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Wednesday, August 27, 2008

Coolest plant!

We took the kids to the Children's Garden on Saturday. They had the BEST time. It was the first time we had been and was very nice. It was VERY HOT though.

One of the areas we walked through had a 5 senses area and then told about the different plants and how they related to the 5 senses. One of the cool ones was a plant that you touched and then smelled your hand and it smelled JUST LIKE chocolate mint!! It was so cool.

BUT..the coolest thing of all was the "touch" plant. Check out this video:

Sunday, August 24, 2008

Happy Birthday, Amber!

***this should have been posted on 8/21***

When my sister was 16, she got pregnant. She gave the baby up for adoption. It was not an open adoption. We received pictures of Amber Nicole (what my sister named her) until she was about 4 months old and then, per the contract, all communication was stopped.

Today is Amber's 23rd birthday. I can't believe that I am old enough to have a niece that old!

Our hope is that Amber will decide to find Tammy and open her records at the adoption agency. We think of her often and really want to "meet" her again.

My sister still has a shoebox with Amber's hospital bracelet and the little hat she wore. I'll never forget after the baby was born and had been adopted and Tammy was home trying to get "back to normal" I walked in the bedroom we shared and she was sitting on the bed wrapped in a towel dripping wet from a recent shower. She had the shoebox in her lap and the little hat in her hands up to her face smelling it and sobbing. I tried to comfort her in the best way my 10 yr old self new how to. Now that I have babies, I fully understand what a HUGE sacrifice she made and just how much of an amazing person she is. I hope Amber realizes it.

So, Happy Birthday, Amber Nicole. I hope your day is full of all kinds of special-ness and lots of cake! I hope you are happy and healthy and feeling loved...and that you are wanting for nothing. You are continually in my thoughts and prayers and I hope for the day when I can wish you 'Happy Birthday' in person.

Thursday, August 21, 2008

Helping Dylan

I hate to compare my children, but I do. I know you aren't supposed to, but I can't help it. I don't do it in bad way and I never tell them I wish they were like their brother...well, not ALWAYS.

Just KIDDING!! I don't do that!

Logan is such a quick learner..and I have to remember that when comparing Dylan to him. Logan takes after Kyle, in that they can watch someone do something once and they know how to do it. It's amazing! Dylan and I take more practice to pick something up. Practice and a few sessions of crying and crawling under the table and THEN we get it!!

In trying to figure out if Dylan where he needs to be "academically" and what I can to help him, I have answered some quizzes/questionnaires on line. The most recent one being the Leap Frog one over there in my right sidebar. I really like that one because it shows me which products pertain to his interests and needs. And that's what I need--someone to take me by the hand and say, "here, you need to get this and this and this and this will be good and this and Dylan will love this". If I have to try to make these decisions myself I tend to get overwhelmed and end up doing that whole crying and crawling under the table thing and end up getting nothing. And then who suffers?? my children! This quiz prevented all that, I did several of the quizzes right here at home, browsed through the recommendations and even printed out several free downloads!

I'm going this weekend to get Dylan some Leap Frog items that will help him with his writing. It's pretty scary right now..he needs all the help he can get and for some reason me putting paper down in front of him and telling him to write his name 57 times isn't keeping his attention. go figure.

Wednesday, August 20, 2008

Copper-y Cooker-y

I am beginning a love affair with Copper cookware. Do I have any? NO. Do I lust after it in catalogs and online stores? YES!

I have no idea what a paella pan is, but I saw one, in copper the other day, and now I REALLY want one. I know..it's silly...but I can't help it.

Of course, I won't be buying anything copper anytime soon. I am still using the cookware we got for a wedding gift 10+ years ago. Back when my favorite color was green and my kitchen was decorated with things like green ivy. So, yes, the cookware is green...and I pretty much hate it now. But some day...SOME DAY when I don't have a bazillion other things I need to/should spend money on, I'll upgrade my cookware and you better believe there will be a few pieces of copper in there!!

On another note, I saw a big copper bathtub that I fell in love with not too long ago.

Wonder what the sudden copper obsession means? Maybe I am lacking a mineral in my body that is making me crave copper.

Tuesday, August 19, 2008

Back to School

Today was the first day BACK to school...



