Andrea & Associates

4th of July 2009

2009-07-10T15:11:00.003-05:00

For the 4th of July, we did what we've done the past four out of five years......went to Dean's brother's cabin on Nelson Lake in Wisconsin.

It's a six hour drive with no stops so the plan was to leave at 7 am Thursday. We pulled out of the driveway at 7:25 - not too bad! The skies were blue & sunny when we left home but by the time we got to the cabin at 3:00, they were grey & overcast & the temperature had dropped considerably! It was very cool; too cool to enjoy ourselves outside so we all went inside, turned on the fireplace & enjoyed some wine (well, the adults did anyways!). Whoever thought we'd be sitting by the fireplace on the 4th of July weekend!! Not me, but it was fun!

This year was a smaller crowd than usual. There were a total of fourteen people staying at the cabin - six adults & eight children ranging from 1 1/2 years to 13 1/2 years! Oh, and can't forget, Oscar the dog! Crowded & noisy but lots of fun!

Friday morning started out sunny but shortly after lunch it was overcast skies again! The boys went golfing which is also a tradition! This year Tanner was old enough to join in on the fun & he loved it! Each family is assigned a day to make lunch & supper (for breakfast, we all do our own thing) and Friday was our lucky day. The cabin is near Hayward, WI, which has a WalMart so last year I waited until we got there to buy our groceries - which was a BIG mistake! Everything was SO picked over so this year I decided to plan ahead & bring all my groceries. This also turned out to be a mistake. Last year I made walking tacos for lunch & they were a hit! I thought about making them again this year but I hate repeating myself so decided not to make them. Well, when I got there, everyone was requesting & hoping I was making walking tacos & much to their dismay, I told them no. So now I know for next year & the following years, I HAVE to make walking tacos!

For lunch, Dean & I served grilled hot dogs & brats along with taco salad (close to walking tacos but not close enough!). I made Texas Caviar for snack. And supper consisted of grilled, barbecued chicken legs for the kids & marinated, Italian chicken breasts for the adults along with Italian pasta salad & baked beans.

It started to rain while Dean was grilling supper but he finished like a trooper! Normally the kids would eat inside at the dining room table while the adults ate outside on the deck but with the rain we had to eat in shifts at the dining room table but it all worked out being we had to grill in shifts due to all the chicken!

Of course, each night we enjoyed a bon fire & s'mores! The resort had a very nice fireworks display on Friday night. By the way, WI has mosquitos the size of small birds!! And bugs, too!!

On Saturday the kids enjoyed swimming & tubing. They also played a wiffleball game with the neighbor kids on Saturday & another on Sunday with the kids & some adults. The kids broke the two wiffleballs in half so they had to use a plastic ball which was very dented by the end but at least it was still in one piece!

Saturday after lunch we went into town to the candy store. This place is awesome......there are barrels & barrels & barrels of candy - everything you can think of - you choose what you want & put into your basket. They also make fudge & tons of chocolate candy treats. I couldn't leave without getting a 1/2 lb. of peanut butter fudge but now that I have only a small bite left......I'm thinking I should have went with a whole pound! Later we enjoyed rootbeer floats & tattoos - glow-in-the-dark & glitter ones! That evening, we also enjoyed a few little fireworks & sparklers!

Sunday morning the kids enjoyed snaps, smoke balls & firecrackers. We left WI at 2:00 & made our regular stop at Space Aliens in St Cloud! Love this restaurant - if you ever go you gotta try the Cajun Ranch Chicken Baked Potato! We finally got home at 9:15, exhausted from driving/riding for so long & many late nights!

Vacation is fun but it feels so good to get home afterwards!

I Gotta Job!

2009-07-07T17:32:00.002-05:00

So I am employable......I was beginning to wonder!

After FOUR trips to the SF area for interviews, one finally paid off! My interviews began the end of April. The first interview was for a Finance Manager at a DVD kiosk company, the second for a Mortgage Loan Processor at a credit union, the third for an Accountant at a CPA firm, the fourth for an Accounting Assistant/Administrative Assistant at a non-profit food organization, and the fifth (and lucky one) for a Settlement Accountant at a third party credit card servicing company! WOOHOO!!!

I applied for a gazillion jobs......seriously! =) The good news is that companies are hiring; the bad news is that there are LOTS of people applying for jobs! Every interview I've been to, they've told me that they had a huge number of applications/resumes! At the non-profit organization, they told me they had 150 applicants! Even though I did not get offered the job, I feel so lucky to have even gotten an interview! That's CRAZY competition! I did end up getting a second interview at the CPA firm but still did not get the job......which I'm OK with......my goal is to obtain my CPA license but I just don't know if I can handle the dreadful tax season at a CPA firm!

Regarding the job I accepted, I had an interview last Tuesday. When I left about 4 pm, they told me they still had more interviews to conduct last week & would make a decision & offer by Tuesday (today) of this week. Well, at 9:30 Wednesday morning, barely 12 hours after I left, they called me & told me they liked me so much that they wanted to offer me the job & cancel the rest of their interviews! IS THAT CRAZY OR WHAT?!?! And of course, I accepted the job!

The position does not pay me nearly what I was hoping for but it is in the accounting field & the company has great perks & benefits. Plus the HR lady & my supervisor were awesome. I get to wear jeans EVERY DAY; set my own hours - work as early as 7:30, as late as 5:00, & take a 30 min or 60 min lunch; the company is located in a nice, new building in a nice, newer area; get 3 weeks of vacation the first year & 4 weeks of vacation the second year; has a great 401K! I think I'm going to really enjoy this job & the company! I'm really excited about going back to work after being unemployed for so long......since mid-December!! Being unemployed can be great, especially during the summer, but I'm ready to work! I start on July 27th - which seems so far away yet so close!

Being our house (STILL) has not sold, the kids & I are going to B tomorrow to find us an apartment to rent. Hopefully I have good luck finding a newer one with a short lease!

I GOT A JOB! I GOT A JOB!! I GOT A JOB!!!

Happy 4th of July

2009-07-01T21:05:00.003-05:00

We are spending the 4th of July in Wisconsin at Dean's brother's cabin.

Have a Safe & Happy 4th of July!

I have some good news but I'm not telling you until next week......so stay tuned!

Do You Need a New Vacuum?

2009-06-26T10:23:00.003-05:00

I sure do! Mine died last week!! And I should probably buy (or win) one REALLY soon so I can vaccuum! Would you like to win a fabulous Dyson vacuum? If so, click on the link below to enter the contest Five Minutes For Mom is having.

http://www.5minutesformom.com/6533/dyson-transformers2/

April & May Events

2009-06-18T18:28:00.012-05:00

April & May (yes, Aisha, April & May) were busy months! Besides the Dance Recital and dancing at most of the nursing homes during Nursing Home Week, there were many more events keeping us busy!

Tanner played in several tennis matches. He played singles & doubles......and won all of his games!! I think we have a tennis pro on our hands!

Hayley's school had its Talent Show. A couple weeks prior to the Show, the kids have to try out in front of judges. If their acts are approved, they get to compete in the Talent Show! Hayley danced with a small group of girls this year, as she did last year! I am beginning to wonder if maybe Hayley isn't meant to be in Talent Shows. Last year after the girls were on stage, the sound person couldn't get their music to work so she finally asked them to leave the stage. By the end of the Show, they fixed the problem & the girls were allowed to come back on stage & perform. This year brought a similar problem. The girls were on stage & when the music started, the girls started dancing. However, I knew that it wasn't the correct song because Hayley had told me what song they were dancing to. But the girls, all being dancers, know that the show must go on. So the girls just started dancing even though the music was wrong. I think that's awesome!! A little ways into the dance, the sound person realized it was the wrong song & stopped the music. The girls were able to start their dance over with the correct music.

Hayley had her 6th grade band concert. For this event, they combine all the 6th grades in town (there are five) & perform. You can imagine this is a big event considering that between the schools there are two band instructors & the schools only practice together four times before the concert! (Hayley made first chair!) They also do the same for the 5th grade. The 5th & 6th grades play separately but then end the concert playing one song together. They struggled with this & had to stop the song part way through & start over but they did finally get through it all at the same time!

Hayley & Dean also found time to partake in a Dad & Me Girl Scout event out at the lake. The weather didn't fully cooperate but at least it wasn't raining! They participated in a variety of races: wheelbarrow race, three legged race, hard-boiled egg on a spoon race, balloon on a string tied to an ankle race. They also went on a treasure hunt and made bird feeders out of pine cones. And for lunch, they cooked hot dogs over the fire. (Dean isn't a shutter bug like me, and I suppose it's kinda hard to take a lot of pictures when you're involved in the two-person races, so this is all I have to mark the event!)

Hayley also participated in the band contest. She had to play a solo in front of a judge with her instructor accompanying her on the piano. She scored a I+ (the best score).

Hayley's a Cadette!

2009-06-11T16:51:00.003-05:00

The Girl Scouts Bridging/Awards Ceremony was held on a VERY windy (but sunny) day in early May at the Redlin Art Center. It was very fitting for the girls bridging from one level to the next to cross a bridge to mark the occasion. Hayley is no longer a Junior Girl Scout. She is now a Cadette Girl Scout! Her vest is now tan instead of that ugly green! This also marked her fifth year in Girl Scouts and she was awarded with a special pin. Hayley's troop was in charge of the flag ceremony and holding onto those flags in that wind was no easy task! Each girl that bridged also received a pine tree seedling. I'm not real fond of pine trees but have decided to make a conscious effort to keep it alive. Since we will be moving (hopefully) soon, we decided to plant it in a big flower pot so we can take it with us. So far it's still alive!

Hayley's troop here was not as aggressive as her troop in M in earning badges & patches. Being Hayley transferred during her Junior level, she has a lot more badges & patches than others. I even heard other mothers commenting on it! The bad part about it is sewing them on! I HATE sewing!! I recently found some iron-on backing & did try those on the last few so we'll see if they last......or if I'll have to sew those on too! Last time I managed to get approximately 14 needle pokes & sewed the vest to my ottoman!!

Hayley wants to continue GS when we move to B. It appears that they have pretty active troops there so it should be fun!

Hayley's Dance Recital - 2009

2009-05-26T10:36:00.009-05:00

On Friday, Hayley had her end-of-year dance recital. It was an even bigger deal than normal because the dance teams did not go to competition this year. They originally registered for one in early-March (Brookings) but many girls could not go so they registered for one in late-April (Fargo) and it ended up getting cancelled due to the flooding!! So all their hard work was finally showcased in this recital.

Hayley was in two dance classes again this year - Jazz and Pom. As you can see, not many girls took Pom this year - the class had only five members!! However, the Jazz team was pretty big. Also, they had new dance instructors this year so that took some getting used to.

The recital was also bittersweet because it's her last recital here at DG with her friends. She plans on enrolling in dance when we move but it just won't be the same!

Jazz Team

Pom Team

Dean's New Job

2009-04-09T09:18:00.004-05:00

Dean has been working at his new job for a month now. The company he is working for is probably one of the few companies that is busy, busy, busy right now! (The company makes fire trucks.) Dean is so exhausted by the end of the week!! We decided he would commute each day rather than get an apartment or hotel in SF. (We had to decide which was the lesser of the two evils, 15 hours driving & longer days or not seeing his family during the week.) He gets up at 5 am, is on the road by 5:20 & at work by 7:00! (Must be nice to be a guy & be ready in 20 minutes!!) He calls me when he leaves work (about 5:30) so I can have supper on the table when he walks in the door (about 7:00). We're used to eating supper between 5:30 & 6:00 so this 7:00 stuff seems SO late! There have been many times where I couldn't have timed supper more perfectly.....as in, I was setting the food on the table as he walked in! (Yeah for me!) Then we get to spend a couple hours with him & he goes to bed between 9:00 & 9:30! (It's funny because he goes to bed the same time as the kids!! Now I'm the night owl who heads to bed later whereas Dean used to stay up later than me!!) Dean had to work the last two Saturdays for a half day so he is really pooped. He should also be working this Saturday but we already had plans to head out of town on Friday for Easter so they'll have to make due without him! (Plus his boss said he's been spending enough time at work!) Not only is he putting in 50+ hours of work a week, he's putting in 15+ hours of driving a week! And when he's at work, he's constantly busy & running around so he does not a minute to rest or think! But......he is enjoying the job & is looking forward to the day when he "knows his stuff" as this is a new industry he's working in! (His last job involved circuit boards & such for medical equipment & Dakt*ronics.)

Needless to say, we're REALLY looking forward to our house selling (soon) & moving to the SF area. Then we can get on with our lives as it feels like we're in a holding pattern & there are so many uncertainities right now.

Daddy, How Was I Born?

2009-04-02T13:46:00.002-05:00

A little boy goes to his father and asks, "Daddy, how was I born?"

