The Car, Paint and a Coupon

I really want to show you the house.
But the doors aren't painted yet.
And I don't want to show it until it's ALL done.
Because I'm super excited about the doors.
And I can't paint the doors yet.
Because I have a $5 off coupon for the paint.
In my husband's car.
That's at a repair shop.
In the city where he works.
40 minutes away.

His car got stuck in park the other day.
Not in the park.
In park.
Odd.

One of the repair dude guys said:
This happens to these cars once in their lifetime.
What?
So I'm thinking Chrysler should pay for it, right?
Oh, well.

So, yeah, back to my original topic.
I don't have the paint for my doors.
I know it's just $5.
But $5 is $5.
Profound.

So, hopefully tomorrow.
Maybe.

Alrighty.

I'm going to try to soak up this weekend.

This last weekend.

Before my baby becomes a school boy.

Oh How My Mind Rambles

I finally threw my poinsettia out.
On Thursday.
I feel better having that done.
It was clearly a difficult task.
Since it took me a couple months.
Phew.
One big project done.

So far today I have
cleaned my pantry cupboard
taken Jobie to a dentist appointment
paid some bills
picked up the family room
washed and dried some dishes
washed a load of laundry
and folded a load from the weekend.

It's beautiful outside.
I hope to get some work done out there.
Before school is out.
Then I'll take Jake to an eye appointment
get Brookie from track practice
take her to soccer practice
and make supper.

The other day Jobie put his hands over his earsand asked:
Mommy, can you hear me talking to you?
So cute!
When I said yes,
he was a little disappointed.
He must have thought
he'd discovered something pretty amazing.
Only to have his mom ruin it.

My time with him at home is rapidly disappearing.
Before I know it Fall will be here.
And he will be walking into a kindergarten classroom.

What is so exciting
about watching each other
play games on an ipad?
Ezzie had two friends over Friday.
He was so excited.
Counted down the days all week.
Knew exactly what he wanted for snack.
Chocolate chip cookie ice cream sandwiches.I got a picture of the snack.
But no picture of the boys.
It's all about priorities, people.

Jake had two friends over also.
Most days anywhere from 1-3 friends
come home with him after school.
When I brought the snack outside to them,
one of them said:
Oh man! I've never had homemade ones before! Thanks!
Made my day.

All of us cuddled up on the couch Saturday night.
And watched Courageous.
It was good.

The last couple of weeks
I've been discovering the fun of instagram.
I finally got an iphone.
I'm giddy over icloud.
The syncing between my ipad and iphone.
How fun!

I've also jumped on the pinterest bandwagon.
Last night I pinned an outfit I liked.
And within minutes it had over 200 repins.
Today it has almost 400.
Crazy stuff.

One last thing.
My wrapper from my Dove chocolate.I asked Ryan if that would be sexy.
Then I asked him how to be mysterious.
He just looked at me,
grinned
and kinda rolled his eyes.

Apparently asking how to be mysterious
is neither mysterious
or sexy.
A lesson learned.

Did You Know...

* I made 210 cookies last week.
With Jobe's help, of course.
This is how many are left.Hoping it's enough for snack time today.
Not planning on making more.
Until...tomorrow.

* Yesterday was Kansas Day.151 years.

* The kids' bedrooms are a disaster.
All three of them.
Always.
Not so good at making them keep them clean.
And mine and Ryan's room might be a disaster too.
Just being honest here...
Apparently the apples don't fall far from the tree.

*Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star and the ABC Song
are the same tune.
How did I never notice this?
Did not even "discover" this on my own.
Jobie's storytime teacher pointed it out.
So impressed by my musicality.

* Two of my favorite words are perhaps and suppose.
Hmmm...I must like the letter "p".

* We have had a box,
with a toilet in it,
sitting in our unfinished bathroom
for 18 months.It seems to have become a shelf for Ryan's clothes.

* We have not put a single nail in our walls
since we have lived here.
Nearly 4 years now.
The only art up on our walls
is there courtesy of the former owners
who left nails in the walls
for me to hang a few pictures on.

* There is a dead poinsettia in our living room.I walk by it 1000 times a day.
And even pick up dead leaves
that have fallen on the floor.
Yet I'm unable to pick up the entire plant
and throw it away.
Makes no sense.

* A great way to check out your uvula
is to have your brother take a picture of you
with your mouth wide open.
That's enough did you know for one day.
I'm certain your mind can't possibly hold any more.

