Happy New Year!

I spent last New Year alone, and this year will be no exception. After Calet spent Monday night puking and the boys started puking last night, I got hit pretty hard this morning. I would rather be sick at night so I could sleep it off, but no such luck. So, I will ring in the New Year watching TV on the couch with a barf bag and hopefully not in front of the toilet. 2009 isn't off to a great start for me. Hope ya'll have a better night! ;)

Sorry for the late notice

I have 2 guest passes to the Y for an individual or a family. But they have to be used by the 31st. Anyone want to go?

Videos

The videos that led to the demise of my laptop are finally on the Cookie blog if you want to check them out!

A Christmas Miracle!

It really must be. Brad's plane didn't get in until a little after 1 on Christmas day. I told the boys we weren't going to be opening any presents until daddy got home. We did open stockings though. I'm not even kidding, they didn't complain AT ALL. It must have been a miracle! They just totally accepted the fact that we weren't doing Christmas without daddy.

It was wonderful having Brad home. Poor guy got put to work though. My laptop died the afternoon he got home and took up most of his weekend. We did manage some fun though. We watched, "One Night with the King" (LOVED it, thanks Becky!) and "Hancock" which we both enjoyed, even if we didn't love it.

And though I wouldn't put it in the fun category, we finally got family pictures done! Wahoo! Yes, I'm sending out Valentine's card this year instead of Christmas cards. But yes, the Valentine's cards will be on Christmas paper since I bought it at a discount last year and don't intend to move it to Philly. Just get it out of your system now. I'll help. "Valentine's cards? On Christmas paper? In February? What is WRONG with that woman?!"

The family pictures were a bit of a disaster. Stinkidy-stink has rarely been in such stinky form. We got a total of 1 picture of her smiling. The rest she was screaming, whining, and generally being a menace. Argh. Not a bruise, scrape or cut on her beautiful face, but would she smile? Oh no. I guess it is a good thing though as I no longer had discounts or coupons to buy pictures and wouldn't have been able to afford any cute pictures of her anyway.

We took Brad to the airport this afternoon. Dang. That is always so hard. He has a whole week of vacation in February coming up. We couldn't really plan his vacation on our moving date, as we have no moving date yet, and pretty much every other week was taken by senior residents. But February is good. It means we won't have to wait too terribly long. And he'll get to be here for Valentine's day. Can't even remember the last time he wasn't working on Valentine's day...

So, the laptop is still getting a lobotomy. My heart quickens at the thought of being without a laptop. We've already completely restored the hard drive and I'm doing the second hard drive scan as the first one didn't fix the problem. I'm very hopeful this one will, or I am in big trouble. Big trouble. Big Trouble. BIG Trouble. BIG TROUBLE! I need it to work. Already it has thrown the missionary calendars and potentially any YW stuff into complete disarray. Don't get me started on the ramifications for My Money, syncing my PDA, my calendar, etc. Breathe deep, Melisa. Breathe.

There is our latest and great from a fabulous Christmas weekend that went WAY too fast. :)

2 slides

My laptop is misbehaving, yet again. And the boys PC is annoyingly slow, so I won't be doing a wordy update just yet. But there are 2 slides over on Cookie to check out, including Calet's 2 yr pictures. Such a cutie!

Why I hate flying

The party was absolutely wonderful. I loved every minute of it. Everyone was so warm and welcoming. I felt accepted and wanted instantly. I actually wanted to cry when we were leaving. The program director went on and on about how glad he was to have Brad there and what an asset Brad is. You would have thought they were begging to have Brad instead of the other way around. I got to sign with Tre for awhile and that was wonderful. He was an interpreter who has really been missing having someone to sign with, so he might have even been more excited than I was. The wives were all super sweet, and told me to hurry and get out there so we can do dinner and get together. I can't even tell you how wonderful it felt being there. Such an amazing group of people. I feel blessed to be a part of it. I can see why Brad has loved his time with them.

But, the trip home was not as successful. Ugh. The security line was insane. What were so many people doing there at 6:15 am?! I made it on the plane a minute before the shut the doors. Seriously. So scary. And when I arrived in Chicago, I caught an earlier flight out to Detroit. It would have been wise, since my original flight ended up being delayed for 4 hours, but really it just made a huge mess with getting my luggage. If it weren't for the fact that I had to have my camera to take Christmas pictures, I might have just left my luggage. But I HAVE to have Christmas pictures. I'm already suffering guilt at the realization that Calet is far less photographed than the boys ever were. Poor younger children. And then the drive home in the snow was awful and took 3 hours. My garage door was broken when I got home too. It was such a long day. At least I am home now. My kids had a blast with Shannon and the house looks amazing. I even fixed the garage door this morning. It wasn't really broken, just the manual switched had tripped...

Not really here

I'm still in Philly. Brad is working today and I'm trying to not get sick at the thought of dinner with all of his co-workers I've never met. They seem like wonderful people, but as I tend to be on the shy side and know no one at this party except for my date, I'm a little (or a lot) nervous. He is going to be working with these people for the next few years. Okay, I'm making to worse...

So, today I caught up on lots of emails, blogs, and facebook status updates. It has been fun catching up without kids running around, but I surely miss them.

I am as happy as could be here in Philly. I've had an amazing weekend and it was just what the doctor ordered, and pleaded for actually, as did I. :) I am sad to be leaving Brad tomorrow, but anxious to see my kids and grateful Brad will be joining us soon for Christmas.

But, while catching up on blogs, I went through a number of emotions. Resa's made me smile and laugh at the adorable pictures of Quinton and the beautiful family picture. And then she made me cry and miss Alexander some more. And then I was grateful knowing they are a forever family. And I was glad that David is such an awesome big brother and will be a great example to him. Quinton is so lucky to have him.

And then I read Joy's blog and I was mad and frustrated. My blog is more of a private one, and as such, isn't really as open to public scrutiny. But even if your blog is more public, that doesn't mean that the public should be mean and nasty when reading someone's blog. Joy is a wonderful and amazing woman and doesn't deserve the censure of someone who knows nothing about her other than what she reads in her blog. Joy was an amazing president of our medical school spouse group. She is selfless and giving and works hard for other people. Just because she can do all that and look gorgeous at the same time doesn't mean she is self-centered. Sheesh! When I started blogging, I called it "Life of a doctor's wife." Because our lives tend to revolve around Brad and his schedule, it seems to be one of the dominate factors in our lives. I have other places to vent about it now, so I try, though I don't know how successfully, to not vent about it on here as much. But if I did, and when I do, I would hope that people would be kind and considerate of my feelings and my need to have a sounding board. It isn't easy being married to someone whose career requires hundreds of thousands in loans, 80 hour work weeks, crazy call schedules, and 10 years (when we are all done) of post-graduate education. Brad is worth every single sacrifice I've made. It honestly doesn't feel like a sacrifice. He is a blessing to me. I'm grateful to have friends and family who listen to me whine and vent without judging me or considering me wimpy. So, thank you to my friends and family who give me a safe place to be me. That is all. The venting will now cease. For today.

9 wonderful years later!

Today I have been married for 9 years. Funny, it snowed on our wedding too. Here is last year's post with some pictures:http://momtomonsters.blogspot.com/2007/12/8-yrs-ago-today.html It snowed again as we finished taking pictures. It is kinda sad that we are in separate states on our anniversary, but at least it is temporary. The thing that has me nervous is that I'm supposed to fly out to Philly for a quiet, kid free weekend. The same day they are projecting a storm with 6-12 inches of snow. Argh. I really hope the airlines don't go all crazy. My flight doesn't leave until 7 pm as it is...

I know that a mere 2 posts ago, I gushed on and on about Brad. I can't help myself. I think I married the most perfect guy for me. My own personal Edward/Jacob/Carlisle. hee hee I know I probably should have waited a couple days and done the hubby post today, but he is the patient one, not me. I honestly don't know how I got so lucky. But since I just did a whole post on him, I will spare you a prolonged repeat. You can thank me later.

After our lovely snow storm last night, I woke again dreading the whole "Stinker and snowblower" thing. Imagine my delight when the Elders showed up this morning and asked where the snowblowers and shovels were. I actually started crying after I shut the door. I know, doesn't take much to get me crying, but it was just so nice all the same.

Okay, I'd love some insight with this little problem. Roo rides on the bus to school. He had problems with a boy, but then they became friends. But lately, the boy has been a total twit. He told Roo on Friday he was going to beat him up on Monday. Roo spent the weekend crying. I told Roo if the kid did anything to hurt him, I'd be talking to his mom. Well, Roo said as much to the kid on Monday. The kid didn't touch him. But on Tuesday, Roo said the kid hit him 17 times. Probably more of a mocking thing, though Roo said it hurt. I called the transportation department and told them I didn't want my son sitting with this kid. Then I told Roo he couldn't sit with the kid anymore, even if he wanted to. This kid is in 1st grade. Roo isn't even in kindergarten yet. Today he hit Roo with a backpack, but didn't sit by him. So, do I hope things get better? Try to contact the mom? The school? He hasn't been hurt yet, but I don't want it to get to that point either. He is barely 5 and shouldn't have to be in fear on the bus. Granted, he isn't incapacitated with fear, thank heavens, but I don't want it to get near that point either. Thoughts?