The father answers, "Well, son, I guess one day you will need to find out anyway! Your Mom & I first got together in a chat room on Yahoo. Then I set up a date via email with your Mom and we met at a cyber cafe. We sneaked into a secluded room where your mother agreed to a download from my hard drive. As soon as I was ready to upload, we discovered that neither of us had used a firewall, and since it was too late to hit the delete button, nine months later a little Pop-Up appeared that said: 'You Got Male'."

Ha ha! Got this through email and just couldn't resist posting it. It's a good laugh!

He's Good...

2009-02-02T16:39:00.003-06:00

PRETENSE: I was in SF all weekend visiting my sister WITHOUT my hubby and kids. Last night coming home from the Super Bowl party, this conversation between Tanner and me occurs...

Tanner: Mom?

Me: What?

Tanner: We missed you this weekend and didn't get to spend much time with you. Can we stay home from school tomorrow and have some quality time with you?

Me: (laughing) You're good! I wish I could but no. Nice try though!!

Yep, he's a keeper!

Hayley's Cool Bedroom

2008-12-19T13:07:00.003-06:00

My plan was to get all my painting in the house done this November & December being I would have absolutely no time during tax season to do it. Well, that plan has changed for two reasons. Reason #1: Dean lost his job and there is a possibility we may have to move so it does not make sense to paint. Possible buyers will prefer neutral colors over my crazy colors! (To possible buyers - Sorry in advance for the purple kitchen and pink bedroom!) Reason #2: I quit my job earlier this week (more about that some other time) and now there is no urgency to get it done!

Dean lost his job on a Wednesday and I had started painting Hayley's room the prior Saturday so I was committed to finishing it. Although there were days when quitting seemed like the right solution...... It took me three weekends and two weeks of evenings to get her room completed. It turned out better than we could ever imagine! Prior to painting, Hayley & I had sat down and sketched out 11 possible painting techniques! Believe it or not, we actually agreed when picking the actual technique to do! So without further ado, here is her room - which involves chocolate brown, tan, three shades of pink - pastel pink, bubble gum pink & red raspberry, and white. Obviously her comforter was our inspiration!

Hayley's dance photos are all displayed here. They do them up like a scrapbook page so all you gotta do is put it in a frame or in your scrapbook. So we've decided to put them in white frames and hang them behind the door. They tend to wear a lot of red so it kinda clashes with the pink so that's why they are behind the door.

This is the wall where the sticker will go - if we stay! It states: "It's a girl thing".

I haven't decided yet if I should get tie-backs for the curtains or just leave them as they are.

Her room is not quite finished as I need to buy some white shelves to hang on her walls and I have one of those up*per ca*se liv*ing stickers in chocolate brown that is to be put on the pink wall at the end of the closet as you walk into the room. Being the sticker is not reuseable and we may have to move, I don't want to put it up until we know. And it makes me very sad to think we might have to move for two reasons. Reason #1: It was A LOT of hardwork to get this room done! Reason #2: I will have to do it all over again at the new house! :(

I Can Finally Share......

2008-11-16T20:31:00.002-06:00

...... the details of our difficult situation.

On Wednesday, Dean lost his job. His company let 10% of its employees go and Dean was one of them.

How many times can this happen to one family??? This is the FOURTH time this has happened to us!!!

When we lived in W the first time, Dean was let go from his job along with many other employees. Then we moved to F and he was let go from that job because the company closed. Then we moved to M and he was let go from that job because THAT company closed. He then found another job in M but hated it so we moved W and he has now been let go from that job!! This all in a matter of SEVEN years!!! Even if he would have stayed at the job he hated in M, he'd still be out of a job because that company let many of its employees go and the ones that remained are only working six days a MONTH!!! So either way, we'd be in the same situation.

I only make a small salary and there is NO WAY that we can live off of my income!!! And on top of that, I just started a new job that has no health insurance. And no paid vacation or sick time. And, in addition to dealing with learning a new job, I have this stressful situation at home. I wish I had my old job back......... The only good thing about my new job right now is that tax season is soon approaching in which I will be working 60 hours a week and earning overtime pay!

I only hope that Dean can find a decent job and soon! And this means we may have to move........AGAIN!!!

There's a saying: "I know God won't give me more than I can handle, I just wish He didn't trust me so much!" Boy, do I agree!!!

So I ask that you please keep us in your prayers!!

I'm Sad & Mad at the World!

2008-11-12T19:20:00.005-06:00

Well, to be honest with you, I'm PISSED at the world!!!

I can't say anything at this time but when the time is right, I will fill you in.

In the meantime, we'd appreciate it if you could please pray for us during this difficult time.

Halloween 2008

2008-11-02T19:37:00.001-06:00

Happy Halloween!

2008-10-31T09:38:00.002-05:00

Happy Birthday Honey!

2008-10-27T21:13:00.004-05:00

To my true love, my best friend!

You know the rest! :)

I saw this meme on Ginger's blog and thought it'd be fitting as it's all about my hubby!

1. He's sitting in front of the TV, what is on the screen? Either sports (golf, football or wrestling) or CSI: Crime Scene Investigation (the original show).

2. You're out to eat; what kind of dressing does he get on his salad? Ranch.

3. What's one food he doesn't like? Tomatoes.

4. You go out to the bar. What does he order? Either a rum & coke or a beer (sometimes Miller Lite and sometimes those "different" ones.)

5. Where did he go to high school? At the local high school.

6. What size shoe does he wear? 10 1/2

7. If he was to collect anything, what would it be? Golf memorabilia.

8. What is his favorite type of sandwich? Italian BMT, Chicken Breast, Wraps... He really likes all types of sandwiches.

9. What would he eat every day if he could? Ice cream or shrimp.

10. What is his favorite cereal? Lucky Charms.

11. What would he never wear? Low rider pants.

12. What is his favorite sports team? Minnesota Vikings.

13. Who will be vote for? Most likely McCain.

14. Who is his best friend? Me, of course!

15. What is something you do that he wishes you wouldn't do? Swearing.

16. How many states has he lived in? Three.

17. What is his heritage? Swedish.

18. You bake him a cake for his birthday; what kind of cake? 7 layer chocolate cake.

19. What could he spend hours doing? Golfing.

20. Does he belong to any men's organizations? Nope!

Love you, Honey!

Hope your birthday was a GREAT one!

Happy 12th Birthday Hayley!

2008-10-23T10:41:00.002-05:00

It's hard to believe my baby is 12 years old already! When I asked her this morning if she felt any different now that she was 12 she said to ask her again tonight at 6:18 pm (the time she was actually born)! Too funny!

We will be celebrating tonight by going out to a Mexican restaurant so she can have her favorite meal - a beef enchilada and frijoles (refried beans)!

Tomorrow she will be celebrating with five friends. Hayley is having a sleepover!! And friends are actually coming! (Last year she was supposed to have a sleepover, but then another classmate had a birthday sleepover and all Hayley's friends went to that sleepover being she was still kinda new in town. I felt so bad for her. But this year we actually have people coming!) It should be a fun time!

Happy Birthday Hayley!

You are turning into such a nice, young lady!

Stay sweet!

It's My Birthday!

2008-10-19T20:59:00.004-05:00

It's my birthday,

And I'll cry if I want to,

Cry if I want to,

Cry if I want to,

You would cry too if it happened to you!

Boy do I hate getting older!

I don't know why, but I do.

According to my daughter, however, I'm not old!

She says I can be 28 forever

If you were to ask her how old I am, she'd tell you 28 (and smile)

Gotta love her!

I Am The Mother Of A Teenager!

2008-10-13T14:04:00.006-05:00

That literally shocks me every time I say it!!! Where did the time go??? Seriously!!!

My little boy turned 13 yesterday!!! We celebrated with family yesterday. After cake and ice cream, we were going to go bowling but no one (except for us four) wanted to go and we all ended up chatting too long. The bowling alley had very short open bowling hours yesterday due to a tournament and it being Sunday. So the four of us will go bowling this week or weekend.

For the invitation, I created a teenage announcement - a play on a birth announcement - to announce the arrival my teenager. Hey, I thought it was pretty creative! :) (I put the white line across his middle and last name - don't want to give out too much info online!)

It's kinda hard to read. It says:

IT'S A TEENAGE BOY!

TANNER

October 12, 2008 - 12:42 a.m.

105.4 Pounds - 5 Feet 2 1/2 Inches

Proud Parents: Dean and Andrea

and Little Sister Hayley

We are celebrating with cake and ice cream on Sunday at 2 pm at our house.

Hope you can join us!

Happy Birthday Son!

It's been an awesome 13 years!!

You've grown into a fine, young man!

4th of July 2008

2008-10-02T19:19:00.009-05:00

OK, so I know I'm REALLY behind in my posts but I still want to share them with you so here I go!

To celebrate the 4th, Dean's brother and his family invited us to their cabin in Wisconsin. We left on the 3rd and came home on the 6th. The day we got there it was extremely windy but the rest of the weekend was awesome!! We got many boat rides in, some swimming, and LOTS of relaxing.

Most of the Cousins

A Daytime Pontoon Ride

Dean & I Chillin' on the Pontoon

S'Mores Time

Nighttime Pontoon Ride

Swimming

Sparkler Time

A Relaxin' Pontoon Ride

Another Nighttime Pontoon Ride

Blueberry Pancakes on the Deck the Last Morning at the Cabin

Color Career Test

2008-09-21T19:57:00.003-05:00

So have you been wondering if you're in the right career? Well, I have a solution for you! Take this cool Color Career Test http://www.careerpath.com/career-tests/colorcareercounselor.aspx and you'll find out. Mine was PERFECT!! Here's my results:

Best Occupational Category
You're an ORGANIZER.

Key Words: Self-Control, Practical, Self-Contained, Orderly, Systematic, Precise, and Accurate.

These conservative appearing, plotting-types enjoy organizing, data systems, accounting, detail, and accuracy. They often enjoy mathematics and data management activities such as accounting and investment management. Persistence and patience allows them to do detailed paperwork, operate office machines, write business reports, and make charts and graphs.

ORGANIZER CAREERS: Suggested careers are Administrator, Secretary, Printer, Paralegal, Building Inspector, Bank Cashier, Private Secretary, Statistician, Operations Manager, Financial Analyst, Bookkeeper, Medical Records Technician, Developer of Business or Computer Systems, Clerical Worker, Proofreader, Accountant, Administrative Assistant, Banker, Certified Public Accountant, Credit Manager, Store Salesperson, Actuary, Dental Assistant, Business Education Teacher, Food Service Manager, IRS Agent, Budget Analyst, and Underwriter.

ORGANIZER WORKPLACES: Your very careful, conscientious, conservative nature gives others the confidence to trust you with handling money and material possessions. Structured organizations that have well-ordered chains of command work best for you. Suggested Organizer workplaces are large corporations, business offices, financial lending institutions, banks, insurance companies, accounting firms, and quality control and inspection departments.

2nd Best Occupational Category

You're a RESEARCHER.

Key Words: Independent, Self-Motivated, Reserved, Introspective, Analytical, and Curious.

These investigative types gather information, analyze and interpret data, and inquire to uncover new facts. They have a strong scientific orientation, enjoy academic or research environments and prefer self-reliant jobs. Dislikes are group projects, selling, and repetitive activities.

This is all me to a "T"! I graduated with degrees in Accounting and Finance. Currently, I am working in finance and hope to eventually be working in accounting. Evidently I have chosen the correct careers!

However, it was WAY off for my hubby!

Kitchen Makeover

2008-08-25T19:46:00.005-05:00

I apologize for keeping you all in suspense! I am finally going to show you my kitchen transformation!!! Drum roll please.........

BEFORE

The inspiration - my purple sofas

It's alright, you can say it - BORING!

There's those cool purple sofas again.

Depending upon the light, they "change" colors throughout the day - just as the paint does.

AFTER

The decor above the cabinets is a work in progress - I'm still shopping!

I LOVE IT!!!

TICK WARNING!!!

2008-07-09T08:27:00.001-05:00

I hate it when people forward bogus warnings, and I have even done it myself a couple times unintentionally......but this one is real, and it's important. So please send this warning to everyone on your e- mail list.

If someone comes to your front door saying they are checking for ticks due to the warm weather and asks you to take your clothes off and dance around with your arms up, DO NOT DO IT!! THIS IS A SCAM!!

They only want to see you naked.

I wish I'd gotten this yesterday. I feel so stupid.

That's A Lot Of......

2008-06-09T21:37:00.004-05:00

75 degrees - hot & sunny on Saturday (perfect)

62 degrees - cold, gloomy & windy on Sunday (freezing)

60 degrees - cool, sunny & windy on Monday (miserable)

18 dollars for admission

13 hours at the softball diamonds

12 dollar souvenir t-shirt for the player

12 girls on the softball team

7 games

5 beverages

4 losses

4 hot dogs

3 wins

3 days of softball

3 family members coated in sunscreen

3 candy bars

2 bags of sunflower seeds

2 hot chocolates (Monday)

2 days wrapped in blankets

2 days on bleachers (bleacher butt)

1 day on comfy lawn chairs

1 freezie

1 super nacho

1 slice of pizza

1 family member not coated in sunscreen (sunburn)

......Softball!

