clean so I could be ready for company. They were here 8 HOURS. 4 of us, and it took 8 hours....that was downstairs & about 50% of upstairs. It was a "deep cleaning" downstairs-it needed it! We also had to move furniture, etc. All this time D and E were in Missoula. End result of that trip was insulation and drywall for downstairs ceiling (gaping hole has only been there 2 years, why fix now???) new mirrored medicine cabinet for main bath, oh and yippe new carpet for the living room where as i mentioned dog was digging to China. This is all somehow "magically" going to be completed by Thursday evening....lets recap for those who know how the "KING OF 75%" works....am I trying to be positive but come on....
-Texture Main Bath (supposedly happening on Monday)
-Wait 24 hrs then Prime & Paint Main Bath (Tues, Weds???)
-Seal Grout on Floor Main Bath
-Paint and put up Baseboard Moulding in Main Bath
-Install Toilet, Vanity, Sink Top & Faucet, Medicine Cabinet in Main Bath
-Hang back up all Fixtures (towel holders, toilet paper, light, etc.)
-Let's not forget the CAULKING (since that is the root cause of this remodel)
-Hang Drywall on Basement Ceiling
-Tape & Texture Basement Ceiling
-Master Bath sand and texture new drywall patch so painting can be completed
-Finish painting Master Bath (yay its now terra cotta color instead of green)
-Put up 2 fixtures in Master Bath
-Lay Carpet in Living Room
-Steam clean upstairs carpets
-Steam Clean Carpets downstairs
Then all the general cleaning of the bathrooms, Kitchen floor, Laundry etc. All by Thursday? Anyone wanna lay bets on this one? Oy.

I am truly blessed by my wonderful friends. Had they not come and helped i am afraid i would fall into negative nasty blogger heck. They are the bright spot in my life right now and threw me that life preserver when i was going under. Now i have to put on my Christmas wish list one of those cool floor steamer thingies Judy brought over, it is amazing!!! I'll keep everyone posted on our progress. =)

10.18.2008 Health Updates & More fun stuff

Ok, so Friday went well....NOT! First off, i was running around like a chicken w/ my head cut off trying to get all done and take off for the Jog-A-Thon, long story short-stopped back at ofc to use restroom, walked out and locked my keys inside the ofc. No car key, no key to get back in, no neighboring building tenants have spare keys, UGH! So i walked to Danielle's school (no purse or sunglasses-waaa!) luckily it's only 6 blocks. We then walked to Jog-a-thon (4 more blocks) and she did Super! 6 laps, which is like 2 miles. Problem was 10 block walk after (she whined the whole time..i thought that was my job?!) Anyway, dropped her at the Hour Playhouse for a playdate with Reigan (pre-planned) and off to work. Oh, thats right, I am locked out! Well i made the best of it, and walked yet again 4 blocks to the walk-in clinic. Diagnosis, Sinus Infection & Dbl. Ear infection. You can feel sorry for me now-doc was wondering how i was still standing. I told him cuz I'm a mom so i have no choice. Reality is i just wanted to go home and go to bed but i couldn't locked out so no car! Thankfully, by the time i walked back DeRell & Erick had come back from their job and unlocked it. Went to bed early that night, on all my new meds. Lemme check off the list:
-5 day Antibiotic (then i stop for 5 days, then do the 5 day all over again)
-Cough syrup with Codeine (yay baby! Sleep here i come)
-Netti Pot also known as SinuCleanse which i begged Dr. not to make me do as it grosses me out (too bad, do it he says!)
-Yogurt daily to replace good stuff the antibiotics are killing
-Acetomenophine every 4 hrs for ear/sinus pressure
-Zyrtec decongestant to take 1x daily
WHEW!
Oh, Main Bath has had -0- progression in 2 days. Due to genius Mudd idea. Our Drywall guy is gonna hand texture it (Monday) then prime/paint it (Tues.) so this means Weds before we can put in moulding, vanity, fixtures etc. UGHHHHHH.