Tonight, the kids and I will be celebrating Mons Family Founders Day with pizza. Hee hee! Sure miss you, Brad!

Way to go Philly!

So, apparently, Philadelphia is a great place to live. Good to know! If I could ever get out there!

http://cityguides.msn.com/citylife/cityarticle.aspx?cp-documentid=15286428&page=3

Anyone have thoughts on Jacob being recast for New Moon? I'm putting up a poll to ease my curiousity. :) In case you haven't heard yet:

http://www.mtv.com/movies/news/articles/1601332/story.jhtml

Stolen tag

Like I need an excuse to think about Brad more. ;) I saw this hubby tag on Shana's blog. And since all I seem to do these days is think of Brad, I wanted to do it, even though I didn't get tagged or anything. :)


1. Where did you meet your husband? Seriously. Such a long story. :) Very condensed version is that my aunt had us start writing, totally platonic, while he was on his mission. We wrote for about 10 months before we even met. I had just moved to Colorado Springs and he was on his way to Denver for a conference. I opened the door to greet him, looked him in the eyes and knew with everything in me that he was the guy I was going to marry. I know it sounds crazy, but it is true.

2. How long did you date? Counting from our first date in July, 5 months. I was still in CO for most of those though. I moved to OK in October, we got engaged in November and married in December. It was fast, but like I said, he had my heart the second I met him.

3. How long have you been married? We will celebrate 9 yrs on Wednesday. We won't be together, but I'm going out to Philly this weekend so we can celebrate.

4. What does he do that surprises you? He brings me flowers when I have a bad day. He loves doing dishes for me and helping with dinner. Though, I can't say that really surprises me after being married to him for 9 years. It did really surprise me when he bought Twilight on CD so he could listen. He is so incredibly busy, he hasn't had time to read it. But he knew it was important to me, so he surprised me by buying it and listening to it in the car on the way to work every day before taking me to the movie. Such a sweetie.

5. What is your favorite feature of his? His blue eyes melt me every time. And now our baby girl has his baby blues. I also really love his hands. It sounds bizarre because that isn't something I notice on people, but he does have really nice hands.

6. What is his best quality? He has the patience of a saint. He is calm and optimistic. And he is one of the most kind and helpful people I've ever met.

7. Does he have a nick name for you? Sweet pea

8. What is his favorite food? He loves peaches. I don't know what his favorite food is because his favorite thing is to never get the same thing twice. He loves to try new stuff. His does love oatmeal cookies though!

9. What is his favorite sport? He likes watching football with me, but as far as playing, I'd say golf. Though he likes playing racquetball with me too...

10.When and where was your first kiss? We went on a few dates the week he was in Denver. Our first kiss was the night before he left back for OK. We were at my apartment and we had just finished watching my favorite movie, The Princess Bride.

11. What is your favorite thing to do as a couple? He loves it when we cook together. I love watching movies together. We both really enjoy playing games with friends.

12. Do you have children? Our boys are 6 and 5 and our girl just turned 2.

13. Does he have hidden talents? I don't know how hidden they are because he uses them to help people all the time, but he is great at fixing things. He helps with computers, cars, and random odd jobs around the house. Totally doesn't surprise me that he chose surgery.

14. How old is he? He is almost exactly 6 months younger than me. He is still 31.

15. Who said I love you first? I did. We were holding hands and getting ready to walk across a street in Santa Fe. I pulled him back to the sidewalk and said I loved him.

16. His favorite music? The Cure, but he loves lots of kinds. He played in the band in college.

17. What do you admire most about him? He is an incredibly hard worker. Completely selfless. Compassionate and caring. He can tell when someone needs help and will be there in a second.

18. What is his favorite color? green

19. Will he read this? Yes. I have my posts emailed to him. :) We use the computer a lot more these days to keep in touch. It has kept me sane. I'm hoping he will leave a comment with all of the corrections. hee hee I'm sure I got a few of these wrong. I LOVE YOU, MY BRADLEY!

20. Who do you tag? anyone else missing their hubby as much as I am, but you've probably all done this already, huh

Avoiding crisis living

***Before I get started on my post, a few pictures are on the cookie blog...***

Who me? Live in crisis? Nah. Couldn't be me!

In my church ward, I work with the 'Young Women', the gals ages 12-18. Today we had an awesome lesson on Avoiding Crisis Living. Probably written just for me. No one could need that lesson as much as I do. :) But just in case some of you are as overwhelmed as I am during the holidays, I thought I'd share. Here is an except:


1. Establish priorities. Each week or each day, consider what you have to do; then decide which things are most important. Do the most important things first.

2. Eliminate unimportant things. You may find that some of your activities only waste time and do not add much to your life. Eliminate the unimportant things.

3. Improve work and study habits. Discipline yourself to work and study hard. Start on long-term projects well before they are due.

4. Recognize your limitations. Remember that no one can do everything. Be realistic in your expectations of yourself. Avoid comparing your abilities with those of others.

In Doctrine and Covenants 10:4 it says. "Do not run faster or labor more than you have strength and means provided..."

We also talked a little bit about money management. Again, maybe I'm the only one with money issues, but if not:


1. Church Contributions

“I often wonder if we realize that paying our tithing does not represent giving gifts to the Lord and the Church. Paying tithing is discharging a debt to the Lord. The Lord is the source of all our blessings, including life itself.

“The payment of tithing is a commandment, a commandment with a promise. If we obey this commandment, we are promised that we will ‘prosper in the land.’ This prosperity consists of more than material goods—it may include enjoying good health and vigor of mind. It includes family solidarity and spiritual increase. I hope those of you not presently paying your full tithe will seek the faith and strength to do so. As you discharge this obligation to your Maker, you will find great, great happiness, the like of which is known only by those who are faithful to this commandment” (N. Eldon Tanner, in Conference Report, Oct. 1979, p. 119; or Ensign, Nov. 1979, p. 81).

2. Debt

“The First Presidency would like to urge every member of the Church to follow the example set by the Church and to live within his income. Anyone who lives beyond his income is inviting disaster. Borrowed money is not income. … Borrowing to live on is unsound, whether it be an outright loan or installment buying. We urge the members to be frugal, thrifty, industrious, temperate, saving, and to live righteously” (J. Reuben Clark, Jr., quoted in “Making Money More Valuable,” Relief Society Magazine, Oct. 1957, p. 695).

“You should do everything you can to get out of debt and to stay solvent. I realize you need credit to buy your homes, or possibly advance your education, and sometimes transportation, but outside of this, you should pay as you go” (Ezra Taft Benson, “The Gospel Teacher and His Message,” address given to religious educators, 17 Sept. 1976).

3. Savings

“If you wish to get rich, save what you get. A fool can earn money; but it takes a wise man to save and dispose of it to his own advantage” (Brigham Young, Discourses of Brigham Young, sel. John A. Widtsoe [Salt Lake City: Deseret Book Co., 1941], p. 292).

“I would respectfully urge you to live by the fundamental principles of work, thrift, and self-reliance. … Live within your own earnings. Put a portion of those earnings regularly into savings” (Ezra Taft Benson, The Teachings of Ezra Taft Benson [Salt Lake City: Bookcraft, 1988], pp. 262–63).

“Whether early in life or late, we must all eventually learn to discipline ourselves, our appetites, and our economic desires. How blessed is he who learns to spend less than he earns and puts something away for a rainy day” (N. Eldon Tanner, “Constancy Amid Change,” Ensign, Nov. 1979, p. 81).

4. Self-Discipline

“If you cannot obtain all you wish for today, learn to do without that which you cannot purchase and pay for; and bring your minds into subjection that you must and will live within your means” (Brigham Young, Discourses of Brigham Young, p. 293).

“I have discovered that there is no way that you can ever earn more than you can spend. I am convinced that it is not the amount of money an individual earns that brings peace of mind as much as it is having control of his money. Money can be an obedient servant but a harsh taskmaster. Those who structure their standard of living to allow a little surplus, control their circumstances. Those who spend a little more than they earn are controlled by their circumstances. They are in bondage. … The key to spending less than we earn is simple—it is called discipline” (N. Eldon Tanner, “Constancy Amid Change,” p. 81).

5. Budgeting

“No matter how much or how little we have to live on each week or month, it needs to be used wisely. We need to decide on a budget and live within it. Some claim living within a budget takes the fun out of life and is too restrictive. But those who avoid the inconvenience of a budget must suffer the pains of living outside of it. The Church operates within a budget. Successful business functions within a budget. Families free of crushing debt have a budget. Budget guidelines encourage better performance and management” (Marvin J. Ashton, “It’s No Fun Being Poor,” Ensign, Sept. 1982, p. 75).