Things I Learned This Weekend - Updated!

2008-06-02T21:30:00.005-05:00

- Just because eight people RSVP on Thursday for your Friday Pampered Ch*f Party does not mean that eight will attend on Friday - something will inevitably come up that requires half of them to cancel on Friday morning.

- If for some reason I were to lose my day job, I could get a job as a bartender. I make EXCELLENT chocolate martinis!

- Even though guests are aware that the Pampered Ch*f Party is a Chocolate Bliss theme party, guests will still expect something more substantial (supper-like) being the party begins at 5:25. (Evidently Nutty Caramel Brownies, Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Cheesecake, Oreos, Chocolate Peanut Butter Cookie Sticks, M&Ms, Chocolate Milk, Strawberry Chocolate Shooters, and Chocolate Martinis are not considered a "good" supper.)

- No matter how well you coat your daughter in sunscreen does not mean she will return the favor. (But hopefully she will learn her lesson as she will now be coating her mom's back in lotion twice a day for the foreseeable future.)

- If you head to the pool to take advantage of the sunny, cloudless skies, that does not mean the skies will remain that way. (In only 45 short minutes, the skies will turn a deep, dark grey with the threat of rain - oh, and the wind will pick up tremendously!)

- If you run out of white milk for breakfast, chocolate milk will work great with chocolate flavored cereals and chocolate malt-o-meal.

- If you are knowingly going on a 3 mile walk, flip flops should not be the shoe of choice.

- Two parents walking cannot keep up with two kids on scooters.

- If you go golfing and are wishing for a partly cloudly sky along with a gentle breeze, it will not come. (It will be completely sunny with very little breeze - a great day for the pool.)

- Even after three coatings of bug spray, if the mosquitos are determined enough, they will still bite you.

- When you get excited and finally decide to add a line for the kids to your cell phone plan and instead of allowing the kids to pick their new phone, you pick a new "cool" one and give them your old one, you will quickly become disappointed when you find out the new phone is crap! (Supposedly batteries on phones these days only last 8 to 12 hours?!?!?! And I can't make or receive calls because the signal keeps disappearing!!! Are you kidding me??????? I want my old phone back!!!)

- When I play (and I use this term loosely) tennis, I look like a ballerina - according to my daughter. I take this as a compliment - I'm a very graceful tennis player! So if you're looking to combine tennis and ballet into one - I'm your girl!

- Backhand swings in tennis are very tricky! (This is usually when I look most like a ballerina.)

So How Did You Spend Mother's Day?

2008-05-12T13:15:00.002-05:00

Saturday we decided to head to SF for Mother's Day Eve. We spent the day shopping, of course. However, I was not shopping for myself nor did I buy a single thing for myself. I know, poor me! My hubby said I made up for it the past few months, though! :) Instead we were on a mission for Hayley. She has a rather difficult body shape. It's VERY had to find bottoms to fit her!! Poor girl. Old N*vy jeans are/were the only jeans that would fit her right. But we're in kind of a predicament. She's at that stage where she's basically outgrown kids' sizes but she's just a bit too small for juniors' sizes!! AARRGGHH!!

She outgrew all her jeans that I bought at the beginning of the school year so I recently bought two more pairs but that's all I'm buying because spring/summer is supposed to be here! It's been hectic trying to make sure she has clean jeans to wear every day!

She actually jumped two sizes since September - lately she's been wearing jeans that are two sizes too small!! We can't believe she didn't say anything. At this age, we expect her to tell us if things don't fit and also we never noticed because with the flowy, loose shirts over the jeans you just don't see it!! Poor girl must have felt like a sardine!

(On a side note, since last April, Hayley has grown 2 inches and Tanner has grown 4 inches!!)

Anyways, we were in SF trying to buy her shorts because I am determined that summer will eventually be coming. Store after store after store after store.........disappointment after disappointment after disappointment after disappointment............when all of a sudden, we finally we hit the jackpot! At Yo*nkers we found a skort and pair of shorts that FIT!!! I actually started singing "Hallelujah, Hallelujah" in the dressing room!! Seriously!! :) I was so excited I never even checked the prices of them. Just took them straight to the register and just about died when the total for those TWO items came to over $63!!!!! For an 11 year old. They're shorts for cyring out loud - hardly any material!!! (Yes, I still bought them.) Hayley later says, wow, they were overpriced!

Our last stop was JC P*nney and we found two more pairs of shorts there - B*ngo brand!! And they even came with free flip flops! WOOHOO!!!

Brands we've tried that just do not fit her right are: T*rget's Circo, JC P*nney's Arizona.

Brands we've loved over the years: Old N*vy, Ch*ldren's Place, and some L*vis.

OK - enough about that!

We had lunch at R*by Tu*sdays. Yum-o!! And supper at J*ohnny C*rinos! YUM-O!!!

Sunday, Mother's Day, I didn't do anything fun or relaxing really. Dean & the kids cooked me breakfast. Had to go through rummage sale stuff as my sale is Friday, had laundry to do, went to my mother-in-laws for a bit, and then Dean & the kids took me out for a hot fudge sundae at D*Q.

So how did you spend your Mother's Day Eve & Mother's Day?

Snow Day On APRIL 25th

2008-04-29T09:57:00.003-05:00

And mind I remind you, we had a SNOW DAY only two weeks earlier on APRIL 11th!

ARE YOU KIDDING ME???

I think we got about 10 inches on the 11th - which was bad enough.

WE RECEIVED 19 INCHES THIS PAST FRIDAY!!!!!! IN APRIL!!!!!!!! THE END OF APRIL!!!!!!!!!

I am NOT laughing at these jokes that Mother Nature has been playing on me!!!

For my sanity, I hope Spring is right around the corner.........

What Color Lip Gloss Should You Wear?

2008-04-15T19:19:00.005-05:00

You Should Wear Cherry Red Lip Gloss

Wild, fresh, and totally alluring.

What Color Lip Gloss Should You Wear?

Who knew? ME?! Wild, fresh & totally alluring?!?!?!

Dance Competition

2008-04-01T12:16:00.009-05:00

A few weeks ago, Hayley had a Dance Competition. She participates in Jazz Dance and Pom Dance. Here are the hair pics!

The Night Before - Frontal View

The Night Before - Back View

The Night Before - Side View

(Please Note: She is smiling at this point.)

The Next Morning: Frontal View

The Next Morning: Back View

The Next Morning: Side View

AKA Grandma Hayley & Little Orphan Annie!

(Please Note: She is NOT happy!)

(FYI: Her hair is well past her shoulders when straight!)

(Note to Self: Next time - Do NOT roll hair all the way to the scalp.)

(Better yet, NEVER try this again!)

I was laughing SO HARD that I was crying. Hayley was NOT impressed! I told her not to worry. I would never let her leave the house with a bad hairdo! Which, if you truly know me, I should have been freaking out!

Being Hayley was in two competitions, she need two hair styles! And to top that off, Hayley's hair does not curl well at all! (Unless you wet her hair, use tiny granny rollers, and sleep in them.) One required low piggy tails and the other required a high, curled pony tail. (A co-worker suggested I use the rollers because she uses them for her daughter so I thought I'd give them a shot. Something she forgot to tell me and something I vaguely thought about when I was DONE rolling her hair - maybe I shouldn't have gone all the way to her scalp?!)

We had to be to the dance competition by 10 am. My plan was to leave the house at 8:45 am even though it was only a 45 minute drive so we had time to get through town and find the location.

At 8:20 I was FINALLY done unrolling her hair and determined there was NO way I could work with this. (I actually tried but it was a lost cause!) There's only one thing to do - WASH IT OUT!!! I grabbed her, bent her over the tub and said, "Hayley, we don't have time to be nice - it's going to hurt!" (FYI - Hayley has a sensitive head.) We washed it, blow-dried it, put it in two low piggy tails, and started curling away. I figured it probably wouldn't look very good once we had to put her in a high pony tail but we had no choice. We were out the door at 9:05 and still made it on time! (It actually looked cuter when we changed it to a high pony but neither of the styles had much curl!) Oh, well!

Does anyone want me to do their hair??!! :)

Here are some pics from her dance competition!

(Hayley is in back row, second from right)

(Hayley is fourth from left)

(Hayley is on the right, standing)

In the jazz dance (baseball), we were the only ones in that category so we took 1st place. In the pom dance, there were two entries and we won 1st place!

What Did You Eat for St Paddy's Day?

2008-03-18T20:53:00.003-05:00

Our family ate green mashed potatoes topped with mock beef stroganoff. And for dessert, a green jello poke cake topped with cool whip and green sprinkles!

Tanner & I prepared the meal while Hayley was at dance. When she came home and sat down at the table, I told her we were having green pistachio salad with beef gravy. In addition, I had already dished up two plates so she was looking at the plates and seeing green pistachio salad topped with a hamburger gravy. She looked very confused and did not look pleased that this is what we were having for supper. Then Tanner and I let her in on the joke, it wasn't pistachio salad it was green mashed potatoes! :) She looked SO relieved! Then we all happily gobbled up the yummy supper!

As we were eating, it was hard to believe it was mashed potatoes because it did NOT look like mashed potatoes! They were SO green! Gotta have fun when you can!

Monday Was A Big Day!

2008-03-06T19:16:00.006-06:00

I did it!!! I actually did it!!! I got my lower braces on and received my bite plate on Monday! In 3 to 4 months, I will get rid of the bite plate and get my uppers braced. My teeth have been slightly tender but nothing too major. Mainly my teeth are tender only when I'm chewing. Only one bracket has been bothering me so I've been keeping wax on that one. My big discomfort is coming from the bare wire that goes across my extraction sites. The wire has put two nice grooves in my cheeks!! YIKES!!! It is actually quite painful and you can't put wax on a big bare wire; it just doesn't stay! Trust me - I've tried!!! Here's to my cheeks toughening up so I am pain free!

After my extractions, I lost 8 pounds within two weeks. Prior to being braced, I decided to do some celebrating so I ate out at my favorite restaurants for 9 days in a row!!! Yes, you heard me correctly, 9 days of eating out!! Some of the foods were difficult and even painful or uncomfortable to eat but I dug my heels in and ate, ate, ate! For heaven's sake, I had been on boring soft foods for almost 3 weeks!!! But there was a consequence! I gained 3 pounds in those 9 days!! But since I've been braced, I've lost those 3 pounds in just 4 days! YIPPEE!!! Here's hoping to shedding more!

Being it's such a pain to clean my braces and you really have to brush every time you eat, unless you like carrying around a convenience store in your mouth, I've cut out all snacks. It's just not worth it! That's mainly why I'm losing weight. Plus, it takes longer to eat now (since my extractions & being braced) so I get full faster, thereby reducing my portion sizes! Most times I'm eating only half the portion sizes I used to eat! CRAZY!!!

Being you don't hardly see my bottom braces when I talk or smile, I decided to choose a colored lig (rubber band) - light pink. HOW COOL! I'm thinking purple next time! Might as well have fun with it and enjoy it; however, I won't be picking too wild of colors. They had told me I could pick up to three colors to create a pattern if I wanted! No, thanks! One color is plenty for me! However, on my top front teeth I will have clear (ceramic) braces and will not put colored ligs on them as that defeats the purpose of getting clear braces!

This is what my bite plate looks like. Very similar to a retainer except it's thicker behind my front teeth to stop me from biting off my bottom brackets. (If you look closely, you can barely see the bite plate between my top front teeth.) I have to wear this 24/7 - even eat with it!! My back molars do not touch! It definitely makes for a creative eating experience! Hence, the reason why I visited all my favorite restaurants the nine days prior to being braced! :)

Oh, boy! I lisp something fierce!! As soon as the ortho put in the bite plate, I tried to talk! I was shocked! It was NOT GOOD! I looked at my ortho and asked if I would ever talk normal again! He lauged and said yes, but it is going to take some time! :( I have to retrain myself! The first day was absolutely TERRIBLE!!! Not only was I lisping like crazy, but I was spraying spit EVERYWHERE! I went straight back to work after being braced so I had no time to practice! It's getting better but as my boss so graciously pointed out, "It sounds like you have a wad of gum in my mouth!" (It's a good thing I like my boss!) :)

Recovering

2008-02-18T08:06:00.002-06:00

Well, it's been two weeks since I had my teeth extracted. I'm recovering - SLOWLY but surely! On surgery day, I was told no sucking on straws, no spitting, and no carbonated beverages for 48 hours to prevent dry socket. Just to be on the safe side, I waited at least a week or longer. For the past week, when I brush my teeth, I spit VERY lightly. I had my first carbonated beverage this past Saturday. I still haven't sucked on a straw. However, I believe I've developed a partial dry socket!! If I spit too forcefully, I get an "electric shock" in my top right extraction site. If I talk to excitedly, I get "electric shocks" in that same site. (Which means no yelling at the kids & the hubby; they're happy!) If I say the "p", "b", and "f" sounds to forcefully I receive that very nice "electric shock." Otherwise, I have no pain in that site.

