Pardon Me...

Pardon Me

While I finish a project.

You see, I may not post for a bit

But it's not because all my children do is sit.

I am working on a blog book from 2009;

I think it's about time I get it done and sign on the dotted line.

Because before you know it it'll be 2011.

And then I'll be stuck doing 2 books... oh my heaven.

So, I will post a picture or two during my work time so you know that we're alive and well,

but other than that I will be working on a book so that at the end of the year I don't yell!!

The Goal

I am a bit behind on posts again.  We had visitors last week and that distracts me (in a very good way) from my blog and any sort of major cleaning.  The house gets picked up, but the laundry, vacuuming and dusting get pushed to the side until visitors leave.  That is, unless it's an extended stay.  When my brother would come visit for 3 weeks at a time in Utah, the laundry and general housecleaning NEEDED to be done while he was there else we would be very stinky in our dirty clothes and would be living in a sea of dust.  But when people come for just a few days I hate to waste time cleaning or doing laundry when they're here. 

Now that Eric, Nancy and the boys have left, it's time to catch up a bit.  I know I'm writing this, but my goal today is NOT to catch up on the blog.  Rather, it is to catch up on the laundry - 6 loads between clothes, towels and sheets - so that I can use time tomorrow to catch up on the blog.  I figured that if I put it in writing I would be more apt to actually achieving my goal.  I am 99.9% positive that my boys will be engaged in football related activities most of the day tomorrow so I can use the time to update the blog.

Wish me luck on the Marathon Laundry Day - load 1 is already in progress - so I can give you some new stories to read and pictures to look at!

UPDATE - 12:27pm.  All rooms (except our bedroom) vacuumed and picked up. 3 loads of laundry completely done, one in the washer now.  2 more to go (actually only one because I don't have enough room on the drying rack to do the last load.  That one will have to wait til tomorrow.

Where are the Pink Dresses & Barbies??

On the weekends when Daddy is home, the house becomes a wrestling filled, testosterone, sports, boy filled home. These are the days that I ask myself, where are the pink dresses, dollies, & barbies??

Taking a break from "tackle" to watch a bit of the sports on TV

Kickoff catching between the 3 boys of the house.

Don't get me wrong, I LOVE LOVE LOVE that our boys are into sports as that also allows Rick and I to do some of the things that we love to do... play on sports teams while the other one brings the boys to watch, going to college sports games (volleyball, basketball, football) and having the boys excited to come along, and playing outside in the yard on those nice sunny days. However, there are really some days when I would love to sit and comb a doll's hair or play dress-up or put a little girls' hair in pig-tails!

Oh, my boys, I love you so. But some days the "boyness" in our house is just a bit over the top. Can't we just play quietly with dollies and princesses one day a month?

We're Still Here...

I'm so behind in some of my blog posts - just hasn't been a lot of "extended" computer time for me this last week or so However, tonight is not the night to catch up on them. Now that the boys are asleep, I have to finish straightening things up for the arrival of my parents tomorrow. SO EXCITED to have visitors! Will probably be another slow week from "What the Heck...", but have no fear, I'll be back.

What's in Missouri?

When you move to a different part of the country, you quickly figure out that there are different things to experience. And there are definitely some differences between where we were (Utah - UT) and where we are (Missouri - MO). Some of the not so exciting things --

UT - Mountains, MO - Trees (and lots of them)
UT - Low (or no) humidity, MO - so much humidity (some days) you could take a shower each time you walk outside

UT - not many storms or rain for that matter, MO - wonderful storms that scare Trevor because of all the thunder

UT - not much smoking, MO - back to a land of smokers (UGH... we are so missing the low smoking UT!!!)

Now, those are some of the less exciting (especially for the kids); however, there are some things that are rather unique and we've taken some photos of for you...

Locust Insect (more accurately called the Cicada)

One day we were in our back yard when all of a sudden Ethan started screaming our names. He was saying, "Come here, come here, come here" over and over. It sounds like an excited, yet scared scream. Of course, Rick and I ran over to him by the tree and he quickly pointed out some strange looking bugs on the tree. Really, they grossed me out when I first saw them. This is what we saw...