I think it's gonna be a great day

I am going crazy! 10.17.2008

Ok, so not only do i STILL have this cold (round 2) but can i possibly begin to describe the torture of NOT having a working camera. UGGHHHH. Makes me wanna pull out the trusty credit card and just go buy one. But wait, that would be stupid..who has money to make the pmt on the credit card when it's due? Not me. Not to mention the one i want is at Costco and they don't take credit cards! Ughhh. Updates around here...
1. Greys Anatomy is AWESOME. I'm hooked, addicted, whatever! I added a widget to my blog did you see? Scroll down on the right side bar. Ooooh I am high tech now. **Side note pretty much unsuitable subject matter on the snippet from last night about the female anatomy-definately not PG** Lets hope for a better episode snippet next week**
2. Bathroom is going backwards. I have holes (literally!) cut out of the sheetrock where there were once beautiful fixtures. Some genius decided to re-mudd/texture the entire bathroom then repaint (as if the previous 4 coats of many colors weren't enuf) it. That adds 3-4 days to the chore. Friday people, relatives arriving on airplanes from afar on FRIDAY! Which leads me to #3.....
3. Still no toilet in main bathroom. 4 people sharing 1 bathroom is just plain GROSS especially when u have no spare time to clean it let alone dont FEEL like it from being sick.
4. House is messier and more chaotic then ever. (shocker)
5. Dog tore literal hole in carpet last night trying to eat something that must have been spilled on the floor by one of my lovely children. Seriously people, big hole-size of silver dollar missing all carpet fibers.
6. Cat tried to kill fish on Monday that i happen to be pet sitting for a friend. Thank God it actually came back to life. Fish now sits on office desk away from children, pets, and mortal danger.
7. Camera is still broken - i have missed many a "kodak moment" and just want to scream.
8. I am still sick. Wont go away, likely have sinus infection & ear infection. No time for pesky Dr. 's or clinics.
9. Must think of something good and positive instead of whining for #10.
10. Bubba is amazing and is loving putting together like 60-100 piece puzzles!
11. Danielle raised $135. for the Jogathon at her school today! Thanks to all her family who supported her.
Ok, so list ends there cuz i have to share the hilarious fund raising story. So Danielle is being shy & takes us 3 days to get the courage to get on the phone to ask anyone for money. I (mom) bribe her with "I will give you $5 for each person you call and ask". Apparantly money talks with this girl. She hits up all my sisters. So there's the comedy. I call Auntie Lynnette on her cell phone & Danielle gets on with her speel and Auntie who just balanced her checkbook and must have had a surplus this month decided to pledge $40. (holy crud she hit the motherlode!) Well Auntie Kelly happens to be in the car, so she hands the phone to her...and Kelly (bless her heart) not wanting to be shown up by Lynnette decides to MATCH the $40 pledge!!! Danielle is literally skipping around the kitchen (practically rubbing her hands together in greediness LOL) over this and in her sweet 6 year old voice asks Auntie Kelly "is there anyone else in the car?!"....you see the wheels were spinning in that girls head....1 phone call - 2 people - i just got $80 bucks, maybe there is more on that gravy train!!!! I just about peed my pants laughing. I know it made for a funny ride home for the Aunties. Don't stop there Danielle-go for it! All in all she collected $135. Not bad for an hours worth of work!
Well, i am off to help out at the Jog-a-thon today. Alot less pressure on the kids since all donations were "flat rate" this year and not per lap. But it should be fun. I would take pictures but, oh that's right, no camera. LOVE LOVE!

10.08.2008 Pretty in Pink Update!

OMG! I just HAVE to share this. Firstly, today was picture day at Danielle's school. For those who know and love her you will recall that she DOES NOT do professional pics. (Thus the reason we have no pics of her after the family photo age2-besides the cheeesy home done photo card thingies). Anyway,preschool, Kidnergarten, 1st grade....tears and screams, will NOT get on that chair for the scary guy with big lights and big camera. Well this year, after much discussion the night before & the am, she put on the pretty hot pink polka dot dress (thanks to grandma again!) got on that chair, and smiled! A real school picture. (Now why is it that she can do the spring group photo with class but individual portrait is always a deal breaker?!) I wouldn't even write out the check until she did it! Best $19. i ever spent. She smiled but wouldn't say "pickles"!...what a ridiculous thing anyway! I am so proud of my little girl. Let's hope she's "over it" and we can get on with life.
That's all that is new in Montana, hey, it's a balmy 28 degrees with a high of 50 and chance of snow today. .....oh how i wish i was in California.*sigh*
BTW - ("by the way" for you non-texter/blogger types) Spots has flown the coop (literally it seems and is nowhere to be found). Perhaps he didn't like us so much and was yearning for the outside world..he picked a bad time..it's pickin cold here! We will keep u updated, but we have searched and searched and no toad!