6. Honesty

“Be honest in all your financial affairs. The ideal of integrity will never go out of style. It applies to all we do. As leaders and members of the Church, we should be the epitome of integrity” (N. Eldon Tanner, in Conference Report, Oct. 1979, p. 121; or Ensign, Nov. 1979, p. 82).

“It is a sin to lie. Being trapped in the snares of dishonesty and misrepresentation does not happen instantaneously. One little lie or dishonest act leads to another until the perpetrator is caught in the web of deceit. …

“In all of our words and deeds we should ask ourselves, ‘Is it right? Is it true?’ not ‘Is it expedient, satisfactory, convenient, or profitable?’ ” (Marvin J. Ashton, in Conference Report, Apr. 1982, pp. 11, 13; or Ensign, May 1982, pp. 9, 11).

Hope this can help you as much as it helped me!

Need extra room for company?

Do you have company coming to town for Christmas? If you need a place for them to stay, our walk-out basement is open! We usually rent it to rotating medical students, but Christmas season is slow. The apartment has its own living room, dining area, kitchenette with sink, fridge, separate freezer, and microwave. The bedroom has 2 beds and 2 dressers and a closet. Bedding, towels, dishes, etc. are all provided. There is a full bathroom down there as well, plus access to the laundry. The price is $200 for an entire week. There is plenty of parking as we live on a dead-end street. There is a separate entrance as well, so you will have complete privacy and probably will never even see us, though I can’t promise you won’t hear us! :) We have opening clear through January, so let me know! I am going to put it on Craigslist, but I'd much rather help out someone I know. You can't get a hotel for a week at this price! Also, if you are willing to use inflatable beds, sleeping bags, couches, etc. you could get a LOT of people down there!

Coolest clock on the block

Apparently my laptop hates Blogger. Or Blogger hates my laptop. I can't get any sites to pull up on it now. And I've been trying to load this video since yesterday. Argh! Glad I have a desktop too!

You want my clock, admit it. Actually, it is Brad's clock. My mom gave it to him as a graduation present from medical school. It is the easiest way to get in the Christmas spirit. There are 12 regular songs, but there are also 3 Christmas songs.

Here is a picture of another decoration I forgot to mention, my snowmen. I made them years ago... I think before Jamo was born. And they aren't heavily damaged yet. Remarkable...

And if you love Twilight and Facebook, this is pretty funny:


http://www.omnivoracious.com/2008/12/meyerbook-bella.html

Prayers appreciated!

Travis and Resa are still having problems with the birth father. While I am sympathetic to his plight, he is in no shape to raise a child right now. I will spare you the details, but you can go to Resa's blog if you would like to read them.

http://travisjonesfamily.blogspot.com/

We would surely appreciate prayers to keep this happy little family together. And for peace and acceptance of the Lord's plan for them. Thank you!

Snow!

I decorated finally!

Today I woke up late. Not that it mattered because as I opened the garage door, it wouldn't budge. Ugh. Seriously?! Seriously. Can't get the van out if the door doesn't open! I called the school and told them Jamo was going to be late. Called Carrie to see if she could take him. Tried to chip off the ice with a shovel. Jenny drove by and tried to help me lift if manually. Nothing. Later I noticed the cable was snapped, so I called a repair guy. He got here at 5. Said the spring was broken too. (It is obviously broken, I just didn't know what I was looking for. He isn't trying to screw us). But since I told him it was the cable, he didn't bring a spring. Can't come back out until tomorrow afternoon. Yeesh. But he did work on it for awhile and got it fixed to the point that it opened manually and I got the van out. So, I'll be digging the van out of a pile of snow tomorrow morning. Ugh. That is why I love my garage! At least he got the van out. Not that we can afford another ridiculous repair after the main line clog. Sheesh. Why, oh why, do these things happen to me?!

And in Christmas news, I finally got the sparse decorations up. We aren't doing much as far as decorations go this year. I tried to do it yesterday, but made a huge mistake. Asked the boys to come to the basement and help me bring up the boxes. And they found all of the toys I planned to get rid of. Yipes. Much weeping, wailing, and gnashing of teeth commenced. How dare I give away all of their favorite toys?! Needless to say, no decorating got done yesterday. But tonight, we got the tree decorated. I hung up the advent calendar, garland and wreath, and even managed to hang some lights out doors while it snowed and then rained(?!?!) on me. We are talking the barest of bare decorations, people. And if anyone has suggestions on where to hang the stockings, I'm open to ideas. I thought about maybe down in the rental since there is a fireplace there. But then we wouldn't them much. But maybe that is a good thing. Thoughts?

Oh, and here is a story I forgot to blog about. Someone stole our 'for sale' sign. I thought maybe it fell and got buried under snow, but no, it was taken. Yesterday someone left the box that holds fliers under one of the trees. And then this evening, they left the main sign, without the writing part, just the metal, in the dead end street. What in the world? It makes no sense to take it and even less sense to bring it back piece by piece. Hopefully they will bring the topper back tomorrow as that is the part Marilyn missed the most.

Last thing, pictures on cookie blog! No more of my Q baby, but some cute ones of Stinkerbell as Tinkerbell, the boys sporting jerseys with matching numbers, and the Christmas decorations. The funny thing about the jerseys are that the one Roo is wearing is Brad's from eons ago and Jamo is wearing his from this basketball season.

Here is a warning

You have to show this to your hubbies after you dry your tears from laughing so hard.

http://bewareofthedoghouse.com/videoPage.aspx

Quentin!

Okay, I got some picutes of sweet baby Q! Check out the cookie blog if you want to see him and all his cuteness!

Overload!

Lots of pictures and videos over on cookie. Stinker birthday stuff. Cute picture of Quentin, so delish! Roo's professional birthday pictures. Jamo's school and basketball pictures. Oh, and the videos are of snow, and Jamo playing basketball. I finally got to scan all the pictures, because Brad, being the ever so studly guy he is, was able to fix it when he came home last week. Was it just last week that he was here? Why does it seem like it was forever ago? And, as always, if you need an invite into the cookie (picture) blog, just get me your email.

Birthday surprise!

First, I have to say that Brad helped me fix my laptop from a distance last night. It is working great again and I have access to private blogs once more. YEAH! He is one amazing man.

It snowed this morning. I should have known it wouldn't bode well for me.

I took Stinker to Wal-Mart to do her birthday shopping and get her birthday pictures. At least Stinker hasn't taken scissors to her hair yet. She was asleep when Roo did that. Besides, she doesn't have enough on top to cut anyway. She does, however, have a huge bruise on her cheek. She whacked Roo, and he tackled her and she landed head first in our Little People Nativity Set. It is quite a bruise. Of course it would happen right before pictures. Anyhoo, the grandmas sent money so we could pick what she needs. I gotta say, I really love that. My original plan when I arrived, was to get her pictures done in her pretty blue dress first. But the photographer was helping someone else and said it would be 15-20 minutes. I asked if there were openings in an hour, and she said I'd have to wait so she could check because she was busy. Uh, no thanks. Stinker and I had a blast shopping, and then my phone rang. As soon as my mom said, "Guess what!" I practically screamed, QUENTIN!!! Yeah! Travis, Resa, and David drove as fast as they could from CA to AZ, but Q beat them there by an hour. If you make it through the slide shows, there is the only picture I have of him in all his cuteness. I can hardly wait to get more, but I know that they are just cherishing every second with him and haven't gotten a chance to send many pictures out yet. I am just so excited that Quentin and Stinker get to share a birthday! It sure will make it easier to remember, and as scatterbrained as I've been lately, it will help!

Stinker and I finished our shopping, and headed back to the picture studio. She was with another family this time. Said I could wait in the waiting room. Great. Decided to unload groceries instead. Kept Stinker busy with a sucker. She was sticky head to toe. And somehow, in that hour, her white hose had tons of brown scuff marks. And the bathrooms were closed for cleaning. Of course. Pleaded with the janitor for paper towels. Wait some more.

She finally got us in. Asked when the last time we'd been there. October 13th. "Oh, well, that is the same promotional period, so I can't give you the discount rate." Like heck you can't. I told her it was $4.99 last time and it is $7.99 now and that isn't the same. When did it start in October. She didn't know. Can she look it up? "No. I'll just give you the discount and get in trouble." I'm not asking you to get in trouble. Just look up when the stupid promotion began or something. "No, no, I'll just do it." Fine. Stinker smiled about once. Then she refused to sit. Refused to smile. Didn't want to play. It was past nap time by this point. She kept using a feather duster trying to get Stinker to smile. I asked if she had anything else. Props? Distractions? Something glittery? Something sparkly? Something noisy? "No. There is nothing else. Just this reindeer." Seriously? You take pictures of kids all day and the only smile motivator you have is a feather duster and a reindeer? No props? Nothing? You've got to be kidding. She said to wait awhile and maybe she would be in a better mood. I said, "No, we've already been here for an hour. This isn't going to get better." I mean seriously? Is she going to go buy something cool to use as a prop or smile inducer? Because if not, what is the point of staying. So I just left. I'm going to have to try a different store again tomorrow. But Stinker's pretty blue dress is pretty sticky, so I don't know what I'll put her in.