As we stared at them for a bit, we realized that they were not alive. They were crunchy. They were empty. They were shells of something. After talking with someone work, Rick found out that they were "locust". They have a 7 year cycle - they actually live in the ground for much of that time and burrow their way out of the ground (near a tree), crawl up the tree and then go through the following change. Once "hatched" they make a TON of noise, but you get used to it after awhile. So here's the metamorphosis of the Cicada

Climbing the tree to "hatch"
Starting to come out of the shell

Almost out of the shell - just hanging there
Sitting next to shell - drying out his wings

Still letting wings dry out... the wings are beautiful when you can still see through themJust a comparison to show you that these are not little insects... they are rather large, but do us no harm. They don't bite, they don't attack humans, they are just big and their noise can be annoying.

Large Spiders
Obviously, we did have spiders in Utah, however, I don't remember seeing any that are like these. Again, these don't hurt us, they just like to hang out in the flowers. Whew... because if they would come in the house, I would completely flip out. I really don't like spiders!!
The bottom spider is the owner of the web. The other - the poor unfortunate soul. The white zig-zag is an awesome pattern that is woven into the web. And through reading a bit about this spider, they actually eat/destroy the web each and every night and rebuild it for the morning. Amazing. And again, thank God they don't like coming in the houses.

See what you're missing by not living here in Missouri by us!!

Coming soon... some fun that might be more appealing than locust and spiders.

Random Tip #1

Not sure that there will be a Random Tip #2, but maybe I'll make that my 'fun thing' on the blog

Random Tips by Me

Anyway - random tip #1 is this...

The best way to get out of reporting for jury duty is to move out of the area before they send you the jury summons post card.

We're Back

We're back in the land of the living and the connected! It's been a long week, but now we have communication to the outside world (beside the phone) so get yourself ready for emails, blog posts catching you up since Day 1 of packing, and just general updates. We're still in a sea of boxes in our new home, but slowly we are seeing more and more of the floors and the walls that we live in!

Hope this finds you all well... I've missed "talking" to you all!
Stay tuned! (hopefully this weekend I'll start getting you caught up with all that's gone on for us.)

Things I've Learned Today

It has been a productive day today. I learned a few new things - which doesn't always happen on a daily basis. Here's what I've learned.

1. Outdoor trim paint comes off much easier if you let it bake in the sun for awhile before scraping it off.

2. Although you might be able to get the paint off easier in the sun, you get baked in the sun as well while you're trying to get it off.

3. After you get your hair cut you need to make sure you put sunscreen on areas of your neck that you didn't have to BEFORE getting your hair cut.

4. My right hand works much much better with my brain than my left when scraping paint off. It's like my left hand/arm has never even met my brain before.

5. SPF 15 doesn't do much for blocking the sun when you're in a corner of the backyard with the sun beating on your back and the sun reflecting off the bright white house you're facing.

6. When you're not around (because you're outside scraping paint) a 4 1/2 year old somehow becomes able to wipe his own bum after going to the bathroom. (however, had I been in the house there's no way he would have done it himself!)

So - that's the new knowledge that my brain now holds. Quite a productive day for a stay-at-home mom!

All By Myself....

The boys AND the dog are gone to the dump and what am I doing with this peaceful, quiet, no one to worry about time? I'm putting in laundry, quickly picking up the living room (after I write this post, of course) so I can vacuum it and have a stay toy free for 5 minutes, and folding the laundry without having someone step in, empty, or turn over the clean bin of folded clothes! Complete bliss.... (and off I go so I can actually get all those things done while the house is empty!)

An Early Mom's Day Laugh

This came from a friend of mine via email and I just couldn't help but put it on the blog as a tribute to Moms everywhere. We try to teach them well, but sometimes the answers just don't quite come out right.

To all you moms reading this... you are wonderful, strong and amazing people... and don't ever forget it!!

--- WHY GOD MADE MOMS ---

Answers given by 2nd grade school children to the following questions:

Why did God make mothers?
1. She's the only one who knows where the scotch tape is
2. Mostly to clean the house.
3. To help us out of there when we were getting born.