Think I'll go throw a plant away.

But I'm curious.
What's your favorite word?

Me Jabbering

I have no plans for this post.
None.
There will be rambling.

Our weekend was good.
Only a basketball game in town Saturday morning.
Then nothing the rest of the day.
Weird.
I didn't quite know what to do with myself.
We are so used to going 100mph.

Brookie and I did a little shopping in town.
We all watched basketball.
And football.
Watched my Broncos go down.
Badly.
Oh, and just so you know.
I've been a Broncos fan since I was 8.
That's...well...I'm not going to say how long.
But it's a long time.Church Sunday.
Morning and evening.
We are having a Bible conference.
Good speaker.
Easy to listen too.
Practical.Yesterday was still our weekend.
No school or work.
We finally had a chance to get Christmas gifts exchanged.
All Ryan's stuff.
Wrong size jeans.
And undies.
(We get undies for Christmas.
Always.
From my parents.
Best. Gift. Ever.)

So we went shopping
All six of us.
It's been awhile since we've all gone.
Interesting.
And noisy.

Brookie thinks she's the parent.
Jakie thinks he's the entertainment for the little boys.
Ezzie thinks he's the unlucky one.
Jobie thinks he's the baby that can whine and be held.
Fun. (The skate park was one of Jobie's gifts for Christmas.
Our bargain find.
He and Ez like to set it up.
And take pictures.)

Today.
Laundry.
Washing dishes.
Laundry.
Sweeping.
Laundry.
Baking.
Laundry.
Back to "normal".Jobe's normal.
Sucking his thumb.
More than usual it seems.
Sunday we told him we would buy him a new toy.
If he quits.

With his thumb in his mouth,
he looked at us,
and said:
When I'm five.Ha!

Try to Keep Up

This post starts with nothing.
Ends with nothing.
With a whole lot of nothing in between.

There's no school the rest of this week.
When I got out of the shower this morning,
this is how my little boys were.They love each other.
Sometimes.

I'm still getting used to my hair.
Jobie often says:
Mommy, you're different on top.
Cracks me up.

I'm letting it dry natural today.
See what happens with that.
So if you see me at church tonight.
And my hair looks like poo-poo.
That will be why.

We've been super busy with soccer.
Jobe had a clinic.
This picture makes me laugh.His hair is so bouffant.
Have you ever watched Toddlers and Tiaras?
For some reason this picture reminds me of that show.
He's posing.
Fake smile.
Big hair.

That show is a train wreck.
One mom said: we're no different than soccer moms.
What??
Yah.
Cuz I make my kids play.
And put them in pretty makeup.
And ridiculous dresses.
And fake tans.
And fake boobs.
And fake teeth.
And fake eyelashes.
Mmmm, hmmm.
That's what I put Brookie thru before every game.
Oh, my.
Would I like to have a word with that mom.

Stepping off of my soap box now.Glad the rec center can get small enough shirts to fit the kids.
Nice.

Apparently, I'm in a snippy mood today.

Ezra's also playing soccer.
But I haven't taken any pictures.
Poor Ez and Jake.
The poor neglected middle children.

Brookelynn was in a tourney a couple weeks ago.
Took 2nd.Woohoo!

Ryan's two brothers' boys.
And Jobe.
The two blondes live about 2 hours away now.We're going to see them tomorrow.
Yippee!
And then headed to KC for the rest of the weekend.
Yessss!

I've done 8 loads of laundry in the past 2 days.
And all but one of them is folded and put away.
That's a major accomplishment for me.

I already know what I'm making for supper.
I've been having a hard time on supper menus lately.
So another huge accomplishment.

Let's see...
how else can I pat myself on the back?
Ha!

One last thing.
Since I know you all must be tired of reading my drivel.
(If you are still even reading this.)
I am having so much fun playing with my ipad.
Love it, Babe.
Thank you!

One funny thing about it.
When you type the word "Awww".
It auto-corrects to a naughty word.
Another word for rear.
Hind end.
Posterior.
Gluteus maximus.
Buttocks.
You get the point.

That has the potential to be embarrassing...

Just Ramblings

Last week Ezra stepped on the toes of my left foot.
5 days in a row.
They finally were feeling normal again.
Then Monday Brookie and I were moving a dresser.
It slipped out of her hand.
And landed on top of my left foot.
That one still hurts.