Because my oral surgeon is in SF, my Ortho said he'd see me if I developed any problems or had questions about my surgery. A week ago I stopped into my Ortho's office to confirm that I'm healing properly because I was still in quite a bit of discomfort. He assured me I was healing fine and said it's normal to still be in discomfort as I had a pretty major surgery done. He volunteered to remove my sutures which were all still in (I only lost one, that I know of, on my own). My oral surgeon had said they'd dissolve in 2 to 5 days. Well, they didn't. I asked the Ortho if there was anything wrong with leaving them in. He said, no, but that if they weren't out by last Thursday I should stop back to have them removed. Well, guess what?! Last Thursday they were still there! So I stopped back and my Ortho removed them. It was a rather painless but uncomfortable process! He kept commenting about how many I had. Yeah, I know tell me about it. I've had to feel them for the past 10 days! YUCK!! Also, my Ortho thought I was still healing fine. He didn't think I had a dry socket but that if it really bothered me or got worse that I should contact my oral surgeon. When I got back to my office, I realized the Ortho had missed a suture - a LONG one!

So when I got home at the end of the day, I decided Dean & I had to play dentist. I sterilized small scissors and tweezers. I didn't want to just pull on the suture in case it hadn't been cut by the Ortho so I had Dean try to cut the suture but he just couldn't do it. (I would call this, failure to perform!) So I finally grabbed the tweezers and gave it a pull and out it came! I gave a HUGE sigh of relief and Dean laughed at me!

I am still eating only soft foods which is getting rather boring and frusturating! For two weeks I've lived off of: applesauce, pudding, yogurt, soup, mashed potatoes, peaches, mandarin oranges, malt-o-meal, cottage cheese, and scrambled eggs. I added fluffy pancakes yesterday. I tried some pasta last night and that just gets stuck to my teeth and gums. It's a pain to eat right now. So far I've lost at least 7 pounds. I'm pretty happy about that and hope to lose a bit more! I've cut out all snacks because it's just a pain in the butt to have to clean out my extraction sites everytime I eat. Therefore, I'm eating only 3 meals a day - which feels weird!

On Saturday I had my first can of diet coke in almost two weeks! Prior to my surgery I was a diet coke-aholic! I always had one in the morning to start my day and then if decided to have another, I made sure it was a caffeine-free diet coke. So generally I had two cans a day! So Saturday when I opened my pop and took a whiff I was in heaven! Oh, I just couldn't hardly contain myself. I couldn't wait to take a drink! However, when I actually had a taste, it just didn't taste right. I kept drinking it but I just didn't enjoy it like I used to. THEY BROKE ME!!! I want my love for diet coke back!

HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY!

2008-02-14T12:07:00.006-06:00

HAPPY

VALENTINE'S

DAY

May you get kisses from everyone you love

And chocolate from everyone else!

I'm Taking the Plunge!

2008-02-05T13:40:00.000-06:00

No, I'm getting married (I already am)! I've finally decided to get braces to fix my gaps and overbite.

To understand how huge of a deal this is for me, you need to understand what happened during my childhood. When I was approximately 12 years old, I started the process of getting braces. This involved extracting three or four teeth. Then I was to have braces and the last step would be a couple bridges to replace teeth I am missing. (They say missing teeth is usually genetic but my parents and grandparents do not have missing teeth so maybe it goes farther back??)

The first step involved extracting teeth. My childhood dentist, who I wasn't too fond of then and definitely hate now, got the honors. Well, to say the least, it was NOT a pleasant experience. I don't know if I didn't have enough local or what but I was crying and moaning and he was yelling at me to, "grow up!" From that point on, I NEVER looked forward to going to the dentist, even for a cleaning. So after the extractions, I went to the ortho my parents had chosen (because he made trips to my small town) and had my records appointment, which involves xrays and molds. He was a very large man with very large hands and was not gentle about anything. Shortly after that, I called it quits. There was no way I was getting braces!!! My dad tried to talk me into getting braces by saying, "you'll never get married if you don't get your teeth fixed." Now please understand, I was daddy's little girl and my dad & I are still close. As you may know, I did get married and my teeth did not deter him!

So fast forward approximately 20 years and here I am - making the decision to finally get braces! The number one reason - because I want that perfect smile! The second reason - because both of my kids will need braces and I will NOT allow them to refuse treatment!

Last December I had my first consult. I originally went to see if I could do the Invis*align but was told that it wouldn't work for me. So then I contemplated whether I was truly going to do this and in January, I had a second consult. Even though the second ortho is almost $1000 more, I felt better with the doctor, the staff, the office, and all the technology!

Both orthos told me I had to have teeth extracted which seems counterproductive considering I am missing teeth! The problem is that I still had four baby teeth, two of which were fused to the bone and the other two possibly were. Plus I had a partially erupted wisdom tooth that needed to come out, which my dentist had warned me about, because it was coming in at an angle. He had decided being it wasn't bothering me that we'd wait until it was fully erupted or it bothered me. But now that I was having four teeth removed, we decided to take the wisdom tooth now.

Because of my past experience with extractions, my ortho suggested I see an oral surgeon and because I had a complex case involving teeth that were fused to the bone. That appointment was yesterday! I had 5 teeth extracted!!! And I survived!!! However, it hasn't been easy road to recovery. Sure, they totally put me out so the last thing I remember was being given general anesthesia and then I awoke in the recovery room. But recovery has been slow and uncomfortable. The most pain was yesterday two to four hours after the surgery when I had let the local wear off but didn't yet have my prescriptions to take being we had the surgery in SF and had to drive back to W to get them filled. Then when I finally got everything in me - Sudafed, Ibuprofen, Vicodin, and Amoxicillin - they didn't stay in me for long. My medication schedule is crazy - take this one every 4-6 hours, take this one every 6-8 hours, take this one every 6 hours, and take this one twice day. Plus today I had to add a prescription mouth rinse, Peridex, to the schedule twice a day! The only way to keep track of this is to carry around a notepad with me and jot down each time I take a pill and when I can take it again! And let me tell you, it's not easy swallowing these HUGE pills with a sore mouth and pokey stitches!!!

I have been on a liquid / soft food diet the past two days and I'm sure it will continue tomorrow. My jaw / mouth is VERY stiff - probably from not chewing and talking. Yesterday I was icing it quite often and today it's a heating pad. I really HATE feeling all the stitches! I can't wait until I'm fully recovered. Braces are sounding like a piece of cake compared to these extractions!

Four Things

2008-01-29T20:54:00.000-06:00

4 Jobs I've Had
Assistant Loan Officer
Cheerleading Coach
Deposit Verification Specialist
Teller

4 Movies Watched Over and Over
How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days
10 Things I Hate About You
Armageddeon
Pacifier

4 Places I've Lived
W*t*rt*wn
M*d*s*n
F*rg*
Br*tt*n

4 Shows I Watch
Friends
Big Brother
Survivor
ER

4 Places I've Been
Orlando, FL (four times)
Las Vegas, NV (twice)
Olympia, WA (twice)
Nashville, TN

4 People Who Email Me Regularly
Jenn
Kari
Jessica
Laura

4 Favorite Things To Eat
Cheesecake
Pizza
French dip sandwiches
Cheese sticks with marinara sauce

4 Places I'd Rather Be
Hot, sunny beach
Hot, sunny beach
Hot, sunny beach
Hot, sunny beach

4 Things I Look Forward To This Year
Our annual 4th of July trip to Wisconsin
My sister's wedding in July
A weekend getaway with Kari to my first Supercross Race
A hot, sunny summer

4 People To Tag
Anyone
Who
Enjoys
Memes

We Were On the Go!

2008-01-21T14:24:00.000-06:00

Last Thursday, the kids and I went to SF to stay overnight at the Ramada. (I ended up seeing approximately eight deer running in a field not too far from the road! YIKES!) We made one quick stop at Kohls, grabbed some pizza, checked into our hotel, ate pizza, and then the kids played at the water park for about 2 1/2 hours!!! I was busy snapping pics and catching up on reading my magazines - I didn't get very far - still have many more to go!

We got up EARLY Friday morning because the kids had dentist appointments at 7:30. They go to a pediatric dentist who they love! My hubby would prefer they go to a dentist in W but I enjoy the pediatric dentist too much to change. (Also, I had a bad experience with my childhood dentist - more on that another time.) Plus it gives me an excuse to go to SF. And the kids and I have looked forward to these mini vacations twice year for the last four years! NO CAVITIES!!! Then we grabbed breakfast and we were on our way home. Although the kids didn't have school, I had to work. :(

Saturday was another big day of traveling.

9:15 The kids and I were on the road to the good ole town of M - where we previously lived.

10:15 First Stop - I dropped the kids off at The Swensons, our old neighbors. Kelly so graciously offered to take the kids for the day. My original plans were to visit them as our last stop of the day. Our kids often played together in the neighborhood.

10:30 - 12:45 Second Stop - My good friend, Julie, was hosting a l*ia so*phia party! I walked away with too much jewelry! Just ask my hubby! :) I can't wait until it arrives!! Also, I finally got to see baby, Treyton and big girl, Alonna! They were so precious! Alonna quickly became my friend. And let me tell you, she is one fashionable girl. She was into all the jewelry. She kept playing with it and calling it her "pretties".

12:45 - 3:15 Third Stop - Lunch with my good friend, Maria, and her son, Jordan, at the best Chinese place - Ch*na Moon! YUMMY!! Then we headed back to Maria's house to chat for a bit more. Jordan sure is growing up into one handsome man!

3:15 - 5:30 Fourth Stop - I chatted with The Swensons while the kids continued to play. They put on an awesome costume parade for us with many costume changes.

5:30 Fifth (and Final) Stop - The gas station and then on our way home! However, while filling up with gas, I proceeded to read my fortune from my fortune cookie that I had received at lunch. I wish I wouldn't have! It read, "Today you should be a passenger. Stay close to a driver for a day." I was freaked out! Normally I'm not superstitious but come on. Here I was doing all this driving and now I get this fortune!! Nice! Needless to say, the drive home was a tense one! Even more so - I hate driving in the dark! I only saw one deer on the side of the road but luckily it wasn't a stupid one - it ran AWAY from me rather than TOWARDS me!

It was such a COLD weekend that I would have rather spent it indoors but at least it was just cold (REALLY COLD) - there were no ice or snow storms!! All in all, it was a really fun weekend!

Hayley is Stylin'

2008-01-13T16:32:00.000-06:00

Shortly before Christmas Hayley mentioned that she wasn't seeing as clearly as she used to. So we did what any good parents would do, we took her to the eye doctor and sure enough - she needs glasses. She only needs a very slight correction but it makes her see better.

At first she thought she'd be getting contacts. Then I had to burst her bubble. There is NO WAY she is responsible enough for contacts. I told her maybe in another year or two she may be ready but she's definitely not ready now.

So her back-up plan was to find a pair of pink glasses. Although there were many pairs of pink glasses we just couldn't find the "right" pair. So then I found a purple pair. She put them on and we both said, these are "it". So here's the result! (The frames are Adi*das in a medium purple color on the arms and tops of the while the bottom of the lenses are rimless.)

So What Have We Been Up To, You Ask?

2008-01-02T18:12:00.000-06:00

I'm so glad you asked. Let me tell you! (Sorry it's so long!)

Let's start with Christmas. On Sunday the 23rd, my sister, Shar, from SF came to town. We pretty much played games all day on Sunday & Monday (Christmas Eve). On Sunday afternoon, my sister, Kelly & her 3 kids came over to exchange gifts and have cider and Christmas goodies with us.

Kelly's kids - Taylor, Brianna, & Alec / My sister, Shar

My dad arrived on Monday. We went to 5:30 church. I really enjoy Christmas Eve service. It's fun singing all the Christmas songs. After church, we drove around and looked at Christmas lights (a family tradition). When we finally starving, we came home and cooked pizza from P*p* M*rphy's. YUM!