It snowed the whole drive home while Brad let me complain about said photographer. He is so good to me. Stinker was asleep before I got home. I unloaded her and the purchases. Wrapped presents. Helped the boys get more icicles. Ordered a birthday pizza. Ate said pizza and then it was off to the Y for swimming lessons. I couldn't resist the opportunity to have some hot tub time. Ahhhhh. I love sitting in a hot tub and watching snow outside. Waited outside the men's locker room for 30 minutes for the boys to come out. Argh! Family locker rooms people! Look into it! Got home late, but Shan, Zac and Lindsey were still there. Helped me take pictures and video because I only have 2 hands. Love them. Then it was try to get the hyped up kids to bed. And blog about the insanity. :)

Aliens

Surely my children would never do such things!

Why would my dear sweet 5 year old decide to cut his hair with scissors for trimming babies' fingernails? Doesn't he know we have family pictures coming up?

And why would my precious and innocent 2 year old be irresistibly drawn to coloring rainbows on all of our freshly painted walls? This isn't the Sistine Chapel, you know. I don't need murals all over the halls and rooms. Couldn't her brothers manage to keep all of their crayons, pens, and pencils out of her reach?

Apparently aliens have abducted my children because mine would never do such things when their mom is already teetering on insanity.

Don't worry. 2 dozen freshly baked chocolate chip cookies seem to have fixed the problem. Though not the problem with my internet which is not allowing me to look at private blogs for some annoying reason.

Baa!

I'm such a sheep. Here's my list. :)

1. Started your own blog
2. Slept under the stars
3. Played in a band
4. Visited Hawaii
5. Watched a meteor shower
6. Given more than you can afford to charity
7. Been to Disneyland
8. Climbed a mountain
9. Held a praying mantis
10. Sang a solo
11. Bungee jumped - does that big ol' swing at Lagoon count. ;)
12. Visited Paris
13. Watched a lightning storm at sea
14. Taught yourself an art from scratch
15. Adopted a child
16. Had food poisoning
17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty
18. Grown your own vegetables
19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France
20. Slept on an overnight train - Vienna to Venice, it was awful
21. Had a pillow fight
22. Hitch hiked
23. Taken a sick day when you’re not ill
24. Built a snow fort
25. Held a lamb
26. Gone skinny dipping
27. Run a Marathon
28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice - we didn't even think of it while we were there, such slackers
29. Seen a total eclipse
30. Watched a sunrise or sunset - from the top of Timpanogos even
31. Hit a home run
32. Been on a cruise
33. Seen Niagara Falls in person
34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors
35. Seen an Amish community
36. Taught yourself a new language - with Brad's help
37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied
38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person
39. Gone rock climbing
40. Seen Michelangelo’s David
41. Sung karaoke
42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt
43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant
44. Visited Africa
45. Walked on a beach by moonlight
46. Been transported in an ambulance
47. Had your portrait painted
48. Gone deep sea fishing
49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person - does the outside count? it was closed the day I went. :(
50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris
51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling
52. Kissed in the rain
53. Played in the mud
54. Gone to a drive-in theater
55. Been in a movie
56. Visited the Great Wall of China
57. Started a business - anyone need a VHS turned into DVD? I had 3 customers
58. Taken a martial arts class
59. Visited Russia
60. Served at a soup kitchen
61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies
62. Gone whale watching
63. Got flowers for no reason
64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma
65. Gone sky diving
66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp
67. Bounced a check
68. Flown in a helicopter
69. Saved a favorite childhood toy
70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial
71. Eaten Caviar
72. Pieced a quilt - shudder
73. Stood in Times Square
74. Toured the Everglades
75. Been fired from a job - from babysitting of all things
76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London
77. Broken a bone
78. Been on a speeding motorcycle
79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person
80. Published a book
81. Visited the Vatican
82. Bought a brand new car
83. Walked in Jerusalem
84. Had your picture in the newspaper
85. Read the entire Bible
86. Visited the White House
87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating
88. Had chickenpox - I still have two scars on my forehead :)
89. Saved someone’s life
90. Sat on a jury
91. Met someone famous
92. Joined a book club
93. Lost a loved one
94. Had a baby
95. Seen the Alamo in person
96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake
97. Been involved in a law suit
98. Owned a cell phone
99. Been stung by a bee
100. Totally copied a post from someone else's blog to your own

Counting my blessings

I'm watching the Extreme Home Makeover that took place in our town here in MI. Okay, truth be told, I missed the first half, so I'm not exactly sure what happened, but this is what I think happened. A nurse at the hospital Brad used to work at died recently after contracting Hep C after getting stuck while working on a sick patient. The same thing has happened to Brad. It makes me grateful that he hasn't contracted anything as a result. It was scary enough that he had to go and get regular testing. Ugh. I know it isn't a dangerous job like firefighter, police, soldier, etc., but there is still danger involved. I try to not think about it, but it is part of the reality.

I've been spending the weekend crying because I'm not going to be able to move out to Philadelphia with Brad until our house sells or gets rented. Essentially, December is out of the picture. I was so sad to think of spending more time without him. But then I watched this show, and I couldn't even imagine being without him for the rest of my life on earth. At least I know that I'll be back with him in the near future, even if months don't seem very near right now.

Countdown

Is anyone else as anxious as I am for Christmas to get here?

I love the snow that came today. It is beautiful. I just wish Brad wasn't driving home in this mess.

Unusual Thanksgiving

Well, if something bad is going to happen, at least the timing was perfect.

On Tuesday, after declaring my hiatus, my internet went down. I'm not really sure what time, as I was reading and totally into The Host. I ended up reading until 4 am that morning. Yes, it sucked me in! At least the kids slept in and I got over 5 hours of sleep. Wednesday the internet still wasn't working. I spent a lot of time on the phone with the useless tech support. They said they couldn't send anyone out until Friday. I guess it didn't bother me that much since I was still completely engrossed in The Host, but it did make things like finding a shuttle for Brad's dad to get here difficult. I didn't realize how much I needed the internet! For looking up phone numbers, addresses, etc, not just blogging. It was made somewhat easier by the internet on my phone. Sure am grateful for that little feature! I got The Host finished and really did end up loving it. I would probably put it after Eclipse and Twilight and before Breaking Dawn and New Moon on my favorites list for Stephenie. I would definitely recommend it for a good read, especially if your internet is down anyway. By that evening, both Brad and his dad had made it here safely. Words can't explain how grateful I was to have Brad home again. He makes me feel whole again.

Thursday was Thanksgiving. I was desperately in need of a break from kids. I dreaded being apart from Brad, but knew they needed some daddy time. My friend Jill just got back from Ukraine last week with her two adorable children, Keith and Kristina. With my situation being what it is, I wouldn't have a lot of chances to go visit them before moving further away. So, I got to spend 4 heavenly hours with nothing but my thoughts and music. No kids fighting, no one asking me for this that or the other, no responsibility other than obeying the speed limit, and music that I got to pick. Her children are adorable. Such sweeties. I haven't been to a Sonic since OK, but the one there was closed for Thanksgiving, so Jill and I just went to Burger King for lunch. Then we went to see Twilight together. We'd both seen it already, but we thought it would be fun to see it together. And it was. :) Then we sat around at the theater eating ice cream and chatting for another hour. After that, I had 4 more hours of peace and quiet on the way home. I was definitely grateful for the recharge, but desperately missing Brad too. And maybe the kids a little. :)

Friday Brad woke up bright and early to go a get a few Black Friday deals. Black Friday is sooooo not my thing. I avoid shopping whenever I can. Then he came back and got the kids to go pick out a toy. He really missed them and wanted to do a little spoiling. The internet guy came while Brad was shopping with the kids. The internet guy declared that our modem was dead. Lovely. Brad was still out shopping, so he was able to get one before coming home. I spent Friday reading Stephenie's copy of Midnight Sun. Dang. Dang. Dang. I wish, oh how I wish, that she would finish it. It is my favorite book so far, even more than Eclipse, and it isn't even finished. Oh, the injustice. I'm just such a romantic, and to read page after page of how deeply he loves her just melts me. Sigh. There were so many tied endings in MS. Like what he actually did do to Lonnie. How Ben asked out Angela, and a hundred other little details that I loved reading about. Dang. Dang. Dang. We had our turkey dinner that night, but it was all pretty low-key. Just the basics. I needed a break, not a huge elaborate meal. Brad did most of the hard stuff anyway. He just amazes me. He also worked on fixing the internet. If it had broken when he wasn't here, I could have gone weeks without internet. I'm pretty glad it broke while I was absorbed in a book, and when Brad, the ultimate handy-man, was here to fix it.