Logan is in 2nd grade.
Dylan is in Kindergarten.
Dylan was a little nervous and I felt kinda sad about leaving him. When I picked him up at the end of the day he said he had a great day but he did cry a little because he wanted to come home. That makes me sad..but he survived and he is excited to go back tomorrow. Oh, and he LOVED the merry-go-round on the playground. Logan agreed that the merry-go-round is pretty awesome!!
Logan said today was the best day of his life. He did however, get 2 checkmarks on his behavior thingie and lost 10 mins of recess time. When asked what he did he said that he got one for talking when he wasn't supposed to, and the other he's not sure about..but he knows the kid next to him told on him for something. Hopefully he'll learn quick and he won't have a year of shortened recesses. I'm not holding my breath though!

I did enjoy the day alone. Well, I wasn't completely alone..since Amelia is still out of school. We spent the day watching recorded episodes of The Secret Life of an American Teenager. It was a very lazy day! Her last day is Thursday and then I will be totally alone! I am so excited!!

Monday, August 18, 2008

Swimming

The boys are done with their 2nd round of swimming lessons. They were both in Level 2. Logan passed and is ready to go to Level 3, Dylan unfortunately has to repeat Level 2. He is NOT happy, but I told him that Logan didn't do better than him, he just learned faster and that's ok. Honestly, I think them being in different classes will be good for him. Several of the kids have to repeat Level 2 and the instructor said it's not uncommon to have to take it more than once.

Logan has taken to swimming like a little fish, I swear. He learns SO fast. He must take after Kyle. Kyle is a MUCH better swimmer than I. Really, I am happy doing the doggy paddle and treading water..and occasionally swimming under water--but I don't like to get my head wet. Dylan takes after me.

Logan wants to joing the swim team but has to wait until he is done with Level 3 and Level 4. He can't take Level 3 until October as he would miss 2 lessons while we are on vacaton if I signed him up for the September class. I am going to take him (them) swimming at least once a week so they don't forget all they have learned. Here is a video of Logan doing his backstroke for his level 2 test.

Thursday, August 14, 2008

Insomnia

My problem isn't GOING to sleep..it's STAYING asleep...and it's driving me nuts!!

I wake up all night long and turn from one side to the other, adjust my pillows and look at the clock. When I do sleep, I have really stupid, VIVID dreams. When I wake up, I lay there and think about the dumb dream.

Most times I go back to sleep before too long, but some nights, like last night. I lay there for an hour and then get up and get on the computer for awhile. I was up last night from 3:30 to 6:30!!

I have NO idea what to change, but something HAS to.

*yawn*

Wednesday, August 13, 2008

Back to School

School starts in 6 days. I believe we are all set.

School Supplies? check.

New Uniforms? Check.

New backpacks and lunch boxes? Check.

Orientation attended? Not yet--this saturday

Haircuts? check.

Teeth cleaning? check.

Yep..we're all set!! YAY!!

Olympics: Men's Synchronized Springboard Diving

Who are the people that judge these? I can't help but think it's some people who are anti-USA.

I thought the Americans did MUCH better than some of the scores they received. Especially when compared to the mistakes the other countries made! They definitely should have received Bronze.

I AM an expert on synchronized springboard diving. Just so you know.

Tuesday, August 12, 2008

Customer Service PITA!!

Good Grief!!!

A month ago I switched all of our cable to the phone company, meaning, the TV, the phone and the Internet. I did this because it is a little cheaper every month. While doing that, I became eligible for several rebates. $100 for the land line, $100 for DSL, $50 for Dish and $79.99 for the modem.

A couple weeks ago I rec'd information about the $50 dish rebate, I redeemed it and got a check yesterday. As of yesterday, I still hadn't heard anything about any of the other rebates so I called to check on the status. oh my goodness! What a pain in the hiney that was!!

I called the reward center first, the lady there said they only showed the Dish rebate and I would have to call customer service and have customer service call them on 3-way to tell them which rebates I was entitled to. So, I did.

The first lady I talked to was very nice..I was on hold for a long time, but she was getting everything taken care of so I didn't mind. Plus I was loading the dishwasher, making dinner etc. So, finally this lady gets everything sorted but only with the land line and the Internet, she has no record of the free modem offer so she tells me I have to call the DSL department and gives me their number. fine.