How did God make mothers?
1. He used dirt, just like for the rest of us.
2. Magic plus super powers and a lot of stirring.
3. God made my mom just the same like he made me. He just used bigger parts.

What ingredients are mothers made of?
1. God makes mothers out of clouds and angel hair and everything nice in the world and one dab of mean.
2. They had to get their start from men's bones. Then they mostly use string, I think.

Why did God give you your mother and not some other mom?
1. We're related.
2. God knew she likes me a lot more than other people's mom like me.

What kind of a little girl was your mom?
1. My mom has always been my mom and none of that other stuff.
2. I don't know because I wasn't there, but my guess would be pretty bossy.
3. They say she used to be nice.

What did mom need to know about dad before she married him?
1. His last name.
2. She had to know his background. Like is he a crook? Does he get drunk on beer?
3. Does he make at least $800 a year? Did he say NO to drugs and YES to chores?

Why did your mom marry your dad?
1. My dad makes the best spaghetti in the world. And my mom eats a lot.
2. She got too old to do anything else with him.
3. My grandma says that mom didn't have her thinking cap on.

Who's the boss at your house?
1. Mom doesn't want to be boss, but she has to because dad's such a goofball.
2. Mom. You can tell by room inspection. She sees the stuff under the bed.
3. I guess mom is, but only because she has a lot more to do than dad.

What's the difference between moms and dads?
1. Moms work at work and work at home and dads just go to work at work.
2. Moms know how to talk to teachers without scaring them.
3. Dads are taller and stronger, but moms have all the real power 'cause that's who you got to ask if you want to sleep over at your friends.
4. Moms have magic, they make you feel better without medicine.

What does your mom do in her spare time?
1. Mothers don't do spare time.
2. To hear her tell it, she pays bills all day long.

What would it take to make your mom perfect?
1. On the inside she's already perfect. Outside, I think some kind of plastic surgery.
2. Diet. You know, her hair. I'd diet, maybe blue.

If you could change one thing about your mom, what would it be?
1. She has this weird thing about me keeping my room clean. I'd get rid of that.
2. I'd make my mom smarter. Then she would know it was my sister who did it not me.
3. I would like for her to get rid of those invisible eyes on the back of her head.

Bedtime Story

One day a couple weeks ago as Rick and I were turning in for the night, Rick got into bed and said, "What in the heck?" He was feeling a few "less than pleasant" things underneath him. As he looked, he realized it was a crumb from a Goldfish. ummmm... I wonder how that got there.

As it so happened, I allowed the kids to eat their Goldfish snack on our bed as I was folding clothes earlier in the day. Now, I was planning on changing sheets which is why the bed wasn't made AND why I let them eat snacks on our bed. Otherwise, that is typically a no-no. However, since I am telling this story, I obviously didn't get to changing the sheets. As Rick continued to swipe away the crumbs, his only comment (while giggling a little) was, "Nothing like sleeping on a gravel road!"

Sorry, Rick. Next time I'll make sure to change the sheets after snacks - or at least wipe the crumbs out for you.

Happier Now

It always amazes me how much happier I am when I walk into the house to a clean mud/laundry room rather than the disaster that it was earlier today. The washer and dryer tops are free of stuff, the shoes are put in the cubbies, the jackets are hung in the closet rather than on the door knobs, the counter top is free of all things and the little pebbles that were all over the floor are vacuumed up. Now if only the rest of my house could be as spotless as the mud room is at this moment!
(Notice, I said, "at this moment" because I'm sure by the weekend it will not be the way it is now...ugh)

Patience, Patience - I Keep Telling Myself

A few days ago I ordered my first blog book (our blog printed and bound into a book) and I just CAN NOT wait til it gets here! Every day - ok, I can not lie, several times every day - I check the status of the printing to see if it has shipped yet! One would think that since they told me the estimated ship date was April 1st I would be happy with that. But I want it to come NOW. Oh - give me the patience to wait and wait and wait for it to show up! (and then let it turn out as cool as I hope it'll be!)

