Questions I'd like answers to. Now, preferably.

Who took my pleasant funny 3 year old and replaced him with a cranky temper tantrum throwing meanie?

Can I have the old one back please?

How is it that my husband can sleep through an entire night of me having the stomach flu?

On that note, how can he call at 8 am and chastise me for sounding like "death"?

Who told me it was a good idea to save money by making my own window treatments?

Oh yeah, that was me...disregard last question...

Next time I say something like "make my own window treatments", will you please hit me upside the head?

Why do stomach bugs cause potty training regression?

When does my MOPS group meet again?

Where is my sanity?

Will I ever be able to eat gluten again?

What did I ever do to be blessed with the most awesome bestest friend

who knows what I need to hear even when I don't know what I need to hear?

Is there hope for America?

Do mosquitos have lungs?

Is it bedtime yet?

That....that's about it, I think.

Picture story: defined. Part 1.

Remember my previous post?  Well, here's a few to define what's been going on here recently:

Any clue as to what this is?



And this?

Well, I'll tell ya!

 A long long time ago I fell in love with some chairs.  Loved them.

Not in a million years would I think that we would be getting new furniture let alone have my husband trust me enough to order furniture online.  Well, they went on sale.  And they had free shipping.

And thanks to the fact that it took almost a year for us (read:  Dave) to save for, order, install and stain the woodwork in the house, we had a little money socked away for the rest of the house.

A coupon clipped here and some money trimmed there, and we had enough for us to purchase some furniture!!!  (Desperately needed furniture, mind you!)

So, I showed D the pictures online and we read reviews.

"Yeah, go ahead and order them."

Wha?

Who are you and what did you do with my husband?

So, order we did. 

They came in two boxes (because I ordered two):

Easy peasy to put together, and here they are!!!

Oh how I love them!

And, they are surprisingly VERY comfortable to sit in.

And see that BEAUTIFUL floor that they sit upon?

Yep, that's it!

Oh what a lucky girl I am!

C-ism

My boys say the darnedest things.  I figured its time to document them.

Today, C. walks in to me with tears in his eyes.

C:  "mommy, A. hurt me.  He's a bad guy.  He's going to jail!"

Three hours later, C. finds a jumk mail post card in our paper gator (recycling) bin.

C:  "Mommy!  Look!  This says A's not going to jail anymore!!!"

Well, thank goodness for junk mail.

Random Friday List (and some 5QF!)

1.  When I woke this morning, it was 88 degrees in my kitchen.

2.  It is now 65.

3.  Weather in Michigan never ceases to astound me.

4.  Tuesday was a big day in the Love Shack.

5.  Final inspections:  ALL FOUR PASSED!!!!

6.  Moving some stuff has commenced.

7.  Now we're waiting for me to finish the window treatments in the boys' room.

8.  I'm making cordless roman shades.

9.  It's hard to sew a straight line.

10.  Pressure's on, Sandy!





Ok, Five Question Friday!!! Check out Mama M's blog to see what its all about and link up yourself.  These are easy and fun.  I promise.  :)


1. If you could speak with a different accent, what would it be (i.e Australian, Scottish)?

I love English accents because they sound so sophisticated.  Except once I read a story about an exchange student who once asked a male teacher for a "rubber" (meaning an eraser), and never lived it down.

I love a good Aussie accent.  I'll stick with that one.

2. Can you fall asleep anywhere? (i.e floor, couch, deck)
Couch, yes.  Bed, yes.  Anywhere else, no.

3. Do you use public restrooms? If so, do you sit on the toilet?

I really dislike using them at all.  I've been known to hold it all day- or travel an hour home and back on a lunch break in order to avoid them.  However, potty training toddlers has forced me to get to know them better.  One more reason I LOVE having boys.  I hover, and I have a "germ shield" of tp or the seat liner.  I really hate public restrooms.


4. If you were stuck in an elevator for 24 hours, what celebrity would you most want to be stuck with?
Someone who can make me laugh, and easy to talk to at the same time.  Is the Pioneer Woman celebrity enough?  Yep, her.


5. Where did you &; your significant other go on your 1st date?

Well, our first date was Thanksgiving night.  So, we stayed at his house, rented a movie, and talked until the wee hours.  I had my last first-kiss.  Then I drove an hour home.  Yep...good night.  :)

Sandy- you've been slacking. What have you been up to?

Alot.

I'll let a few pictures let you know what I've been up to.

Can you guess what they all are or what they mean?

I'll define them over the next few days.

11.....10......9......HAPPY ANNIVERSARY!

11 years ago

I was fresh out of college.  I was young, selfish, single...with the whole world ahead of me.  I had just sworn off of casual dating and decided to take some time to just enjoy my friends, focus on the direction I wanted my life to go in, and not only push the "men" to the back burner, but I took them off the entire stove.  It was time to get my stuff together.  Little did I know, in two short months, God would send the most incredible man into my life via a country bar.

10 years ago

I had been dating this "guy" for the past 10 months.  We've been to Europe and back (with my family, no less...and our relationship survived).  I'm head-over-heals for him, and he's asking me about rings.  We're planning a trip to the U.P. for my birthday weekend.  We both love fall, and really want to see it in all its glory.  I'm hoping he's going to ask me to marry him, but I know he won't until he asks my dad for my hand in marriage.  Dad just left for deer hunting season.  I'm doubtful I'm getting a ring for my birthday weekend. 

9 years ago.