I usually don't get mosquito bites.
And when I do they don't typically itch me.
They sure like me this summer.
I look polka dotty.
And I'm super itchy.
Guess I'm sweeter this year.

I wore a t-shirt half the day last week
with a dryer sheet stuck down the front of it.
Have you ever used dryer sheets to enhance your chest area?
Well, don't.
It doesn't really work.
And it's scratchy.
(Just to be clear,
this was unintentional.
Believe me if you want.)

We were up until 1:00 last night working in the basement.
And I worked most of the daylight hours outside.
Hauling rock for our driveway.
Wheelbarrow full, by wheelbarrow full.
Planting some more flowers.
Watering.
Pulling weeds.
Lots and lots of weeds.
This morning I feel like I met with Jillian Michaels.
Or what I imagine that must feel like anyway.
I should be meeting with Jillian everyday.
But I lack discipline.

Our carpet was supposed to be layed yesterday.
So it was delivered Tuesday.
Then the carpet dude called and said he couldn't come until Friday.
Maybe.
Maybe?
Not good.
We have a class reunion at our house Sunday.
And our rec room looks like a carpet store.
The plan was to have the food in there if there's a chance of rain.
I told him our predicament.
He said: why did they put it in the rec room and not the garage?
Ummm.
Because you said you would come Wednesday.
Silly us.

Here's my next problem.
I've been working so much outside.
(The plan is for the reunion to be in the yard.
I guess I alluded to that already.)
And in the basement.
That the rest of the house is a pit.
It's depressing when you get one area looking all nice.
Only to have the rest of your house looking like poo.

I did three loads of laundry yesterday.
Kinda.
One got folded and put away.
One is in the dryer.
The other is still in the washer.
Nice.

I can't find my camera.

I itch.

That's all.

Peek

Just wanted to say hello.
It's a sunny day today.
Finally.
And another busy one.

I take Lara tonight to get her prom dress altered.
Who knew getting ready for prom was such a huge process?

I went to a Christian school.
We didn't have prom.
We had banquets.
We got dressed up.
Jessica McClintock dresses were my favorite.
Lots of florals.
Lots and lots of florals.
But I never got my hair done.
Or my nails.
(I've never had a manicure.
I may have mentioned that before.)
I did usually get new shoes and jewelry.
One year we sprayed painted some shoes I already had.
Pale pink.
To go with my dress.
Hmmm.
Have to look for all those pictures.

A couple weeks ago we went to shop for Lara's dress.
My mom, my sis-in-law, my niece and Brookie went too.
We were in a bridal shop.
Lots of high school girls and ladies.
Trying on prom dresses, bridesmaids dresses, wedding dresses.
My niece and Brookie were traumatized.
They saw parts of ladies they never wanted to see.
It was comical.

Well, this turned out to be a little more than a peek.
I often ramble.
You may have noticed that.

Does anyone wear Jessica McClintock anymore?
I think my mom might still have my dresses.
Anyone want to borrow one?

This and That

I swept the floor this morning.
Then Jobe sat at the bar for lunch.
After he ate, he looked down at the floor and said:
Mommy, it's still dirty.
Hmmmm.
Thanks, son.

Today the kids got out at 1:00.
This happens about 4 times a year.
I always have lots of extra munchkins at the house on these days.
Jobe and I baked before the herd got home.Hope we made enough.I created a new station on Pandora today.
I'm listening to it right now.
80's.
Can't Buy Me Love must have brought it on.
The first song.
Tone-Loc Funky Cold Medina.
Wow.
The song is nasty.
Did I not pay attention to the lyrics?
Or was I just naive?
Yuck.
It's been fun to listen to some of the others though.
Don Henley, The Cars, Survivor, Tears for Fears, OMD...

Jobe and I have been walking to school to get Ezzie.
It's been gorgeous here.
Nearly a 100 degree difference from last Thursday morning.
Crazy.
I let him take my little point and shoot.
And he snaps picture after picture.
He is usually behind me.
And apparently he is just the right height.
To get great pictures of my tush.
Nice.
Most people get to watch their kids grow in pictures.
I get to watch my tushy grow.
Scary.

Hope your weekend is fabulous.
We have fun plans.
A play with the little boys.
Prom dress shopping with the girls.
Church.
PF Changs date night with friends.

Oh, Peter Gabriel In Your Eyes just came on.
Love that song!
Maybe I will require that we listen to 80's music on our date night.
It's fun!
867-5309.
(Hope it's stuck in your head now.
Bwahahaha.)