So, I call the # and the recording prompts me to enter my 3 digit transfer code. I don't have a code, so the system thanks me for calling and promptly hangs up.

I call the customer service number, I get a lady that looks at my account and says yes, I am eligible for the free (after rebate) modem, she will transfer me to the rebate department to get it taken care of. My mistake is that she called it the "rebate department", had she called it the "reward center" I could have saved myself a lot of headache and stopped her before she made that transfer--as I had already talked to the reward center first, remember?? and they couldn't help.

So, I get the reward center and am told they can do nothing. I asked her if she had a code for the transfer to the DSL dept. She said she has never heard of such a thing! terrific!!

So, I call the customer service number AGAIN! I get a recording telling me the call volume is high and my wait time is expected to be 10 minutes. Fine, I'll wait 10 minutes. Well......180 minutes later. YES,180 minutes!! I finally hung up!!

I called first thing this morning and talked to some guy in the DSL shipping dept, of course that was wrong, transferred to some girl in the billing dept, of course that was wrong--I was VERY annoyed with her because instead of just saying it was the wrong dept and she couldn't help, she started spouting off all kinds of false information...like just to get me off the phone. Finally, she transferred me to the sales department stating that she could only help me with billing problems! So, I got transferred to another girl that I had to about put the phone inside my brain to hear her. She also could not help me, said I needed customer care. Transferred again. this time to a man that I also could not hear, but thank GOD! he knew what he was doling!! He asked me how much the rebate should be for, I told him $79.99 he put me on hold, came back and said that he called the reward center and told them I am eligible for the modem rebate and to process it.

Mission Accomplished. WHEW!!!

Sunday, August 10, 2008

Kitty potty

It must be more enjoyable to potty outside. If you are a cat anyway. I'm going to assume that YOU are not since you are reading this. (But wow, it would be SO cool if you were. If you are...leave me a comment, k?)

My cat is an indoor/outdoor cat. In the summer he spends most of his time on the front porch or back deck, basking in the sun. He comes in long enough to eat and cool down and to sleep at night. He also likes to serenade us with some very loud yeowling and running around the house in the middle of the night, aggravating Jack. When we crawl out of bed to grab him and throw him outside to Yeowl out there...he is super fast and runs down stairs...which usually results in lots of comments about "stupid cat".

ANYWAY..it has come to my attention that he doesn't use his litter box in the spring and summer when he is outside so much. So either it is more enjoyable to potty out in nature OR he is too lazy to walk downstairs to use the little box. I really don't care either way..less (nasty) work for me!!

Counting the Days.....

I am getting very very excited for our upcoming vacation. I think about it all the time and continually research everything I can on Orlando vacations. Of course it's too late to change anything now. But I could ADD something if I wanted to. Really, I think we are set, aside from booking the dinner I want to go to while we are hanging out with Shamu!

I have lots of stuff to do/buy before we can go. The list keeps getting longer. I did buy K another pair of swim trunks today, his are a little too big for him since he has lost weight and I read somewhere that having 2 bathing suits is good since it is so humid there and things don't dry quickly. So, I was at Sears today and saw a great sale and picked them up for $7!! I still need to get Logan another pair too. Old Navy has some on sale, I need to order he and D polo's for school anyway so I'll do that then.

Boy, I ramble huh?

alright I gotta go cut K's hair and watch synchronized diving....

Friday, August 08, 2008

Wife of the Year

Ok, so the kitchen, dining room and living room are all clean. Furniture dusted, floors swept, windows cleaned, cobwebs removed, clutter gone through, put away and thrown away. It looks SO nice in here. I am so proud.

Kyle said it makes him feel like being home. I felt horrible. He's so good to me and so sweet to me and would never say anything to hurt my feelings--so all this time, while we have been living in clutter he has not felt like being here. Sign me up for wife of the year, please!! I apologized to him and told him I would do better and that I NEVER wanted him to feel like he didn't want to be home. He smiled that super cute smile of his and winked and said "I don't REALLY feel that way...but you know, when the house is clean it feels less 'chaotic' and more relaxed." I heartily agreed and told him I was just talking about that in my blog.