Christmas morning festivities began at 8 am. I'm sure the kids were up/awake much earlier! But I, on the other hand, enjoy and need my sleep! :) The kids were thrilled with their presents - mainly the PS*2 and Gu*itar H*r* that they received from us! We basically played that all day! I cooked a big meal of turkey, mashed potatoes, yams, green bean casserole, stuffing, pistachio salad, strawberry pretzel salad, cranberries, olives, pickles, buns, and of course, dessert - Milk Chocolate Cheesecake, for my dad & sister. Usually I also have my other two sisters, Kelly (and boyfriend & 3 kids) & Jodi (and boyfriend), to feed but they made other plans this year. Hopefully I'll have them back next year! It just didn't feel the same! We ended the night with a movie, I N*ow Pron*ounce Y*ou Ch*uck & La*rry, which we found out 10 minutes into the movie that it is NOT a kids' movie so the kids were sent off to watch something else! YIKES!!!

My Two Best Presents - My Kids

The Guitar Hero was a BIG hit!

My sister, Shar & Tanner

Hayley & I

Tanner & I

(Yes, I won!)

Dean & I

(I'm objecting to Dean winning! I was positive I did!)

Dean reacting to his win over me!

(Acting like a dork!)

Me imitating the dork!

The day after Christmas was depressing. I had to work. The last four years I have not worked but instead attended college full-time. I got used to having 4 to 5 weeks of vacation this time of year! That is the ONLY thing I miss about college! And of course, the summers off, too! I know, poor me! It's rough to be a grown-up! :) I'm definitely taking all of Christmas week off for upcoming Christmases!

Dean's sister, Jodi, her husband and their two kids (including the new baby, Campbell, who was born 3 days before Thanksgiving) were in town. We were invited over to Dean's mom's for pizza and visiting. Campbell is SO cute! I really enjoyed holding him.

This past Sunday, we took the kids sledding and snowboarding at St. Anne's Hill. I was SO cold! But the weather didn't seem to bother the kids. I bundled up as much as I could and we stopped by the gas station and I got the biggest hot chocolate I could buy but I was still frozen and miserable! Seriously, I have issues! (I sleep in flannel pjs with 10 blankets on my side of the bed - NO JOKE!)

Tanner on his new snowboard

Hayley taking her turn on Tan's snowboard

Now onto New Year's! This is the first time in a LONG time that we've actually had New Year's Eve plans. I guess last year we did get invited to Dean's sister, Leah, who lives in town (we were living in a hotel at the time). However, we were back at the hotel and in bed by 10:30 so I don't think that really counts! :)

This year, my department at work decided to get together. The party started about 7:30 at my co-worker's house at the lake. We had lots of munchies, drinks, and games! LOTS of FUN! We got home about 2 am and went straight to bed. However, my sleeping problems decided to rear it's ugly head. Although I was in bed at 2 am (way past my normal bedtime) and had been up since 6:30 am the day before (I had to work), I just couldn't fall asleep. I had drank caffeine-free pop all night at the party. I finally fell asleep about 4:30 am! Only to wake up at 7:30 am and could not fall back to sleep. I finally rolled out of bed at 9:45 because I figured I was not going to fall asleep. It was a VERY long day yesterday! Three hours of sleep is NOT enough! Last night I went to bed at 9:00, fell asleep about 9:30 and didn't awake until 6:00 am but then fell back to sleep off & on again until my alarm went off at 7:00 am! It felt GREAT to get a good night's sleep but I'm still tired today. It's crazy, people! Really! Who can't fall asleep after being awake for 20 hours?!?! Who can't fall back to sleep after ONLY 3 hours of sleep!

Isabel & Hayley playing a game of Twister

Dean & I

Collin & Jen

(They hosted the party)

Nick & Amy

Happy New Year!

2008-01-01T15:22:00.000-06:00

HAPPY

NEW

YEAR

Hoping 2008 is a healthy & happy year for you and your loved ones!

Merry Christmas!

2007-12-23T20:22:00.000-06:00

XX
XXX
XXXX
XXXXX
XXXXXX
XXXXXXX
XXXXXXXX
XXXXXXXXX
XXXXXXXXXXX
XXXXXXXXXXXX
XXXXXXXXXXXXXX
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
XXXXX
XXXXX

Happy Holidays

2007-12-19T20:59:00.000-06:00

http://www.elfyourself.com/?id=1443522980

Elf yourself!

Holiday Tour of Homes

2007-12-11T20:52:00.000-06:00

Heidi Jo is hosting a Holiday Tour of Homes Extravaganza.

I'd like to share my holiday decor with you.

My Nativity Set

Hayley's Nativity Set

My Miniature Christmas Teapot Sets & Candles

(I collect miniature teapot sets of all kinds.)

My Table Centerpiece

My Purple Poinsettia with Glitter

My Picture Perfect Christmas Tree

(Decorated in purple, silver, and irridescent.)

The "Charlie Brown" Christmas Tree

(Decorated with ornaments from Dean's & my childhood, ornaments I have bought the kids, and ornaments the kids have made.)

The Mouse Countdown Calendar

(This is from my childhood.)

The New "Cool" Stockings

(When we get our fireplace mantel finished, these will hang there.)

(Hayley-pink, Dean-green, Tanner-blue, Me-Purple)

Santa's Milk & Cookies

Christmas Baking is Done!

2007-12-10T09:33:00.001-06:00

Christmas baking is finally done!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I finished up on Saturday with Rosettes. Now, if I could only find friends and family to share my Christmas goodies with.........

Friday evening was Dean's work Christmas party. It involved a good meal, many door prizes to the employees, and karoake. Dean received his bonus and won the table centerpiece (which I will be regifting) and a $50 gift certificate to M*enards. [You may not believe in regifting but if it's something I don't like or need and it was not given to me by a special person, I feel I should be able to give it to someone who will enjoy it.]

Saturday I spent four hours shopping for Christmas gifts. I only have two left to buy, plus a few more stocking stuffers. While shopping, I found purple poinsettias - with glitter!! How COOL!!! My favorite color is purple. I bought two - one for my office and one for home to match my purple sofas, purple decor, and purple decorated Christmas tree! [They came in purple, pink, blue, peach, ivory and red.] I spent three hours wrapping gifts, which I LOVE to do! And got most of the laundry done. Then I spent the evening making Rosettes.

Sunday the kids had to acolyte at church and then I finished up the laundry and caught up on my TV watching on the DVR. The CEO at Dean's work had a manager's Christmas party at his house Sunday evening. There was lots of food and drinks and people - about 30 to 40! It was a full house! Afterwards we all played a few games of Catch Phrase.

So what did you do this weekend? Got all your shopping & gift wrapping done?

Snowed In = Baking Marathon

2007-12-02T13:23:00.000-06:00

Saturday at noon the kids and I started our Baking Marathon being it was snowing like crazy outside! We made Candy Cane Snowballs, Chocolate Caramel Thumbprints, Butter Pecan Fudge, Cookie Dough Truffles, & decorated the Sugar Cookies we made last weekend! We finally finished at 8 pm! We were exhausted! Next weekend we'll finish up with Rosettes and then we should be done!

(No, I didn't make these!)

What did you do while you were snowed in?

Thanksgiving Festivities

2007-11-26T20:50:00.000-06:00

It seems that when you're approaching a 4-day weekend it looks like a really long time to have off and you'll get a lot accomplished. But when you get to Monday, you ask yourself, where the heck did those four days go!!

WEDNESDAY - I worked until 4:00. Then I had to make two salads for Thanksgiving dinner. My sister, Jodi, came to town to stay overnight. We ran over to Dean's parents to see Dean's brother, his wife and their four kids that had come to town for the holiday.

THURSDAY - Dean, my sister, Dean's parents, and Dean's brother & his wife & daughter participated in the Turkey Day 5k run / 2 mile walk. Dean & his parents walked while everyone else ran. This is the third year that our family has participated in this event. However, it was the 8th annual Turkey Day event. If I could be guaranteed that it will be at least 50 degrees that day, then I would also sign up to walk but I don't see that happening. Therefore, I become the DB - designated babysitter. This year, I watched my own two kids plus Matt who is 7, Charlie who is 4, Nolan who will be 3 in January, and Joe who just turned 2. Wow - I think I was a little out of practice!

We had Thanksgiving dinner at Dean's sisters here in town. We hung out there the entire day. There was lots of food, conversation, and games. We had a Guitar Hero contest where the kids paired up everyone to compete against each other! It was lots of fun! (Btw, I beat Dean the first round.)

(Dean's brother, Dave, & his wife, Becky)

(Dean & I)

(Dean & Tanner)

(Tanner & I)

(Dean & Hayley)

FRIDAY - I'm generally a crazy shopper (but not an insane crazy shopper) who is generally out shopping by 6:30. But not this year! I just didn't see anything in the ads that I just had to have yet I felt like I needed to go out because I love to shop!! So I decided to sleep in yet get up in time to make it before the deals ended at 11 am. My dad called me at 9 am just as I was getting ready to leave the house and asked which store I was in. I told him I was still at home; I hadn't left yet. He said, what? Are you sick!? :) I was home by noon. (I may have found better deals in SF but I just don't want to travel that far so I'll just have to be satisfied with W.)

Then we met the relatives at the movie theatre to watch The Be*e Movie. It is a really cute movie. I suggest you see it! The kids and adults all enjoyed it! Then we spent the day at Dean's parents, had pizza for supper and went to the Holiday Lighted Parade.

The cousins wanted to have a girls sleepover and a boys sleepover. I got the boys! Which actually ended up being only one boy coming because the other one was too naughty and the other was kinda young (4).

SATURDAY - Hayley and I went shopping for 2 1/2 hours. I did not plan on this. She was looking for a Christmas tree for her room. She's been wanting one for a couple years now and I told her that would be a great item to spend some of her birthday money on as this is something she will keep for many years. Then we dug out all the Christmas decor and started decorating.

SUNDAY - I started my Christmas baking! I rolled out Sugar Cookies which we'll decorate tomorrow. We made Peanut Butter Mice, Pretzel Rods dipped in homemade caramel and candy coating, Caramels, and Million Dollar Fudge. Plus I got 7 loads of laundry done!

MONDAY - We're all starting to come down with colds that the out-of-town guests seemed to have brought and shared with us! :(

Hope your Thanksgiving was great!

WOW! Can you believe Christmas is only a month away???

Happy Turkey Day!

2007-11-22T11:54:00.001-06:00

Hope you all have a GREAT and THANKFUL Thanksgiving!

The Light at the End of My Tunnel

2007-11-18T21:45:00.000-06:00

I woke up to this yesterday morning!! YUCK!!!

I've been feeling a little stressed lately so earlier this week I decided I was taking a trip to SF on Saturday! That will definitely cheer me up!! It was the light at the end of my tunnel. I was so excited about going I could hardly wait! Now, I do go to SF quite often but this time I decided I was leaving the kids AND the hubby home! I thought about asking a friend to go with me and decided no - I wanted to be by myself and only worry about me and where I want to go.

I was in the bathroom and had opened the blinds and saw snow! I yelled, "Are you kidding me?!" My hubby downstairs just laughed because he knew exactly what I was referring to! See, I'm a wimp when it comes to driving in rain, snow, ice, wind, or the dark! I prefer bright sunny days! But I decided to suck it up because darn it, I was going to SF!

I got going about 9:30 am and just as I was getting on the interstate saw three cars and a police car on the shoulder of the on-ramp. I couldn't see any damage to the vehicles but I did notice tracks in the snow from the overpass all the way down the big hill to the on-ramp where the four vehicles were sitting. Then I got even more nervous but I wasn't turning around. According to 511, I only had to go about 15 miles and then I'd be out of the yucky weather. So I, and the cars around me, all drove 60-65 mph for about 25 miles before we finally saw dry road! Yay!!

I had a nice long list of things to get but it didn't go so well. They were out of stuff and I couldn't find exactly what I was looking for. I wanted new Christmas decorations for the tree in a purple / burgundy color and a white tree skirt. Plus I was looking for another artificial tree for downstairs but didn't find one that I just had to have. And the crowds were awful!!! I should have known better!

But I did come home with 12 new shirts, 2 pairs of dress boots, and some decorations for my office!!

I ended up running out of time and spent an hour driving in the dark!! But luckily I had no encounters with deer or anything else!

In the evening, Hayley had a birthday party at a hotel and Tanner went to movie night at the church so Dean and I had a date!!! Drinks and munchies at Minerva*s.

Today, Tanner & Hayley had to acolyte at church for the first time! It was so cute to watch them perform their duties!

Still Busy!

2007-11-07T19:53:00.000-06:00

Just thought I'd drop by and let you know I'm still here!

I had hoped that after the birthday month everything would start settling down but that hasn't been the case.

For Halloween, I decorated a bunch of mini pumpkin cakes (pictures to be posted soon). The kids went trick-or-treating uptown and then around the neighborhood. The kids like to hurry up and get back so they can hand out candy. In M, our neighborhood was super busy with kids and we handed out a TON of candy. We thought the same would be true in this new development we're in, in W but no, WE WERE WRONG! We had A LOT of leftover candy. Add that to all the candy the kids collected and I think we're set until next year!