5:05pm -- HA! I knew that estimated time was wrong! Even after telling myself to have patience, I decided to go check it again (for only the 2nd time today) and it's BEEN SHIPPED!! Oh boy, oh boy, oh boy.... I know what's going to happen. I'm so excited to see it (like a kid in a candy shop) and it's going to get here and it's not going to be as good as I want it to be! I won't like the colors I picked (and I did a lot of different ones just to see what the quality of the site is like), some of the pictures will be blurry, and I won't be able to read the text. Oh wouldn't that be just my luck?!? Agh heck, no use in worrying about it now. So, again I say... oh boy, oh boy, oh boy...I can't wait!

Who to Cheer For?

UGH.... the March Madness brackets are being released and what did I see???


First round match up...

Marquette Golden Eagles (my Alma mater)

vs.

Utah State University (our local team)

Who do I cheer for now???

And.... to make matters worse Wisconsin, Utah State, AND Marquette are all playing in Boise, ID which is only 4 hours away! That is just NOT fair! Anyone have tickets that they want to give up??

When Mom is Sick

When a mom is sick what changes??

The short answer to the question...

Nothing.

It's true - when a mom is sick, a minimal amount of things change around the house.

The kids still get dressed.

The dog still gets fed.

Dinner still gets made.

The kids still get fed breakfast.

Lunch.

And dinner.

The shrieks of "MOM" coming from the kids still get dealt with.

Dishes still get unloaded from the dishwasher.

And dirty dishes get put in.

The dog still gets let in and out to go potty.

Diapers still get changed.

The kids still get played with.

The toys still get picked up at the end of the night.

The kids' teeth still get brushed.

The beds still get made.

The kids still get their daily dose of hugs

(minus the kisses so they don't get sick, too).

The laundry in the dryer still gets folded.

Dirty bums still get wiped.

The mail still gets collected and opened.

Everything still goes on...

And what happens at the end of the day when a mom is sick?

She collapses and hopes that sleep time

lasts for a very long time.

Shhhhh... Just Scan It PLEASE!!

This is just my crabby post for the day. I'm not really crabby, but something this morning just irked me to the point that I had to write this blog.

This morning I had everything planned out. Drop Ethan off at school by 8:30am, go grocery shopping with Trevor right away in order to make it to his Story Time class at 9:30am. Not a whole lot of time to spare, but I figured I could do it since I now always have a COMPLETE list of things I need for the week rather than walking through the grocery store and saying "I might need this" or "I could make this to eat during the week". So, off I went.

Ethan was dropped off at 8:32am, got to the grocery store and was walking to the check out line at 9:20am. Plenty of time since the Story Time place was not far away. Or at least I thought it was enough time. The check out girl I had was terrible! Not that she didn't know how to do her job, but that she took FOREVER doing it because she wouldn't stop talking. I normally don't mind when they talk a bit, but this was total overload. And even more so since she scanned slower and slower the more she talked.

She told me about...

• the single serving Stove Tops that are out there now. They are great for work so you don't have to run out at your lunch time to pick something up. It's not fun when you only have a little time for lunch and you spend most of it standing in a line waiting for your food.
• She was in at 6:30am so her lunch was at 10:30am today but she just wasn't hungry for Stove Top so she's going to have to go get a breakfast sandwich instead.
• Her sister is getting married this weekend and the bridesmaids are wearing black and red. She found a red shirt for $2, but STILL has to find a black skirt. She just doesn't know what she's going to do.
• She found black and red for one of her daughters. However, her sister asked the youngest to be a flower girl, but that won't work because she doesn't know how to walk yet.
• There are more things, but I don't quite remember them all...

Seriously, I am typically very cordial and nice to everyone, but can you just scan the items and let me get to my son's Story Time class on time.

Ok - that's my venting for today. I am smiling as I'm writing this because it just cracks me up to hear what people will tell complete strangers who just happened to come through their checkout line. Just random things that a stranger could really care less about. I guess they get tired of hearing the endless beep of the scanner and figure if they talk then they don't have to hear it as much.