Me

I got to thinking...
For those of you who don't really know me,
you don't really know me.
You know what I mean?

So here's a few things about me
that you might or might not know
and might or might not want to know:

1) Once upon a time, I was teacher.
For four years I taught junior high.
Until kid #2 came along.
I loved it.
But doubt I will ever go back.
My teaching certificate is long expired.

2) I never went to camp.
Other than sleepovers
and the occassional times when my mom
went on business trips with my dad,
I never stayed away from home.
So I was VERY homesick my first semester of college.
A small town girl in Chicago.
Chicago is now my favorite city.
My dream is to have a condo there some day.
Just go there to hang out sometimes.
When my hubby makes his millions...

3) A day that I don't talk with my mom is rare.

4) I married my high school sweetheart.

5) My 8th grade year was the worst year of my life.
I felt like a loser.

6) I'm no good at decorating.
I know what I like.
I just can't ever pull it off.
If I pick flowers and put them in a vase,
it looks like my 3 year old did it.

7) I typically bake at least every other day.
Cookies.
Bars.
Cake.
Bread.
Rolls.

8) I hate cleaning my stove.
Come look at my burners sometime.
No, on second thought, don't.
I really want a new stove/oven.
My current one is ancient.
But it still works...minus one burner.
So I keep using it.

9) I have had one pedicure in my life.
Ryan bought me one for a birthday once.
It was wonderful.
But I have so many other things to spend money on.

10) I've never had a manicure.

11) I've never colored my hair...yet.
But that I will spend money on.
At the first sign of gray.
I'll be making a phone call.
Even if it's 2:00 am.
A phone call will be made.
Although I have no idea why I would find
a gray hair at 2:00 am.
You just never know though...

12) I love to shop.
Most of all, I like to shop for others.
Just wish I had more money to do it more often.

13) I drink coffee every morning.

14) I have great intentions.
Let's just leave it at that.

Busy

We have been soooo busy lately.
We haven't had time to work outside.
Many of my flowers are still waiting to be planted.
My garden hasn't even been tilled yet.
The lawn needs mowed.
The hedge needs trimmed.
Poor Jakie is still waiting for his b-ball goal to go up.

And lets not even talk about inside.
Beginning to wonder if we will ever
finish the basement,
get the little boys room repainted,
finish the staircase,
get our master bath and closet done.

You know when you have so much to do
that you don't even know where to start?
So you do nothing?
That's where I am.

So I'm spending time catching up on blogs instead.
Logical, right?
I haven't been on the computer since Thursday.

This is the last week of school for my kiddos.
Another year.
Gone just like that.
Ezzie will begin kindergarten in the fall.
Brookelynn and Jake will both be in middle school.
But I'll still have my Jobie at home.
For two more years.

Back to being busy...
It's been a good kind of busy.
Birthday.
Soccer practices, games and tournaments.
Recognitions.
Fifth grade fun day.
Dinners with friends.
Meetings to plan for our new church building celebration.
Meeting for VBS.
Nothing too stressful.
Just go, go, go.

See.You don't feel sorry for me now.
Do ya?
What's more fun than friends.
And a guy who makes great balloon creations.
And eating outside on a beautiful day.

I've got two bathrooms begging to be cleaned.
It really must be done.
Now you feel sorry for me, right?
Bathrooms are probably my most dreaded chore.
Maybe it's not so bad that
the basement and master bathrooms aren't done.
That will just double my bathroom cleaning duties.
Yuck!

Oh!
One more random thing.
Is something wrong with me?
I'm not bursting with joy that
a Chick-Fil-A is coming.
Did I even spell that right?
I've eaten at one.
Once.
It was okay.
I don't remember being that excited by it.
But all my local friends are talking about it.
Somebody, fill me in on what's yummy there.
I need to be informed.