Nine years ago, I married my man.   Nine years ago, we said "I do."

The names are the same, but the love has grown. 

It's stronger, more mature. 

Deeper.

He is not only the one I love (face to face),
but he is my teammate.  (Shoulder to shoulder).

The wastelines have changed, the checkbook balances have changed, the person signing our payroll checks has most definitely changed. 

Wrinkles, gray hairs,

worries, tears,

laughter, smiles,

prayers,

triumphs and tragedies.

There's no one else I'd rather be in this life with.

So glad God sent me him.

Nine years.  I'd marry him again in a heartbeat.

Happy Anniversary, Dave!

Random Friday List

1.  We ordered area rugs this week.

2.  If you're ever going to do carpet here's a hint:  Home Depot is NOT the cheapest.

3.  Go to a carpet store and make friends with the owner.

4.  He'll sell you $15 nylon stainmaster twist for $10.23 a yard.

5.  Besides, we like supporting the local economy over any others.

6.  We all have colds right now.

7.  And a touch of a tummy bug.

8.  But it's not stopping the crazy train that I call "schedule."

9.  Girl's night out with my bestie tomorrow.

10.  Can't wait to blow off some steam.

Press your tongue to the back of your teeth and repeat after me "nnnnnnooooooo"

No.

I can type it.

No.

I can type it easily.  See?  I'll do it again.

No.

Why the HECK do I have such a hard time saying it?!?!?

Perhaps its the "people pleaser" in me.

But this people pleaser is now stuck with insomnia at 1am.

Too much on my plate.

I need to start saying it:

No.

I think this word and I are soon going to become BFF's.

so tired.

My baby (sniff sniff) started preschool.

"Hang on just a minute, sweetie...."

"Mommy will take you outside in just a minute...."

"Can it wait 20 minutes?  Mommy needs to finish just one more audit..."

"I will be on the phone for the next hour.  Can you sit quietly and watch the TV?"

Sad to say that these words have been uttered by me more times than I want to count.

Yeah, not my best parenting....

and this has been the norm more the the exception lately.

I hate that.

But, its something that goes with the territory of working from home.

To top it off, I was starting to fall behind with my work.

And I had a few people complain about the "noise" in my office during the audit.

So, D and I both tried to come up with a solution.

We started to research day cares in the area.

Wow, quality part time day care is NOT cheap.

(emphasis on quality)

Then we started looking into preschools.

We visited many.

We ran numbers.

Drive time, tuition, time in school, available hours to work, etc.

We landed on one.

It fits in the schedule.

It fits in the budget.

It's ridiculously close.

Looks like my baby starts school.

I was ready and not ready at the same time.

I secretly thanked him the first morning for being a tad clingy.

Here's the first day:

After a lot of anticipation and a lot of "Is it my day to go to school now?!?!" , the day finally arrived.

It was bittersweet.

He was really ready to go, though.

He's meeting new friends.

...exploring the world around him....

...and not home being babysat by a television while mommy works.

Now, I'm taking Tuesdays and Thursdays off just to be with him (and do MOPS).

The time we're together is more quality and much more focused on us.

He's a lot more fun when I'm not trying to put him off all the time.
Work is more enjoyable (and caught up).
Housekeeping is actually getting done.

So, for now, I think we've found ourselves a solution.

One that we both love and enjoy.

And I love that.                       

Random Friday List

1.  I recall saying to myself, "I can't wait for school to start so we can slow down a bit."

2.  Now I'm laughing at that funny ignorant girl.

3.  C. started preschool today.

4.  I had a light day of work, so I went grocery shopping.

5.  All.by.myself.

6.  Then I got lonely, so I called a friend to talk to.

7.  Molly looked so forlorn when I walked in the door sans kids.

8.  Right now, she's laying by the door.

9.  Snoring and farting.

10.  Must be hard to be a dog.

First

First child

First sightings of favorite friends

First locker

First desk

First pencil box

First day of first grade

First family vacation in over 6 year.

The last vacation we took as a family was when A. was 4 months old.  We flew out to Vegas to see my brother and his family as he was stationed at Nellis AFB.

It's been too long since we had a vacation.

So, this opportunity came up through church to go camping for an extended weekend, and we took it.

There were only four families that came, but that's cool- cause they were all cool families.

One family is in our small group.

Since we came home, C. keeps asking to see his "bes' frin."

Anyway...there's pictures.

So, here's our "tenament on wheels"

(quick, what movie?)

"Don't go falling in love with her now, Clark.  She's comin' with us when we leave here next month."

Pets were welcome, so Molly-girl came along.  (aka. Grey beard.  aka. babygirl  aka. the spaz)

.

There was fun landscaping:

And fishing a plenty:

More fun landscaping:

Bike riding:

Game playing:

Canoeing:

Playing (and falling off play sets- sorry, Brady!!!)

More sleepy bike rides:

Up close pictures:

Pretty Bayou sunsets:

Monkeys on boats:

(yes, you read that correctly.  See below)

Shared campfires conserving firewood:

Chilling out:

Dirt:  Plentiful plentiful dirt: 

Oh, the dirt....

Visits from swans:

Chapel complete with communion on a beautiful Sunday morning:

Lunch with pastor and Laurie:

THEN, we came home to this:

That background would be the NEW carpet in the boys' room!!!  It was laid while we were gone. 

It was so nice to come home to something new and fun in the addition!!!

And it smelled like "new house" too.

What a great weekend. 

What a great way to come home!