Friday evening Dean & I had a little time to ourselves (aka without kids). My boss had a double celebration - her husband's 40th birthday party and the christening of their new shed. The party was held in the shed which was supposedly heated but it sure didn't feel like it! And I was even drinking hot chocolate and peppermint schnapps!

Hayley is finally having her birthday sleepover on Friday. She invited five girls - don't know how many are coming yet. Just found out today that one of the girls she invited is having her birthday party sleepover this Friday, also, and they each invited three of the same girls!! So it might be a small sleepover but that's ok! Should be fun but can't wait for it to over!! And the sleepover means I'll be decorating ANOTHER cake on Thursday. This time a pink electric guitar for her RockStar birthday party.

Saturday we are going to the town play with Dean's parents and Dean's sister and her family. Should be a fun family event.

Then I'm hoping to RELAX! Thank goodness it's a three-day weekend!

Happy 38th Honey!

2007-10-28T21:31:00.000-05:00

The birthdays are FINALLY over!!! Dean is the last one of the bunch and his was Saturday. It was very low-key - just like Dean!! We just hung out at home. (I was VERY exhausted because the PBL Conference was Friday & Saturday.) Maybe we'll do lunch tomorrow, just him & I to celebrate.

Thanks for being a good husband and dad! We don't know what we'd do without you!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY HONEY!

Hope it was a good one! Love you!

Happy 11th Birthday Hayley

2007-10-23T20:28:00.000-05:00

Dean had to go to the cities today for work so we couldn't have Hayley's party tonight. Instead we will have it on Thursday. Hayley also decided to wait until then to have her birthday meal out. She mentioned Apple*Bees - boy, do we like Apple*Bees or what?! Tanner chose it, I chose it and now possibly her! It's yummy food!!

Tonight I baked her cake and tomorrow night I will be decorating it. Hopefully it goes as smoothly as Tanner's did! She decided on a RockStar birthday party so I'll be decorating an electric guitar. Wish me luck! We're just so darn busy that she won't get to have her birthday sleepover/karoake party until the middle of November!! Better late than never!

Today I Turned...

2007-10-19T11:11:00.000-05:00

28 ....... Again ........ :)

Single Parent

2007-10-18T19:38:00.000-05:00

Single Parent: A parent who cares for children without the assistance of another person in the home.

Yes, this has definitely been my life this week. Dean left on Sunday to attend some training for work in the cities. He returns tomorrow evening. NOT soon enough!!! It has been a CRAZY week. Besides working full-time, Hayley had dance two nights this week, the kids had Church school one night (which required a parent to also attend as it was acolyte training), work has been SUPER busy, I hurt my back last night throwing fifteen 40 lb bags of rock off my dad's truck so I have to ice it, making sure the kids' homework gets done, making my boss a cheesecake for Boss's Day, it's been raining which means I have to leave work to pick the kids up from school, take them home, and then head back to work, and I have to plan Hayley's birthday party that's next week. That's what I can think of off the top of my head. I'm sure there's more....

Needless to say, tonight I'm doing much of nothing and I think I deserve it!!!

Happy Golden B-Day Tanner!

2007-10-14T14:37:00.000-05:00

Tanner turned 12 on the 12th! Happy GOLDEN Birthday!

Tanner chose to eat at Apple*Bees for his birthday meal. He even got sung to! And he LOVED it!! We had a family party with cake and ice cream. One of Tanner's cousins stayed overnight Friday and they had lots of fun! Here are some pictures of his day.

The cake didn't turn out the best but it's the first one I've done in five years so I think it's pretty darn good!

(Sorry your tribute is late Tan-Man but better late than never!)

Fall, Fall - Stay Away!

2007-10-04T18:47:00.001-05:00

I am enjoying this nice weather so please stay away a little longer...

Or better yet - A LOT longer!

A Girls' Weekend

2007-10-01T19:06:00.000-05:00

This past weekend was a Girls' Weekend. Just Hayley and me!

We started out by leaving Saturday morning at 9:00 for SF. We had plans to stop in M and meet Julie at the homecoming parade but it was just so darn windy- like hurricane windy! It just so happened that we were both heading to SF that weekend so we decided to try to meet up for lunch. Well, it didn't work out. But hopefully we'll get together soon!

We did some shopping, had lunch at IH*P (at Hayley's request), and did some more shopping! My friend Maria's little boy, Jordan, turned one! She had a birthday party at the Ram*da Inn. She put a lot of work into the party. She made up DVDs of all the home movies they've taken of Jordan and played those. She did a frog theme. She made a bunch of mini cakes with fondant and frog suckers. It was really cute! It was such a fun time - swimming, supper, presents, and cake! [I began babysitting Jordan when he was only five days old!! I baby sat for him for a semester. I was his 1st babysitter!!]

Then we stayed overnight at my sister, Shar's. Shar already had other plans to go out with her friends but graciously let us stay at her place. After a hard night of partying, Shar got up early to cook us pancakes for breakfast. Then we did some more shopping! For dinner, we ate at S*nic (at Hayley's request).

I bought myself a birthday present - even though it's a few weeks away! I've been searching high and low for a gold and silver watch - that I like. I finally found one!! It's awesome!! And I got a REALLY good deal on it and it was the cheapest one on my list. The hubby is happy! Plus I bought a gold and silver charm bracelet. I'll have to take a picture - it's really neat!

We finally got home about 5:30 pm on Sunday and boy, were we tired!!

I'm Back!

2007-09-26T19:47:00.000-05:00

So it appears that I've still got a few readers so I will keep on blogging away! Thanks for hanging in there! It's been CRAZY-busy around here the last month!

My friend, Maria, and her little handsome boy, Jordan, from M came to visit us yesterday. We hadn't seen each other since June so we had A LOT of catching up to do. It was so GREAT to see them and visit. I'm already looking forward to our next get together. Jordan turns one on Saturday so Maria is throwing a BIG birthday party at a hotel in SF so the kids and I will be heading there for the weekend.

I have finally given into the fact that fall is here. So I went shopping yesterday for fall decor for our home and my office. I think I did pretty good! We have a craft store here in town and they have SO MUCH fall decor it's almost ridiculous! Plus it was all 30% off!! HELLO!!! I was in the store for an hour because I couldn't figure out what to buy and what I could do without. I'll have to take pictures and share them with you. I really enjoy decorating for holidays/seasons/events!! At my last two jobs, I was in charge of holiday decorations.

My co-worker had her baby today so after work my department went up to the hospital to visit. She is so adorable!! It almost makes me want to have another........but NO, there's no way in heck I'll be having another!

October 1st I will be going full-time at my current job. I'm excited yet I've really enjoyed working part-time and I'm going to miss that. Since school has started I've been working four days/week from 8:30 to 3:15. Now I'll be working five days/week from 8:00 to 5:00. However, two mornings a week I'll go in late so I can take the kids to school and Dean will take them the other three mornings. The kids are so excited about walking home from school. I don't know why. I'm sure this will change after they've done it for awhile or it starts getting cold. This is a HUGE step for me. I know I need to let them grow up but I feel like I should be there. On cold days, Dean, I, or Dean's parents will hopefully be able to pick them up.

I really, really don't like that fall is here because that means winter is right around the corner. And you know what that means??? SNOW!!! (Oh no, I can't believe I said the s-word.) People in my office have given up their short sleeve shirts and sandals but not me! NOPE! I'm still wearning short sleeves (yes, I'm freezing sometimes) and I'm still wearing sandals! Just try to take those away from me! I'm going to hold onto summer for as long as I can.

Are You Still There?

2007-09-21T11:18:00.000-05:00

Does anyone still read my blog? I've done such a terrible job the past two months of updating it that I'm beginning to wonder if I've lost my readers. If you're still out there checking my blog, please let me know. If I've still got followers, then I'll promise to do a better job of keeping my blog updated.

M-T-M Giveaway

2007-09-15T21:33:00.000-05:00

Multi-Tasking Moms and Ladies Tools Online are hosting a giveaway. If you're interested in a stylish set of tools, check it out!

A Sign You Haven't Had Enough Sleep

2007-09-06T20:06:00.000-05:00

You put your toothbrush in with your make-up brushes!

The Bad Part - You don't even remember doing this!!

So I got done brushing my teeth and put my toothbrush away - or so I thought! I walked across the room to grab a tissue and when I returned to the sink I saw this!

WHO'S toothbrush is that in MY make-up brush holder?

OH NO - Is that MINE? It couldn't be! So I yank open my drawer where my toothbrush is supposed to be and - NO WAY - it's NOT there! That's MY toothbrush in with MY make-up brushes, so NOT where it's supposed to be. Now, I don't know about you, but I don't normally keep my toothbrush with my make-up brushes.

How did that happen?? How is it I CANNOT remember doing this - it only happened 60 seconds ago! I thought someone was playing a joke on me but my kids were still in bed and my hubby was in the shower. And I don't think there was anyone else in the house.......or was there??

I think I definitely need more sleep!

Tanner Funny

2007-08-30T19:39:00.000-05:00

A discount furniture store here in town is liquidating their inventory. Although they don't have the best furniture, I thought I'd better check it out. I certainly did NOT find any GREAT deals nor did I find any GOOD deals. Near the end of our browsing, this conversation takes place:

Tanner: Wow! $17!! (referring to an UGLY floor lamp)

[Now I'm thinking he's surprised that such an ugly lamp can cost SO much.]

[But he's really thinking WOW, you can buy a lamp for ONLY $17!!]

Tanner: I can afford lots of things with my own money in here!

I was laughing so hard because he was totally serious!!

Too Tired To Cook

2007-08-25T20:13:00.000-05:00

It's Friday evening and you don't want to make supper. It's been a long week and besides, you've cooked all week. You deserve a break. So you dig out the coupon book that you bought from the B*y Sco*ts fundraiser to see where you can go out to eat. You come across the G*dfathers' buffet and boy, does that sound good! You read the fine print to make sure you can use it as some have restrictions. Sure enough, it's valid Monday - Friday. Everyone else agrees that G*dfathers sounds yummy............

Only to discover when you get there that they are NOT serving the buffet. Nor do they EVER serve the buffet on Friday nights. WHAT?!?! But the coupon says it can be used Monday - Friday!! G*dfathers informs you that they only serve the buffet on Tuesdays and Thursdays. WHAT?!?! So, we left...............without having the buffet...............and went across the street to B*rger K*ng. But B*rger K*ng just wasn't the same (obviously) and it did not HIT THE SPOT.

You should have just stayed home and cooked!

What Kind of Sandal Are You?

2007-08-21T20:52:00.000-05:00

You are Flat Sandals

Casual yet flirty
You look great in a simple top and jeans
Your look is approachable and cute!

What Kind of Sandal Are You?

Summer Vacation - 2007

2007-08-16T20:54:00.001-05:00

Last weekend was our fun but low-key summer vacation.

Saturday morning we headed to the fair in SF. This was the first time we've been there. Of course, it had to be 95 degrees!! I like it hot but not this hot, especially when we're planning to be outside all day. We spent FIVE HOT hours (11 to 4) there before we finally called a time out. We checked into our hotel so the kids could swim. Dean & I had enough points on our separate hotel rewards cards for a free night but with Dean's they were fully booked and with mine we could only get a Level 1 or Level 2 hotel. We normally stay at the nice Ramada with the wonderful waterpark which is a Level 3 hotel or the Best Western with the waterpark - no rewards card. Being I didn't feel like spending $160+/night for a rewards room at the Ramada when I could get a room for free elsewhere, we decided to stay at the Ramada Limited. Well, we won't be staying there again. The hotel was alright. We've definitely seen much worse. The pool was so lame. They closed the hot tub 15 minutes after we got there (which after being outside in 95 degree heat I don't know why the kids wanted to sit in there in the first place - I normally don't allow them to sit for more than 5 minutes anyways) and there was so much chlorine in the pool that our eyes just stung sitting in the room. Needless to say, the kids did not enjoy the pool and only swam for 30 minutes. Next time we'll go for the waterpark!

The kids were a bit timid of the rides when we first got to the fair. After some (ok, LOTS) of prodding from Dean & I, the kids finally started going on them and LOVED them! They couldn't get enough!! The ferris wheel took A LOT of prodding for Tanner and then he gripped that center bar tight the whole time! Watching the kids on some of those rides got me sick to my stomach. It's a good thing I didn't go on them!! Plus, with it being so hot, we drank and drank and drank LOTS of liquids!! But no one got sick! YEA!!

After swimming, we went to Olive Garden for a yummy supper! Then we went to Falls Park which the kids really enjoyed. At 8:30 we headed back to the fair so we could see it in the dark and stayed until 10:30. Then we headed back to the hotel and finally crawled into bed about 11:30. What a late night - especially for the kids! Our feet were killing us after being on them for 8 hours!!