Ramble, Ramble, Ramble

Leaving the grocery store in the rain.
Ezzie: Indians don't care if their jeans get wet.
Random little known fact.
And also good to know.
Although I'm not sure it's accurate.Driving home from Wichita last night.
Jobie: I have abc's for my birthday.
No idea what he was talking about.
Until I got him out of the car.
Pen marks all over his hands and face.
I guess he meant he was writing abc's on himself.
For his birthday.
Possibly a new tradition.Kinda' wish I wouldn't have cut Jobie's hair.
It looks so cute here.The older two both had recognitions last week.
Jake played the temple blocks in his.
Grinned the whole time.
Cuz that's what he does.
Brookelynn sang in a trio.
She was very nervous.
Doesn't care if people watch her.
On the soccer field.
But a stage.
With a dress on.
Scary.
And embarrassing.
The pictures did not turn out.Brookelynn loves her little cousin.
He's already over a year old.
Good thought:
Soon she will be old enough to babysit for us.
Date night for Mommy and Daddy!Which reminds me.
Ryan bought me a really cute dress for Mother's Day.
He has great taste.
It's a little too short for me to wear to church.
Not crazy short.
Just shorter than I would be comfortable with.
For church.
Ryan: Where will you wear it then?
Me: You could take me out on a date.
Subtle, aren't I?
The little boys put a fuzzy rabbit on our bookshelf for Easter.
It's about the same color as our cat.
Every time I see it out of the corner of my eye
I think our cat has gotten in the house.
Two thoughts on this:
1) I'm either a slow learner or very forgetful.
2) Easter decor should maybe be put away by now.

School's almost out for the summer.
Sleeping in.
Swimming.
Summer storms.
Soccer and basketball camps.
S'mores around the fire pit.
Sounds super!

Top Five...

Favorite movies.
Kinda'.

Likely, no one cares what my top five
of anything is.
Can't imagine anyone would.
But I always like reading others' lists.
So...

5. I'm really not sure what #5 should be...
Up? No.
Sleepless in Seattle? No.
The Terminal? No.
I'm forgetting a good movie.
I just know I am.
Oh, maybe it's Some Kind of Wonderful.
Haven't seen that one in a long time.
Or it could be Say Anything.
I like John Cusack.
And his sister Joan too.
Just thought of one more movie.
Bringing Up Baby.
It's an old one.
With Katherine Hepburn.
And Cary Grant.
Can't really go wrong with any Cary Grant movie.

4. Sweet Home Alabama
Mostly just because of the song.
Probably.
And the guy.
Maybe.
Not Mr. McDreamy.
The other one.
Oh, that reminds me of a movie.
Patrick Dempsey was in it.
It's from high school days.
He likes the popular girl.
He's not popular.
He becomes popular.
Turns his back on his "uncool" friends.
Gets the girl.
Looses the girl.
Because he becomes a jerk.
Becomes a looser again.
Then gets the girl in the end.
He mowed lawns.
What was that movie?
It's going to bug me now.

3. How to Loose a Guy in 10 Days
It's just cute.
And Kate Hudson is cute.

2. Sandlot
Funny movie.
With cute little boys.
And great music.
So many parts of that I love.
The pool.
The fireworks.
The carnival.
Almost makes you want to be a kid again.

1. Princess Bride
Do I really need to explain why?
It makes me laugh.
E.v.e.r.y. time.
Probably the most quoted movie in our house.

There you have it.
Notice none of them are recent.
We don't get out much.

None of them are artsy.
Or thought provoking.
Or clever.
I have simple tastes.

And a simple mind, apparently.
But they all make me laugh.
That's a good thing.
It's good to laugh.
I like to laugh.

So Far...

today
Unloaded the dishwasher.
Reloaded it with breakfast dishes.
Hand washed some dishes.

Picked up the family room.
Which included 8 pairs of shoes.
And too many Valentine's too count.
Swept the floors.

Changed a stinky, snotty nosed little boy with a fever.

Gathered all the dirty laundry scattered throughout the house.
Two--going on three--loads of laundry.
Folded a load of towels that have been in the dryer for days.
Forgot all about them.
I was going to have the kids fold them.
Shoot!

Refereed a fight between the boys.
Then heard them yelling at each other 5 minutes later:
"Yea! You're my friend!"

Discovered that the boys got a hold of my camera.
And took 76 pictures like this:
And this:
And now...
I did all of the above so I wouldn't feel guilty
when I sat down to watch curling.
I don't even understand it.
Not at all.
But it fascinates me anyway.

Right now USA is loosing to Germany 3-4.
No idea how they get points.
Just like watching the "rocks" sliding on the ice.
I think the announcers just said they weigh 42 pounds.
Huh!

A commercial came on with Beyonce on it.
My boys, who were busy playing,
immediately looked up and watched the entire thing.
Wow!
It starts early.

I'm going to google curling and learn more about it.
Ezra keeps asking me questions I can't answer.
I'm tired of sounding stupid.