Brad just amazes me on a hundred different levels. I'd been asking him for months to read Twilight, but when he is reading, it is usually a medical book and he has little time to read for fun. I kinda dropped it, knowing it wasn't fair to push him when he is already so busy. Then last week he called and asked if he could buy it on CD so he could listen as he drove to work. He said he knew it was important to me, so it was important to him. And he did it without concern to the reaction of other guys. In fact, my dear brother revoked his 'man card'. Goof ball. My happiness is paramount to Brad. Everything he does, he does with me in mind. That makes him my Edward. He also is my own personal heater. He lets me warm my cold hands and feet on his constantly warm body. He is Native American, though he isn't part wolf, and that makes him my Jacob. He is also an incredibly talented and dedicated surgeon, and that makes him my Carlisle. Please forgive my mushy ramblings about Brad. I've been suffering without him for nearly 6 weeks, so I've had Brad on my brain lately. It was bound to leak into my blogging...

Friday night, we put Stink to bed, put a movie on for the boys, and left them with his dad so we could go watch Twilight. It was so much more fun for me knowing that he had read it. And to see him catch the changes and differences and be able to talk to him about them. We even started reading New Moon together. I sure love him.

Today, Brad has let me catch up on days of emails, blogs, facebook posts, etc. Right now, they are all out getting their hair cut. My boys really needed one! Tonight we are watching some football! Go Pokes!

I think that is about it for my days without an internet recap. Hope everyone had a wonderful holiday!

Hiatus

I'm taking a blog break so I can finish The Host before my FIL has to take it back to Brooke in OK this Sunday. Totally not into yet, but I hear it gets better, so I'll keep plugging away for now. But really, I just want be reading New Moon right now.

Twilight! AKA embracing my nerdiness

Any long time readers of this blog will know that I've never shied away from embracing my nerdy side. And thanks to that I found some others who love Jim Croce. Now, for us true nerds, are there any Alan Sherman lovers out there? Doesn't count if you have to Google it! :) I've had his music stuck in my head for 2 days. I need to get his CD.

So, it is now time for me to embrace my Twilight nerdiness. I won't be expounding on the finer details of the movie for you who haven't read it yet or who have no desire to do so. I got it out of my system with Becky. :) We talked about the movie for about as long as the movie was! Okay, that is totally an exaggeration. We only talked for half an hour, but I still got it out of my system. Love you, Becky!

Anyway, this blog is about embracing my Twilight nerdiness, not the movie, which I L.O.V.E.D. by the way. I'm going back next week in fact. I digress...

About 11 of us gals decided to have a girls' night out to watch Twilight. We made t-shirts for the occasion too. hee hee Having never had much of a talent for puffy paint and sparkly stuff, I made a shirt using an iron on transfer. Most of the work being done on the computer is more my type of crafting. In fact, I screwed up the shirt once it got to the ironing. I'm truly inept. I'm digressing again. So, 11 of us more mature Twilight fans all got together in a restaurant complete with shirts. I'm sure we looked a sight. :) We chatted and giggled and had a marvelous time. We had a quiz based on the book. I had an unfair advantage, having just read it this week while I was sick. I got the most right and won a prize! Go, Melisa! Go nerdy! Chocolate and pens. A few of my favorite things. Ahhhh... And then we had a vote for the best t-shirt and I came in second to a hilarious shirt that I loved so much I voted for. I also wore my Breaking Dawn necklace I made at the release party and the Twilight bracelet that Dana made. I bought it with the money Brad's mom gave me for me for my birthday, and I've been anxiously awaiting to show it to other Twi-hards. It is red, black, and white, with crystals in some of the beads, and little flecks of sparkle in them. So beautiful! And I got to pick out the charms for it. I picked out an apple, an infinity symbol, a lamb, a lion, and a crystal heart. Yes, I know the crystal heart isn't until Eclipse, but it is my bracelet and I can get what I want. :)

After a yummy dinner and lots of giggling, the ladies decided to descend upon the mall's stores. I am sooooo not a shopper. I did manage to look in a Bath and Body Works though. But that is the extent of my mall shopping. I decided to just go and wait in line so I could save seats for everyone. And due to my expert planning (aka luck), I was at the part of the line that had chairs to sit on. Sweet. So, I sat and read my movie companion while I waited for the movie to start. My mom got it for me when she came last week, and I hadn't had a chance to read it. I figured some time would be spent waiting for the movie to start, so I decided to bring it. And when we were allowed in the theater, I was able to procure some pretty nice seating, if I do say so myself, for all 11 of us.

Since we just got new phones, we have unlimited internet access this month on them. I was able to follow the BYU/UofU game pretty closely on my phone until it got to be obviously one-sided. Yes, yes, that was a good game to miss. :)

And there is my nerdiness for ya. For you gluttons of punishment, I have pictures on the cookie blog of my 2nd place winning shirt, my bracelet, the festivities, etc.

Pre-Twilight post

Yes, I'm going tonight for the first time. :)

Isn't this exciting?!

http://www.twilightlexiconblog.com/?p=2723

Yeah for New Moon! I think they should do all 3 at once. :)

And because I must throw some football into my Twilight post, I'll share this with you too:

I asked Brad if BYU and OSU were playing, who would he cheer for. He said, and I quote:

"My blood is orange, baby. Edward likes to eat cougars, remember?"

After laughing until I cried, I realized I couldn't argue with the logic since he is my Edward. :)

The dilemma

Here is my dilemma. I already bought a ticket for Twilight tomorrow night. I should have put on my calendar that the BYU/UofU game AND the OSU/OU game are on tomorrow night. I'm going to be disowned from both sides of my family! The biggest games of the year and I'm going to miss them both! ARGH!!!! Decisions like these shouldn't have to be made! I've never seen Sophie's Choice and have no clue what it is even about, but let's call this Melisa's Choice. A huge football fan choosing between her favorite teams and one of her favorite books. I can't win, and I can't lose. Well, my teams can lose. And if they do, it might make missing the games easier... WHAT AM I SAYING?!?! Of course I can't want my teams to lose! Do you see what this is doing to me?!

As Matt so wisely said, "May all red teams lose this weekend."

GO COUGS!

GO POKES!

****Update**** Nata-Leigh has informed me that the OSU/OU game is not actually until next week. So, I'm only missing BYU/UofU, which is bad enough, but thankfully I won't be missing both. But I still love watching OU lose, so I'm standing by my original statement of wanting all red reams to lose. And for the record, I am not anti-UofU. I just don't like them when they play the Y. But I am most definitely anti-OU.

You aren't Job!

Quit trying to compete!

Sorry for the long read everybody. I just really really really needed the vent.

I just can't even believe my life. So ridiculous. While I obviously think I have nothing on Job, I can't shake the 'poor me' feeling right now.

I have about 5 loads of laundry to do. That isn't counting the bedding and towels I have from my renter who left yesterday and the one leaving tomorrow. I got the laundry started, but then dashed over to weigh in at the MWLC. I'm a little bitter about it because it takes an hour of my time when I could just hop on and off a scale in 2 seconds. Not too mention Odie's on board computer has been complaining lately that I need to get the oil changed. Of course. Then a quick trip to Blockbuster to return some movies. I came home and while unbuckling Stinker discovered that she had opened my box of chocolate shakes and bit some of the packages. She was quite the dusty mess. I get in the house and there was a message on my machine. Someone wants to look at the house! YEAH! I'm just thrilled! Get done answering some questions and such, and go down to switch out the laundry. And what do my eyes behold?? Water. All over the floor. Truly. I called my favorite plumbing people and they said they could send someone out between 2 and 4. Not too shabby. Then Roo's bus calls. Can he be ready 20 minutes early? The bus driver is in the area and would be late if she dropped off the other kids and had to come back. Sure, why not get him ready while all my stuff in the basement sucks up water. Truth be told, he was already completely ready, being the anxious boy he is, but I just couldn't leave him to get on the bus by himself. Come to find out the bus still has high schoolers on it. Ugh. Is it too late to change my mind? Don't panic, Melisa. This isn't a big deal. If nothing else, the kid knows how to scream. :)

You would think all of these phone calls with plumbers, interested buyers, bus depots, etc, wouldn't be that stressful, but every time I get on the phone, Stinky is screaming 'Daddy! Daddy!' and trying to grab the phone. Sad on so many levels, but still frustrating. It isn't always daddy on the phone.

If I'm going to be in the flooded basement, I should find something for Stinker to do. Well, it is nap time! Seeing as how she is on the tail end of illness, she is in the diarrhea phase. Lovely. Have I mentioned I've been super nauseous the last 2 days? Diarrhea doesn't help nausea. Just so you know. Change the second, oh so lovely, diaper of the day and get her down for a nap. Plumbers call to say they can come now. GREAT!

Head downstairs to start sorting through the disaster. Ugh. My poor friends are now sucked into my chaotic life. I think I mentioned we have a massive basement we aren't really using, right? So, I let my friend Natalie put some stuff down there before they moved. There is so much room down there, it wouldn't be in the way at all. And then I told Shannon she could hide a Christmas present there too. I won't say what since this is a public blog and kids could see it, but think super expensive. Not to mention all of the stuff I took down there when we started packing. And now there is a bunch of water. Gag. I start moving boxes to drier ground. And when I got to a wet box, if it was books or the like, I took them out to dry. THANKFULLY, most of the water was absorbed by the cardboard and the books got very little in the way of moisture. In all, we got away relatively easy. It didn't even get to Shannon's box. Hallelujah!