So, I am going to work really really hard to make my home more of a refuge for my family.

Today, I need to mop the kitchen floor and hardwoods in the dining room and living room and I need to clean the bathroom and vaccuum the hallway.

Thursday, August 07, 2008

Lost and Found

I spent one HOUR looking for my checkbook this morning. An HOUR! That is crazy! However, in my defense, I never write checks, I pay bills online and use my debit card every where else. But this morning I had to write 3 checks and it was no where to be found. I called Kyle:

K: Hello
Me: I know you are going to say no, but have you seen the check book?
K: not in about a year
Me: that's what I figured you would say

Truth be told, I was annoyed at him. I know it's stupid and unreasonable. I mean honestly, we have one checkbook, I handle all the bills WHY WOULD he have seen it? and yet, I was ticked because he NEVER has seen anything that I am looking for. I don't even know why I ask.

So, I searched through every basket (my favorite clutter holder) I own, in the closet 5 times, in my desk 3 times, the car, 2 old purses, my current purse. Guess where I found it?? In a basket with lotions and body sprays on top of my dresser. Good place for it, huh?

I bet that's why Kyle hadn't seen it. I wonder if the pizza cutter is in there too????

Wednesday, August 06, 2008

New Beginnings

School starts in 2 weeks and I am really looking forward to it. Not that I don't love being with my boys and not that I don't love sleeping in and being able to stay in jammies all day (some days). But I am excited to be in some kind of routine again. Plus, I think my kids do better with structure and I pretty much suck at implementing structure myself. So, the school year is good for us.

Dylan and Logan will be in the same school this year so that is going to save me about an hour of drive time a day. PLUS, it will save money spent on gas. All good things!

In preperation for the new school year..I am trying to get my self and my home in order. Yesterday I scrubbed the kitchen--removed everything from the counters and really cleaned everything good. Today, I scrubbed the dining room. All clutter is gone, cobwebs removed, furniture wiped down, windows clean. I do still need to do the floor...in the kitchen too. I figured I will do all the floors at once. Tomorrow I plan to tackle the living room. Then Friday, the bathroom and then next week on to the bedrooms and play room. Then we can start school with a fresh start.

I know that I am always talking about getting the house clean and keeping it clean and starting fresh...blah blah blah. But I am hoping that this time it sticks. I think that I and everyone in my home would be feel better if I could keep things in order. I have a very strong desire to be a better mom, wife, friend, daughter, housekeeper. I am really hoping that this round of "bettering me" does in fact make me better.

Tuesday, August 05, 2008

New Laptop--I wish

My laptop is drivin' me nuts--ARGH! (say that in a pirate voice!!)

The hinges on the screen have decided to both freeze up and break and now I can't use the computer unless it is leaning against something. Currently, it is sitting on a table leaned up against our jar of change we are saving for Disney..which thankfully has a LOT of change in it and is very heavy!

It is SO aggravating. Every time I want to take the laptop elsewhere to use it, I can't. Isn't that the allure of having a laptop...the convenience of mobility??

I was lusting over a new Sony Vaio laptop in the newspaper the other day. It's definitely not in the cards to buy a new computer right now though. Really this one works FINE, there isn't one thing wrong with it other than the stupid broken hinges. So, I'll just have to suffer and deal with it, I suppose.

Where Oh Where

Several months ago I found an SD card that I could use in my camera but was in need of a micro sd adapter. Now, I knew I had one SOMEWHERE..I just wasn't sure where.

A few months ago I was desperately looking for my Entertainment Card and never did find it, but found this adapter. When I found it, I thought, "I should put this somewhere I can find it again" and so I did.

The problem? I don't remember where.

Isn't that always the way? ERGH!

Friday, August 01, 2008

Obsessing

I had a nasty run in with the neighbor yesterday and it has really upset me. I could NOT sleep last night because I kept replaying the whole thing in my head. It was just SO awful and for some reason I can't let it go. I hate that. It's over, it's done, I have shared the whole drama with anyone that will listen and yet it is still bothering me. I'm hoping that as the day progresses I will feel better. You hope that too, ok??