On Sunday Dean went golfing with my friend Ellie's husband, Mike, while the kids and I shopped for back-to-school clothes. We found quite a bit for Hayley, some for Tanner, and quite a bit for me. Oh yeah, I'm not going back to school. Oh well, I thought I needed some more new clothes anyways. After golfing, Dean joined us for some shopping. Aftewards we met Ellie & her family at Chevy's for supper and then went back to their house to visit. We finally got home about 10:15!! We were pooped! I told Dean to grab the toiletry bag and leave everything else in the car and I would unpack it on Monday! Our feet were way past killing us after being on them for an additional 7 hours!! (No, I don't wear appropriate shoes - I believe in fashion before function!)

I was hoping to get to the Omaha Zoo but right now it doesn't seem like it's going to work out this year. :( Although our vacation was low-key this year (last year we went to the Black Hills), we had lots of fun!

Multi-Tasking Moms to the Rescue

2007-08-14T14:24:00.000-05:00

Multi-Tasking Moms is having a contest. Wahoo!! momAgenda has agreed to sponsor Multi-Tasking Moms. Yeah!! That means someone can win a fabulous momAgenda Desktop Planner! I would LOVE to win this planner! Our lives can get pretty hectic and as my kids get older, it only get more hectic!

Big Brother 8

2007-08-09T21:15:00.000-05:00

Oh, I am so mad that Eric did NOT get evicted tonight! It was his time to go!! Amber - you could have overcome your predicament by going directly to Eric and telling him that you were revoking your promise because of what he did, apologize to your daughter for taking back your word, and then pray about it!! This was a decent way to go about it and you didn't do it and should have, espcially after Eric blabbed about using your secret against you when the time was right!! Geez, girl - YOU ARE STUPID!! I hope it comes back to bite you in the butt!

I wish Jessica hadn't won HOH. Jessica - you are a weasel. I hope it comes back to bite you in the butt, too! I can only hope everything turns out for the best considering all the people that have stipulations on them - eating slop the rest of their time there and not competing in POV competitions.

At least Kail doesn't have to eat slop and forgo competing in the POV competitions. Being on the nomination block three weeks in a row has to be extremely stressful. I'm sure part of her is relieved to be gone!

A Hayley Not-So-Funny

2007-08-02T20:23:00.000-05:00

It was a SUNNY and HOT afternoon. The temperature reached into the 90s. We spent three (sticky) hours at the pool. We had just left the pool and were climbing into our truck.

Me: Did you kids have fun?
Tanner/Hayley: Yep!
Me: Wow! I think I sweated off some fat sitting there!
Hayley: Yeah, I think you did!
Me: What?! No, Hayley, the correct answer would be, "Mom, you didn't have any fat to sweat off!"
Hayley: Mom, you don't have any fat. You're skinny!
Me: Too late honey!

So I called Dean to ask if it was alright with him if I let Hayley walk home.

Dean: No. Why?
Me: (I repeated the above conversation.)
Dean: (laughing) Oh boy, she's in the dog house!

So after we got home and Hayley asked me for permission to do something I jokingly told her no, she was in the dog house the rest of the day. Her response?

Hayley: Mom, we don't have a dog house so I can't be!

Happy Post-Day to Me!

2007-07-31T15:40:00.000-05:00

It's my 100th post!! Enjoy finding out 100 (hopefully) interesting facts about me. If you don't want to know 100 things about me, then don't read this post!

1. My dad had the honor of naming me.

2. My mom left my dad and I when I was about a year old.

3. My dad remarried just before I turned three.

4. My stepmom already had two kids of her own, Kelly and Jodi, my step-sisters.

5. Kelly is two months younger than me while Jodi is two years younger than me.

6. My dad and stepmom had a child together, Shar, my half-sister.

7. Shar is 7 1/2 years younger than me.

8. My biological mom remarried and had two boys, Ikaika and Keola.

9. My half-brothers are of Hawaiian descent, live in Washington, and attend high school and junior high school.

10. I've only met my half-brothers three times.

11. My biological mom and I do not regularly keep in contact. However, my biological grandma (her mom) and I have stayed in constant contact. How crazy is that?!

12. My dad and stepmom divorced about five years ago. (Not soon enough but THANK GOODNESS!)

13. My stepmom and I did NOT get along. EVER!!!

14. I have a VERY close relationship with my dad. We talk about (almost) everything!

15. I'm a neat freak and perfectionist.

16. I can also be somewhat of a slob!

17. I am a shopaholic!!

18. I LOVE to read.

19. I like to read really good books more than once.

20. I seriously think I'm addicted to my lap top, the internet, and blogging! NO JOKE!! (Intervention anyone?)

21. I love watching reality TV shows.

22. For years, my all-time favorite movie was Dirty Dancing.

23. Currently, my all-time favorite movie is How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days.

24. I like playing board games and am VERY competitive.

25. When I was 12 or 13, while on my bike, I got hit by a car while riding on a highway. (Totally my fault.) Luckily the car had slowed down considerably and only my tire got hit and bent.

26. In junior high, I was a gymnast. However, after 3 years I quit because I was too scared to do flips! (Oh, believe me. I tried and it wasn't pretty!) I became the gymnastics student manager because I really enjoyed gymnastics.

27. I was a cheerleader all four years of high school. I cheered for girls' basketball, boys' basketball, and football. I still LOVE cheerleading.

28. My first vehicle was a white Ford Tempo with red interior.

29. One night in high school I didn't get home until 3:30 am!! Much to my dismay, my parents were awake when I got home. They had been out driving around looking for me and calling my friends! (How embarrassing!!)

30. I received an under-age citation when I was 16. I was sentenced to 90 days probation but was released after 40 days for good behavior.

31. I played the flute 5th - 12th grade. I also played the piano and I still can. (Not great but pretty darn good!)

32. I worked in a small town DQ-type establishment for seven summers!

33. I graduated from high school with a class of 41 students - one of the biggest in a LONG time in our small town of 1200 people.

34. My high school GPA was 3.76. (I rarely studied.)

35. I attended one year of college immediately following high school.

36. I had LOTS of fun during this first year of college and enjoyed the freedom from my parents (who were VERY strict).

37. I received a 2.53 GPA in my first year of college. YIKES!!

38. My second vehicle was a light blue stick-shift Corsica with only an AM radio. (It appears I went backwards - from an automatic to a stick and from an AM/FM radio to an AM radio. But my Tempo had a leak in the radiator, LOTS of miles, and was older. I learned how to drive a stick and to LOVE the oldies!)

39. I took Spanish classes in high school and college.

40. I got pregnant during my first year of college.

41. I gained 45 pounds during my first pregnancy.

42. Tanner was born October 12.

43. Three months later I was pregnant again.

44. Dean's mom realized I was pregnant before Dean & I did.

45. I gained 40 pounds during my second pregnancy. (I had lost 40 of the 45 pounds from my first pregnancy only to regain it all again so soon!)

46. Hayley was born October 23.

47. My birthday is October 19.

48. Dean's birthday is October 27.

49. Dean proposed to me a month before Tanner was born.

50. Dean and I were married when Tanner was 7 months old and I was about 5 months pregnant with Hayley. (Our wedding was originally planned for June or July and I had already bought my dress when we found out I was pregnant with Hayley.)

51. So we did what any normal person would do, we moved our wedding up to May 18th so I could fit into my dress!

52. We did not have a good wedding for MANY reasons. Therefore, we rarely discuss it as it does NOT bring fond memories.

53. Eight years after leaving college, I went back to college to finish my degree.

54. I was hired as the Cheerleading Coach for the university when I went back to college.

55. Rather than the traditional four-year degree, I received a five-year degree.

56. I graduated with a BS in Professional Accountancy and BBA in Finance.

57. I have at least 150 college credits so I can now sit for the Certified Public Accountant exam. (This is a goal of mine, however, I no longer want to be a CPA. I'd still like to take the exam being I attended the extra year of school and because I believe in achieving my goals. Plus, having the certification is bargaining power in the career world. It's about $800 to take the exam and only about 30% of people pass it the first time!)

58. My GPA during my last four years of college was 3.92. This included many semesters of 4.0. Being my classes from my first year of college transferred, so did my GPA of 2.53. Therefore, my overall GPA ended up being only 3.65. (Good but still disappointing.)

59. My third vehicle was a white Dodge Grand Caravan. It was GREAT for two very young children. Once they got older, I decided I'd rather have a "chic" vehicle instead of a "mom" vehicle.

60. My fourth and current vehicle is a silver Ford Explorer with leather seats. (We bought this brand new and it's the first brand new vehicle for both of us.)

61. Dean and I are total opposites! It keeps life interesting, that's for sure!!

62. My hubby has a twin brother. Dean is 6'2" and has blonde hair and blue eyes. Dan is 5'10" and has brown hair and brown eyes. (I'll never get them mixed up!)

63. Dean is Catholic while I am Lutheran and our kids are being raised Lutheran.

64. I've lived in five cities, one of them twice, and two states.

65. I've already bought four homes in my lifetime! (We're already making plans for our fifth home which we are hoping to build within five years.)

66. I've never lived alone!

67. I HATE the dark!!!

68. I've been to Walt Disney World four times.

69. I HATE flying!!! I take anxiety medication and motion sickness pills!

70. I am deathly AFRAID of snakes! I can't look at them on TV or in the zoo! (I even get the heebie-jeebies just talking about them or listening to someone else talk about them.)

71. I am a WIMP when it comes to spicy foods. Mild salsa is too spicy for me!

72. I have MAJOR sleeping problems.

73. I sleep better in a car than I do in my own bed!

74. I really LOVE color! (Can you tell?)

75. I have a birthmark on my inner thigh. It's lighter than the rest of my skin.

76. Foods I LOVE: peanut butter, cheesecake, and potatoes.

77. Foods I HATE: brussel sprouts, lobster, crab, blue cheese, mushrooms, and ricotta cheese.

78. Favorite beverage: diet coke.

79. Favorite alcoholic beverages: diet coke & Malibu, margaritas, and pina coladas.

80. I see better with my right eye than my left, even with corrected vision.

81. I cannot stand to listen to someone clip their nails. I get totally grossed out!

82. I also get grossed out when someone cracks their knuckles - yet I do it and it doesn't gross me out.

83. I once drank a capful of Everclear alcohol. (I don't recommend it.)

84. I've been to South Dakota, North Dakota, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Nebraska, Missouri, Tennessee, Florida, Texas, Colorado, and Washington.

85. I've also been to Canada and Mexico.

86. I enjoy baking.

87. I HATE to drive or even ride in a vehicle at night. I try to avoid it at all costs!

88. I have a HUGE CRUSH on Matthew McConaughey. He is such a HOTTIE!!

89. My favorite colors are purple and pink.

90. I HATE coffee and highly doubt I'll ever like it.

91. I've always wanted twin girls. (But this momma ain't having NO more babies!)

92. I like to do karoake in the privacy of my own home with or without the kids.

93. I don't like to go to movie theatres. I'd rather rent the movie and watch it at home.

94. I'm ALWAYS cold - unless it's 90 degrees and I'm sitting at the pool.

95. I LOVE to eat out and would do it everyday if I could!

96. I absolutely HATE cold weather!

97. I am a pack-rat. It is so hard for me to throw things away no matter how important it is or isn't.

98. I'd rather email or chat with my friends in person rather than talking on the phone.

99. I love to organize stuff!

100. I love funky purses and funky socks. You will not catch me carrying a boring purse or wearing boring socks - unless I'm golfing - then I might wear a pair of boring white low-cut socks.

Hope you enjoyed this post and don't think I'm a CRAZY person! :)

Christmas In July

2007-07-29T20:40:00.000-05:00

Friday was Christmas at our house! My Lia Sophia jewelry came! It was SO much FUN to go through it. I'm SO excited I can't wait to wear it all. I'm going to be one stylin' chick! However, Dean was not too happy with my 14 pieces of new jewelry but as usual, he will get over it.

My dad and his lady friend, Pat, came to visit Friday evening so I invited my sister Kelly, her boyfriend, and their three kids over for a grill out. Then we had some YUMMY desserts (rhubarb cheesecake and peanut butter chocolate dessert). Afterwards we played some games - Kids Battle the Grown-Ups and Battle of the Sexes.

Saturday we did some shopping because it was Crazy Days. Boy, was it some LAME Crazy Days!! But I did manage to find a few deals. After lunch we played miniature golf and then my dad and Pat left.

Early Sunday morning Dean & I worked on the landscaping. (Dean's been working HARD on it the past week. Good job, honey! It's appreciated!) The sprinkler system was finished on Tuesday and then Dean started working on the edging. This morning we worked some more on the edging - we're over halfway done! Boy, was it HOT and we're talking 9 am! (When the edging is done, I'll post pictures.) We're hoping to get it finished Monday evening. Then we'll need to finally decided on and buy our rock and patio pavers. After working hard all morning, we decided an afternoon swim sounded good so we headed to the pool. Then it was a LAZY afternoon!