The plumber shows up and gets to work. Says the main line is backed up. Nice. Gets his big drilling tool and has at it. Tells me that flushable wipes (Kandoos) are in fact not flushable. They don't disintegrate like TP and shouldn't be considered flushable. Good to know! If there is a bright side to any of this, besides the damage to boxes being minimal, it is that the water that backed up was from the laundry, and not the toilets. Can I get a Hallelujah?! I was pretty grateful, let me tell you. It all cost a pretty penny. Especially considering I'm trying to figure out where we will get a first and last months rent for Philly while paying a mortgage in Lansing. Anyone want to rent a lovely 6 bedroom home? Sigh.

And in the midst of all of this, the fabulous missionaries came to help with my leaves. For some reason, having an open house, sick kids, becoming sick yourself, and then getting a flooded basement all while your hubby is out of state leaves very little time for raking leaves. Imagine that.

Lest you all think I am nothing but calm, cool and collected, I'll share another little tidbit with you. My curtain hanger on the door, isn't staying in. I tried to push it in, but no. So, what does any sane person do? They whack it with the side of their hand and try to force it in, right? Of course not. Here is another tip. If you are going to take out aggressions by hitting something, hit some smooth and flat and preferably soft. Do not hit something narrow and round and hard . I can't even write right now, though thankfully typing is still possible. Lovely. And if you even made it through this rambling recap of the last few hours, you will be rewarded with pictures on the cookie blog. They aren't up yet, but should be by the time you read all of this. ;)

And yes, I moved the boxes, vacuumed the water, and sprayed bleach before blogging. I'm not a total slacker.

20 seconds

In the 20 seconds it took for me to open the van door and get out Roo's coat, Stinker snuck out to the garage. I came back in, went to grab Roo a snack and started looking for Stink. Then I heard muffled wails. I opened the garage door and there she stood with her puppy and baby. Man, she is fast.

tmi

It is really hard to balance a barf bowl in your lap while you hold your 2 yr old who wants to play with it. Calet is being so clingy today, and it is not the best day to spend it holding her. Sigh...

So, I'm going to spend my sick day doing nothing. Except reading Twilight yet again in anticipation of this weekend. And goofing off on the computer. And remembering why I keep putting off pregnancy. I hate puking.

And if you are curious, last night went much better. Not perfect, but lots of improvements. But it is getting really really REALLY hard to carry my boys back to their bedroom. My boys are growing up!! Sigh

Going commando

No, you Friends fans, I'm not talking about what I wear under my pants. I'm talking about commando parenting. You know what I'm talking about. Kids aren't listening to a word you are saying. You are fed up. Don't want to resort to spanking. So you have to find another way to make them so miserable they wish they had listened to you. I think Erin will remember what I'm talking about since she was in the cross-fire of another commando parenting episode a couple of years ago. We were taking Erin and her kids to their car, but had to stop and get Jamo from Pre-K before going. Roo was throwing a fit, took off his seatbelt and refused to put it back on. I told him if he wanted to be in the car, he'd better put on his seatbelt or he was getting out of the car. He again refused, so Brad pulled over, I got out with Roo, and we sat in the parking lot as Brad drove off to get Jamo. It worked for a couple of reasons. It was warm enough that it wasn't child abuse to sit in the parking lot for 10 minutes. He has never had a similar episode since either. The problems being 1) a lot of the very kind people in OK stopped to ask why I was sitting by the road with a wailing 3 yr old and 2) it was across the street from the fire station, so we had fire trucks stopping to ask if we were okay. Sigh. At least it worked.

Tonight, the commando parenting involved 1) separating the boys 2) turning off the side lamp 3) turning off the hall light and standing in the hall the whole time to make sure they were obeying. Roo was so upset he weeped, wailed and moaned for 20 minutes. Which is frankly a good thing. It means I found something that has bothered him enough to get some results. Hopefully tomorrow they will actually listen when I tell them it is bed time rather than having to take it to the weeping and wailing stage. I can't wait until Brad is back and I have reinforcements.

Laughing my head off!

Okay, this is sooooo funny! It is totally mocking Twilight, but seriously, it is hilarious.

http://movies.msn.com/movies/galleryfeature/lost-twilight-script/

And you have to read the whole script, so go to more on each picture. There are only 10 pictures, so it is worth your time.

Oh, and if you haven't read Twilight, don't go and read this. It is totally spoiler-y. And even though it is dang funny, you probably won't get some of the humor. And also, why haven't you read it yet!?!?!

If you go check it out, leave me a comment and tell me which was your favorite because I'm that curious. My favorite was #2. "your undead badonkadonk" HAHAHA! I'm dying here, people. And no, I don't get out enough. Thanks for asking.

Sorry!

I don't know how I let this day get away. Oh yeah, Stinker is sick and extremely clingy. The boys won't stay in bed. I'm going crazy.

So, here is my big news! I'm going to be an aunt again times 2 (and maybe 3)!!!

I mentioned this ever so slyly before, but now I'm coming out and saying it! My sister is having a baby girl!!! She is due during the middle of March Madness. But I'll bet the baby comes early because I can't imagine a Jones/Woahn baby missing basketball! :)

And Travis and Resa are adopting a little baby boy! They are beyond thrilled. Our hearts have been aching (I'm crying as I write this) with them since they lost Alexander nearly 2 years ago. This little boy has been eagerly awaited! The birth mom is due in December, right around Travis' birthday. Their foster son, David, is going to be an amazing big brother. He is such a sweet and thoughtful kid. If they are able to adopt David as well, it would make me an aunt times 3! My parents could go from being grandparents of 3 to grandparents of 6 all within a few months! My kids are going to love having cousins at the Jones reunions! Wahoo!

On Brad's side, we have Aeryn to love and snuggle. We miss her so much. The girls are only weeks apart and I hope we can get them together often.

My first poll

I posted my first poll about blogs and music. I have found that I need to keep my sound off on my laptop because so many blogs are playing music at once and then I can't listen to what I had on. Am I the only one experiencing this? I'm totally not complaining. I get that blogs are our own place to do what we want, say what we want, and express what we want. I wouldn't want to squash people's expression. But is there a happy medium? Like not having the music on auto-play or something? Am I the only one even thinking about this?

Okay, I have some totally exciting news I'm going to be posting tomorrow, so check back. :)

Irresistible

Okay, I know you guys are already sick of me blogging today, but I couldn't resist this! So dang funny. And I don't even like Star Wars. Don't hate me for admitting that, by the way. My awesome aunt, Susan, sent it to me.

http://www.stupidvideos.com/video/song_dance/John_Williams_A_Cappella/#213523

Revenge, Melisa style

In honor of my friendly neighborhood vandal, I'm putting up a picture I got from Elizabeth's blog.

Just click on it to make it bigger.


I didn't ask permission, but she gave me permission for the Obama Christmas story, so I'm going to assume she is still open to me stealing her stuff. :) Thanks Elizabeth!

Hey haters!

Okay, I was taking Jamo to school today and apparently someone is upset that I used my constitutional right to vote to vote for McCain/Palin. They tried to pull out the 'for sale' sign, knocked the box with flyers to the ground, and then threw an Obama sign over their handiwork. It makes me wish I still had my McCain sign so I could put it back out. Thankfully no eggs were thrown, no other noticeable damage was done, my mail was still in the mailbox and my van remained safely in the garage.

Being drastic

I have fallen off the weight loss bandwagon. I could tell you it was because of the whole move thing, but truthfully, I've been at a plateau a lot longer than that. I couldn't seem to get myself to get back to work. So, I'm going to put this blog out there so I can hopefully have more accountability. Unfortunately, I'm a chicken and am not willing to make it a public blog at this point. It has a lot of personal and incriminating stuff on there. Ya'll are welcome to read it, but please be gentle with your comments and such. It is still a sensitive thing for me. And keep in mind that I started it thinking it wouldn't be shared with the public at large, so it is probably a bit rough around the edges, shall we say? I'm definitely not sending out a mass invitation for this blog, but if you want in, just let me know. If I sent you an invite to the cookie blog but you didn't accept it, it automatically deletes after a month. Just so you know, you weren't un-invited.

Having said all of this, I finally got my butt back to the gym today. YEAH! It felt great, of course.

By special request

Thanks, Nata-Leigh, for making me feel loved and missed! I never thought I could be missed after 3 days. I would have thought you'd appreciate the break. ;)

So, I'm trying to come up with some excitement to share. Hmmmm, got some boxes so I can start packing all of the clutter (Thanks Elaine!). Have only used 2 of said boxes. But I did get the toy room cleaned (AGAIN). The only room I have left to do is the study. And boy, does it need a lot of work. I keep putting it off. Naughty me. It is just going to be so miserable to do and I can't bring myself to do it after the crazy few weeks I've had. Think of your junk drawer and what a disorganized mess it is. Now imagine it being the size of a bedroom. And there you see my problem. I've spent an hour here and an hour there, but what it really needs is a lot of undivided attention and a lot of boxes to start packing all the clutter.

We haven't had so much as a nibble on the house, which might be considered a good thing until I get the study done. But, all 20 of the papers in the "Take One" box are gone. I had to make a copy and put more out there. So, if nothing else, there is at least some "silent interest" if that is even a phrase. At least 20 people were interested enough to grab a paper. We'll see how fast the next batch goes.

Stink is being a stink. She has decided to potty train herself. Every time I change her diaper, she wants to go potty, nay, INSISTS that she goes to sit on the potty. Really, I think she just likes to get out the wipes. She is going through a TP and toilet wipes phase. It is driving me a little bonkers.

I am in love with all of my new birthday stuff. My phone rocks. My purse rocks. My new bling rocks. My sunglasses rock. And by rock I mean that I love them. Even if no one else liked them, I do. A lot. I am one happy camper.

I am missing Brad tons the last few days. We got free texting this month so we could communicate at will. But with our new phones and the data plan thing, we could chat on msn messanger all day instead. All day being the rare moments he has between patients. Being the old school kinda gal that I am, I sent him this:

If I could save time in a bottle
The first thing that Id like to do
Is to save every day
Till eternity passes away
Just to spend them with you

If I could make days last forever
If words could make wishes come true
I'd save every day like a treasure and then,
Again, I would spend them with you

But there never seems to be enough time
To do the things you want to do
Once you find them
Ive looked around enough to know
That you're the one I want to go
Through time with

If I had a box just for wishes
And dreams that had never come true
The box would be empty
Except for the memory
Of how they were answered by you

If you are too cool to recognize this song, it is Time in a Bottle by Jim Croce. Yes, I fully embrace my nerdiness. Anyhoo, I heard it in the car the other day and started crying. This being apart for weeks on end kinda stinks.

What had been intended to be a short little post has now become incredibly long. I probably should have cut it in half so I'd have something to talk about tomorrow. :)

Virtual tour link added

I added a link to the virtual tour on the cookie blog. :)

Thirty-two!

I love getting older. I have no hesitance whatsoever to proudly announce my age. I have had an amazing life and happily accept every year it brings.

I had such a wonderful birthday. I feel very blessed indeed. It was hard being away from Brad though. I did go and buy a cake. A mini cake for the kids to share. I got a pumpkin roll. Yum! No, I don't plan to eat the whole thing. But it is my birthday and I wanted a pumpkin roll cake. And I got a bottle of sparkling grape juice. All of the money I got is already spent. :) And I love my stuff. And my new phone. Well, I haven't had a chance to give my phone uninterrupted attention yet. Maybe tomorrow...

Oy, what a day!

Last night I woke up to vomiting sounds at 3 am. Probably my least favorite way to wake up. My favorite being a rainy morning with Brad next to me and no alarm clock to wake us up. The benefit of being older is that the boys are usually great about puking in bowls or the toilet, but apparently this one caught Jamo by surprise. He had said the night before that he thought he was going to puke, but he wasn't acting very serious about it. Shows me. So, I cleaned up a lot of the puke on the floor, but didn't do the scouring because I was exhausted. (For the record, I did get the scouring done this morning before voting).

I had such a big day planned today. Sigh. Rachel was going to watch Stinker. I was going to go to the Medical Weight Loss Center, register my cars (again, as the last time didn't work out), go to Roo's parent/teacher conference, head to the bank, Blockbuster, vote, get the van's oil changed, and then head over to JC Penney to spend my birthday money on a GREATLY needed new purse. Guess how much of that I got to do today? Right. Vote and parent/teacher conference (a million THANKS Shan!!! And folding my laundry too. You rock!). Oh well. Those were the 2 most important things. Besides, now I'll get to do the shopping tomorrow on my actual birthday as Rachel agreed to take Stink tomorrow instead. Angel woman, I tell ya. I am getting a new purse! And my new phone will be arriving! My bracelet from Brad's dad and sister arrived yesterday and I'm already wearing it. (shhh, don't tell! :) )

Oh, and in exciting news, the listing for the house is up!!! And yes, I know I'm in the picture. Duh, Melisa. Just what I need. A side profile shot in my house picture. Ugh. The virtual tour should be up today sometime too. Anyone want a fabulous house??? And just because I'm that goofy, I'm not putting the link on here. I don't exactly want to advertise my address. It is one thing to have your address out there, and another to have someone link your blog to your address. So, dash over to the cookie blog. Come on. It's easy. Just click the big, fat link over there. If we know you at all, or even if you are a friend of a friend, you are welcome to check it out. It is just meant to keep out the sickos. Of which I am sure, none of you are. :)

And one more thing, GO VOTE!!!

Slackeriest Halloween ever!

I know slackeriest isn't a word. But it fits. I did nothing for Halloween. Didn't buy or carve a single pumpkin. Didn't get out a single item of decoration. Didn't put a moments thought into costumes. I just let the kids go through the dress up box and pick something. Jamo grabbed some stuff he thought Pikachu would wear and took his Pokemon ball. Roo used his Hulk slippers and hands. Stinker put on a Dora backpack and a tutu.

We usually give away a lot of candy we get to the treaters, but by the time we got back, most of the treaters were done. Oops. So we have (had) lots of candy! And I didn't decorate because it would look tacky in the Virtual Tour pictures, which were Friday afternoon. So I didn't see a point. And I didn't have any desire. ;)

Roo had a rough afternoon yesterday and drove me bonkers. I banished him to his room at 6. He got quiet so I checked on him at 7 and he was asleep. Of course, he was up again at 10. Sigh... Stinker just ignores alarm clocks, so there was no sleeping in at our house. But does that mean I can get the kids to church on time? NOOoooOOOoooOOO. Stink jumped in the tub with her dress on because the boys didn't drain it and I forgot to check on it. Then Roo spilled a bowl of cereal. Seriously? Seriously. All before church.

Okay, pictures are on cookie of the "costumes" and such. I also have a slide of sleeping children, the missionaries, and the marble toy we have. My kids LOVE the marble track. They get to be creative and put stuff together and try new things. It is great. The thing I don't like, is marbles are terrifying around kids Stink's age. To deal with this, I ration out marbles. If Stinker is asleep, they each get 5. They can't leave them on the floor or the marbles go in time out for a week. When they are done, they have to hand them back to me so I can count and make sure they are all there. If Stink is awake, they all get 2 each, and I stay in there and do periodic marble checks to make sure we still have them all. You can see this in the video. :) If not being played with, the marbles are locked away. Am I paranoid. Oh yes, yes I am. But choking on a marble is a nightmare to me! It would be worse than a hot dog or grape! Ahhh! It is a wonderful toy though and the kids think it is great.

Finally!

Yeah! I finally got some pictures up! The house is done! Okay, not completely, but mostly. We'll just ignore the fact that the study, basement and garage are disasters. I am only one person and can only do so much. The only reason I got as much done as I did is because of all the help! Thanks! I really appreciate everyone who came for a day or even an hour to help. Kate, my dear, I owe you big time. You came over almost every day for 3 weeks and even brought Paul to join in the fun. :) Rachel, none of this would have happened without you taking Stinker so often. I think you saw her more than I did this week. And last week... I hope you know how much easier it made my life not having her getting into everything while I was painting, spackling, nailing, or whatever.

Are you ready to hear my ingenious idea for keeping Stinker's diapers on? I put one piece, footed pajamas on her backwards. There is no way she can get in there. But in reality, this was probably someone else's idea and I just didn't listen the first time. It is saving me a lot of duct tape. :) This wouldn't work great in the summer. Or during the day. But her problem time is at night so it is a great solution for us.

We need Brad back. Jamo just got on the phone with Brad and said, "What's your name? Is this really daddy?" Sad. :(

Okay, that is my update for the day. I'm putting the slides on the cookie blog very soon. Halloween pictures may or may not be up tomorrow. I didn't really have time to think about costumes, so I let the kids go through our dress up box and come up with something. And I didn't get to go to their schools to take pictures because I couldn't be at both schools at the same time. That and I had the photographer here... I couldn't decorate for the holiday either because I didn't want the pictures on the listing to be dated by having Halloween decor. That's my story and I'm sticking to it. :)

Photo tag

I am still not techincally in the blogging world. I'm going nuts cleaning. Pictures are tomorrow, listing on Saturday. Any and all help would be appreciated! Stinker will be playing with Haley, who see her more than I do these days.

I got tagged by Sarah and it looked pretty fun. Plus, I'm on my lunch break and need a distraction. :)

"Here is a fun & easy photo tag. Here are the rules: just go to your picture file, open the 6th folder, and the 6th picture! Then post it and tag 5 friends. "

I can't think hard enough to tag 5 people so consider all ya'll tagged. ;) If you want to do it, leave me a comment and let me know you did so I can see it! :)

Sorry mine is a boring picture of my partially tiled entry way. Too bad it wasn't folder 7. That has my pictures of the Twilight movie. :) But, just because I can, here is one anyway.

P3: Plea, picture, politics

I am in desperate need of moving boxes. Any boxes. Please, if you have any boxes that would love to see Philly, let me know! I could really really really really use them. If you are wondering why someone who moved so recently doesn't have boxes, I'll explain. When we got here, we thought we had 5 years in this house. We have away all of our boxes to a poor sap who had to move. We thought we would have 4 years to wait until we needed to start collecting boxes again. Instead, our time frame is closer to 4 weeks. Ugh. Now, we are the poor saps who are moving and could really use some boxes. Thanks!


Okay, I'm pretty much going crazy trying to get everything done. But at this point the big projects are done and all that remains is cleaning and redecorating before the realtor takes pictures for the listing on Friday. If I get a copy of the professional pictures, I'll link them or put them up. Until then, here is a picture of the FINALLY finished basement door as seen from the rental.

I'm kicking myself for not taking before pictures. This looks SO much better. There were gaps, and holes, and it was plain drywall, etc. I worked my hiney off on it, and so did a lot of other people. But I got to do the final touches. :)


And just to warn you, if you are voting for Obama, don't read any further.






Brad and I have worked extremely hard to get to where we are, and I would like to not "share (my) wealth" with those who haven't made the sacrifices necessary to have a comfortable life. Having said that, this totally cracked me up. I asked my friend Elizabeth if I could use it. She got it in an email. Enjoy! And if you are an Obama fan, don't blame me. I told you not to read this.


*'Twas the night before elections*
*And all through the town*
*Tempers were flaring*
*Emotions all up and down!*


*I, in my bathrobe*
*With a dog in my lap*
*Had cut off the TV*
*Tired of political crap.*


*When all of a sudden*
*There arose such a noise*
*I peered out of my window*
*And saw Obama and his boys*


*They had come for my wallet*
*They wanted my pay*
*To give it to the others*
*Who had not worked a day!*


*He snatched up my money*
*And quick as a flash*
*Jumped back on his bandwagon*
*With all of my stash*


*He then rallied his henchmen*
*Who were pulling his cart*
*I could tell they were out*
*To tear my country apart!*


*'On Fannie, on Freddie, *
*On Biden and Ayers!*
*On Acorn, On Pelosi'*
*He screamed at the pairs!*


*They took off for his cause*
*And as he flew out of sight*
*I heard him laugh at the nation*
*That wouldn't stand up and fight!*


*So I leave you to think*
*On this one final note-*
*IF YOU DON'T WANT SOCIALISM*
*GET OUT AND VOTE!!!!*

So, super busy weekend with Brad getting projects done. Hope to update soon. Maybe...

Just breathe deep

Okay. The painters/wall repair guys haven't shown up. Haven't returned any of my calls. Who me, panic? No... not me! Realtor coming on Saturday to do listing paperwork? No problem. ACK! I have 3 guys coming tomorrow to give bids. We'll see how it goes. I'm pretty nervous about it. I told them part of the consideration would regard how soon it could be done. I just hope it is done before she gets here so we can have a good idea what we have left to do before listing. And hopefully that list will be small.

I'm not being very patient these days. It isn't a good thing. I'm not letting stupid, rude, or annoying comments go these days. I'm having a hard time smiling sweetly and ignoring it. For example, I have a 3 day overlap with renters. My new guy starts Monday, but the first guy doesn't leave until Thursday. So, the original guy says he is concerned about having another guy in the place. I said, "Well, I was going to have him sleep on the couch, but Arnold is already sleeping there." Then he said something about how it would be hard to share the bathroom. I said "You're worried about sharing the bathroom? I had 3 girls down here for 10 days and they didn't have a problem with it. But if you do, fine. Don't worry about it then. I'll just let him stay upstairs for 3 days." Do NOT whine to me right now. I am just not in the mood to hear it. I have enough drama, don't bother adding to it. Technically, he was down there first as has the right to not want an extra person. Fine. I'll figure it out. I most certainly don't need your help or to hear you whining about it. I can manage just fine, thank you very much. Maybe I'll let him sleep on the inflatable bed down there and come up to use the bathroom. Who knows? I'm sure it will work out. I have much bigger issues to deal with. Like, WHERE THE HECK ARE MY PAINTERS?!??!

Delay

Okay, I am soooo bummed my painter guys didn't show up today. I was really hoping to start putting everything back tomorrow. Argh! At least the Watkins and missionaries came over today and saved my sanity. They fixed my front door, put up the rail, hung pictures, put boxes down in the basement, put in the baseboards, helped clean, raked leaves, and in general made my day much better. Tomorrow I need to paint all of the baseboards that got installed and paint the bathroom cabinets. I don't know if my painters are coming tomorrow as they didn't return any of my calls... I hope they do so I can start putting back furniture and hanging up pictures and such.

Rachel has been watching Stinker a ton the last week or so. She took some super cute pictures of the girls together and I stole them from her site. :) They are up on cookie blog.

Bubble bath + carpets

Bubble bath does not belong in carpets. Didn't know that? I'm telling you now. My bathrooms have been a disaster as they wait to get painted. They aren't exactly childproof presently. Needless to say, some unnamed stinker of a two-year-old decided to spill the entire contents of a 16 oz Spider Man bubble bath bottle in the playroom. Nice. Right before basketball practice tonight, so it sat on the carpet for 2 hours before I could get to it. Here's a tip: Don't add water until you've soaked up as much of the soap as you can. Duh, Melisa.

And because I needed the distraction and I was unofficially tagged by Jessica's blanket tag here it goes. ;)

Where is your cell phone? floor
Where is your significant other? Philly :(
Your hair color? blondish
Your mother? amazing
Your father? athletic
Your favorite thing? sleep
Your dream last night? uhhhh
Your dream/goal? finish
The room you're in? cold
Your hobby? computer
Your fear? loss
Where do you want to be in 6 years? DONE!
Where were you last night? lonely
What you're not? ready
One of your wish-list items? couch
Where you grew up? NM
The last thing you did? phone
What are you wearing? sweats
Your TV? off
Your pet? plants?
Your computer? fabulous
Your mood? accepting
Missing someone? desperately
Your car? awesome!
Something you're not wearing? socks
Favorite store? restaurant
Your summer? fast
Love someone? madly
Your favorite color? green
When is the last time you laughed? 10
Last time you cried? constantly

Before anyone freaks out, I maybe be crying constantly, but as many happy tears as sad are falling. This whole move is such a mixed bag for me. I'm still not past the totally thrilled, totally devastated thing. But I'm doing great. Getting ever closer to being done with the house. As soon as I can justify it, I'll be back in the blogging world full-time. Until then, sorry I'm not commenting, rest assured I've read most everything. :)

***Update: okay, the question about where I grew up was hard because New Mexico, Los Alamos, and White Rock all are 2 words! I suppose NM might be considered cheating, since it abbreviates two words. I just barely (a day later) came up with "southwest" and "mountains" as alternatives. Any of you who are from Los Alamos or have visited know what I'm talking about. :)

New slide show on cookie!

It is Sunday, so rather than spend another insane day trying to fix this house, I am putting up pictures and catching up on blogs. Check out the slide on Cookie!

Child free zone

I was hoping to have kiddos out of the house if possible so I can get stuff done. Is anyone available to watch them this weekend?

Calet is pretty easy when she has something to do other than follow me around and try to do what I'm doing. In an ideal world, I'd drop her off at 8:30 with a packed lunch, she'll eat around noon, and then sleep about 1 - 4 and I'll come get her when she wakes up. So far she has done good at sleeping in a pack and play. I already have someone watching her on Saturday (THANKS RACHEL!!!), so I would just need someone for Friday. If you are feeling super generous, you could take her a day next week. I don't need her gone as the painting, tiling, and spackling will be done by then (I HOPE I HOPE!), but it would sure make packing and cleaning easier.

As for the boys, Jaden is in school all day, and Daven gets on the bus at noon. So I don't really need help with them, as they can play computer or games without wanting to be involved with my projects. But Saturday I'm hoping to get a lot of projects done and it would be facilitated with them gone. I'm not sure if it would be easier to have 1 boy all day, or 2 boys for part of a day. (all day being 8:30 - 4:30, but if you wanted them longer, I wouldn't say no. ;) ) I could pack lunches for them too.

If you can spare a hubby for an hour or two on Saturday, I have a nice long 'honey do' list that Brad wasn't able to get done before leaving a few days ago. I think the most technical things are installing a bathroom sink, replacing a toilet tank, and putting in a new light fixture on the porch. Most of it just involves the use of our power drill and nail gun.

Or if you are willing to come over and help me clean up at the house, that would be great too! The tiling project generated A LOT of dust. And don't get me started on the mess from the wallpaper glue and spackle. Ugh.

So, if there is a way you can help out with any of these things, it would be greatly appreciated. THANKS!