Weekend in Omaha

2007-07-23T21:25:00.000-05:00

Friday at 6 pm Kari & I left for Omaha to celebrate her 30th birthday. We stopped in SF for supper and arrived at our hotel in downtown Omaha about 11:45 pm. Probably not a good idea for two girls to arrive in downtown Omaha at midnight!! But we survived! We stayed at The Magnolia Hotel. It's an old historic building that's been updated. Check out the pics - it's really COOL!!

Saturday morning we headed to a GREAT mall and Old Navy and did some damage - but not TOO bad!! I bought three tank tops from The Buckle, two shirts from Aeropostale, a shirt from NY & Co, four shirts from Charlotte Russe, a pair of purple flip flops from Old Navy, a bracelet from Wet Seal, and a pair of jeans from Gap for myself. I also bought Hayley a t-shirt from Aeropostale, two pairs of flip flops from Old Navy, and two head bands with the long ties from Charlotte Russe. She's been wanting one SO bad! Poor Tanner didn't get anything! It's so much more fun to shop for girl stuff! Next time buddy!

Then we headed to Charlie's on the Lake for supper. Obviously they serve a lot of sea food which I really don't care for but we found something I like. They had escargot, calamari, mussels, lobster, crab, etc. Eeewww!! (Kari often goes to this place when she's in Omaha for business.) It was a GREAT atmosphere! Ducks were roaming around freely amongst the guests. Of course I just had to feed them some of our bread and then they REALLY liked me!! One duck kept staring at me - I was getting a little afraid - it finally left after I made a sudden movement - not on purpose, though. For our meal we chose a salad of spinach, water chestnuts, red onion, and strawberries topped with a almond encrusted chicken breast and drizzled with a yummy viniagrette. SO GOOD!! They had an endless list of flavored martinis to choose from. We chose a cookie dough martini and a raspberry lemonade martini. After two sips, we were both buzzing!! CRAZY!! Then for dessert, we had white chocolate raspberry cheesecake. YUMMY!!

Funny story about our waiter at Charlie's. (Kari was trying to decide if she should have a whole martini or we should split one because she was driving and neither of us are big drinkers.) When our waiter was trying to take our drink order we were talking. The conversation went something like this:

Andrea: So Kari, what do you want to do?

Kari: I don't know. What do you think? Should I have a whole one?

Andrea: Have a whole one. We can sit here all night until you feel like you are ok to drive.

Kari: I don't know if I should.

Andrea: Have a whole one. We'll each get a different kind and share them. We've got no place to go.

Kari: OK. Let's each pick one.

Waiter: Where are you guys from? North Dakota? Canada?

(Kari & I laughing!)

Andrea: Why would you say that?

Kari: What did we say that makes you think that?

Waiter: The way you said you have no where to "go".

Kari: (pointing to me) That was you!

Waiter: (talking to Kari) You said something, too so I realized you were traveling together from somewhere.

So evidently we have accents!! I think it's CRAZY!! South Dakotans do NOT have accents! Everyone else does!! It was so funny!!

After our meal, we headed back to our hotel to drop off our purchases and walked to the Old Market. We checked out a bar called Billy Frog's (I think that was what it was called). Right by the front door is a display of driver licenses from all over the US - although, none from our SD. But we did find it amusing seeing a very old lady up there and a crazy looking lady. Not sure why they were up there. I'd hate if one of those were mine!!

Sunday we got up, had breakfast and we were on our way! We got back home about 4 pm. I was SO tired as I only had about 3 hours of sleep EACH night!! Saturday night there was a party going on in the hallway until at least 3 am! I was so ready to kick some butt!!

Sunday night I went to bed at 10:15 and I think I was out in 5 minutes!! I didn't wake up until 7 am and then slept off and on until 9 am. I'm hoping tonight goes just as smoothly!!

Dean the Landscaper

2007-07-18T21:27:00.000-05:00

Monday Dean started our landscaping project which involved renting a skid steer to level the yard. (Yes, Amanda - he rented a bobcat.) :-) I was a little worried about Dean using the bobcat. I was inside just waiting to hear the big crash of him running into the house!! But it never happened - THANK GOODNESS!!

Tonight Dean was out pulling weeds. I probably should have been out there helping him but instead I was inside watching last night's episode of Big Brother (gosh, I LOVE that show) and trying to narrow done my choices from the lia sophia catalog. Boy, was that HARD WORK!! I'm pretty sure I was working as hard as my hubby was!! Then my lia sophia sales lady showed up to close my party and then we got to chatting. Sorry, honey! I can't wait to get all my loot - and boy, did I get a lot of loot - but PLEASE, don't tell my hubby!

Oh, No - The Big 3-0!!

2007-07-17T16:30:00.000-05:00

Happy Birthday to my best friend Kari!

It's true! You're turning 30 and there's nothing you can do about it. So grin and bear it!! :)

I somehow survived it so I know you will.

(Oops - did I just admit to being at least 30 years old?!?! No way, I couldn't have!!) :-)

We're heading to Omaha this weekend to celebrate her first weekend of being 30. It should be lots of fun. I hear they have GREAT shopping!!

Lia Sophia Party

2007-07-15T09:54:00.000-05:00

On Friday the 13th, I hosted my Lia Sophia Jewelry Party. Although I didn't have the turn out I was hoping for, it was still a GREAT time. I served munchies, margaritas, and pina coladas. YUM-O!! I had received a couple orders before the party, I still have to collect some orders, and three people were able to make it to my party. So really not too bad overall but I just wish more people would have been able to come to the party. Summer is just too busy for people! Now I have to narrow down my selections or I'd be ordering half the magazine because I think the jewelry is AWESOME! I can't wait to get my jewelry!

We decided to do most of our landscaping ourselves. We had got a couple bids and decided we really didn't want to spend that much money (although we had the money set aside from the sale of our house in M this past January). It's really hard to spend money when you've been holding onto it for so long! So we're going to save ourselves some money and do the landscaping ourselves. Heck, it migh even put us into shape!! Yahoo!! That would be a GREAT bonus!! We just purchased the edging stones. Dean will be renting a bobcat this week and leveling the yard. Then the irrigation guy will come install the sprinkler system (possibly even this week he said) and then we can finally get started. Boy, I can't wait to have a YARD! I'm having a tough time finding the tan rock I want, though. I didn't find it at Menards. I know it's out there somewhere because I've seen it at other houses darn it!! When the yard is done, I say a MARGARITA & PINA COLADA PARTY on the deck!!

Our 4th of July & Weekend

2007-07-08T16:06:00.000-05:00

We had a low key but good 4th of July. By the way, I'm glad everyone liked my creative flag on the 4th. I was laying in bed Wednesday morning thinking about doing a post when this came to mind. Normally I am NOT creative so I greatly appreciate all the nice comments! Thanks!

Wednesday afternoon, we went to the parade. Boy, was it HOT!! Afterwards, we hung out at home and then grilled out before heading to the stadium to partake in the activities there - a clown making balloon animals, baseball toss with radar gun, two bands were playing, concessions, and prizes. Then at dark, the fireworks show started. It was an AWESOME show!! The city did a very good job. But very LOUD - poor Hayley had her ears plugged during the ENTIRE show. (She seems to have sensitive ears and I think it's because of her having tubes in her ears when she was younger.) When we got home we did some sparklers and then went to bed.

Friday evening we went to the pool with Dean's sisters' families. If I can't go during the day because of work, I guess we'll have to start going in the evening. One of Dean's sisters was in town for her 20th reunion.

Saturday we all slept in! We REALLY needed to catch up on our sleep. And holy cow, Tanner did. He slept until 9:00 AM - he has NEVER slept that late. (Friday he slept until 8:00 AM and I was impressed by that and then Saturday he goes and blows me away again by sleeping even later!) He's always been an early riser - 6 to 7 am; I told him I was going to have to pull out his baby book and write this milestone down! :) The kids and I headed to the pool for the afternoon. Dean refused to be outside being it was so HOT! The kids met up with some of their old neighborhood friends from M. They had so much fun! My car said it was 100 degrees when we left the pool at 4:00. YIKES!! No wonder why I felt so sick!! After supper we hung out at Dean's parents' house with Dean's two sisters' families.

We had an interesting evening last night. We got home about 9:00 pm and couldn't get into our garage. Dean and I both tried the garage door opener SEVERAL times before I finally got out of our vehicle to try the keypad. But that didn't work neither. Finally after several attempts, a neighbor across the street yells that there's been a power outage. OH, GREAT!! So we parked outside and went inside to find out we definitely had no power. It was too dark to do anything inside so we played some card games out on the deck before coming in so the kids could go to bed. The kids brushed their teeth by flashlight while Dean & I brushed our teeth by candlelight. But the candlelight wasn't enough for me to remove my contacts. I had to go get the flashlight and set it on the sink so it was pointing up towards the ceiling so I could remove my contacts! Finally Dean called the utility company to get some info on the power outage. We were told that the power went out at 8:20, they didn't know what caused it, and they were working on restoring it. Thank goodness it had cooled down some outside but it was starting to get a little warm and stuffy inside. Dean & I decided to go to bed at 10:15. We were in bed for about 5 minutes when all of a sudden the power came back on - oops, left some lights on. So Dean & I got up and started resetting everything. So we were without power for 2 hours!! Glad it wasn't during the afternoon when it was 100 degrees!

Sunday afternoon we had our neighborhood friends from M over before they left to go back to M. They were up here camping. Otherwise Sunday is just going to be a LAZY day for us. Everyone deserves that now and then!

Happy 4th of July

2007-07-04T09:42:00.000-05:00

* * * * * * * * * *********************
* * * * * * * * **********************
* * * * * * * * * *********************
* * * * * * * * **********************
* * * * * * * * * *********************
**********************************
**********************************
**********************************
**********************************
**********************************

Police Station

2007-07-01T15:22:00.000-05:00

Yesterday was an interesting day. I had to go to the police station to be finger printed. NO, it wasn't for a crime I've committed! It was for my job. I am considered an affiliate staff member of a division of the government so I need to be finger printed. I have NEVER been to a police station and hope I NEVER have to go back. It was real intimidating. I couldn't WAIT to get out of there. These days you don't have to deal with those messy ink pads. It's all computerized. Everything went well except for my left pinky - it was having issues! After three tries, they finally gave up with an incompatible read. It looked fine to me but evidently the computer didn't think so!!

I Survived My First Day of Work

2007-06-27T21:10:00.000-05:00

Amazing, I know! But it's been a LONG day and I am SO ready for bed. When my alarm went off at 6:30 I thought there was NO way I was going to survive my first day. The earliest I've been up all summer is 8:00!! Rough life, I know! :)

It was a rather dull day because all I did is really sit and watch my co-workers do their job although during the afternoon I got to do some of the data entry. My co-workers and boss are GREAT! It will definitely make going to work a lot easier. Hopefully tomorrow will be a little more exciting. I believe we have a meeting with customers to close a loan so that should be interesting. Just a reminder, if you don't remember, my position is Assistant Loan Officer.

I think I'm going to enjoy my job but I'm also going to REALLY look forward to my days off!!

Still Sick

2007-06-26T11:20:00.000-05:00

Well, I'm not feeling better yet. This is not how I wanted to spend my last days of "freedom" or how I want to start my job tomorrow!

I thought I was getting better on Saturday and even went to the pool and down the tube waterslide and lazy river! (I don't think I'll be going down the tube slide again - I did NOT enjoy it!) However, Saturday evening I started getting sicker. My sore throat was almost gone but then I got a cough. And I've been coughing ever since!! So my sore throat is BACK but not nearly as bad!! And my sides, chest, stomach, and back ache from all my coughing. And of course, I'm not sleeping (what is new?) so I feel like the walking dead!! AWESOME! NOT!!

Yesterday I wasn't feeling too bad so we went to the pool. You can't keep the kids and I away when it's sunny and 90! I figured I was going to try to sweat out my cold. When that didn't work, Hayley and I enjoyed the lazy river. It's hard to believe someone can be cold when it's sunny and 90 but with me, everything is possible. The water was cold and when the sun went behind clouds and with the wind, oh, I was cold!! So I guess I even tried freezing the cold out of me. But none of it worked. I still have my cold!

So tomorrow I start my JOB! I'm looking forward to my first day of work but yet dreading it. Darn it, I should have taken the whole summer off!! I had the opportunity but didn't seize it! Wish me well - it should be interesting being I've been out of the workforce for so long!!

Who the Heck Have I Been Kissing???

2007-06-22T10:18:00.000-05:00

I'd really like to know and so would my husband! I awoke early yesterday morning with a sore throat. I HATE sore throats. I think I'd rather have my hand cut off! It was tolerable until late yesterday afternoon when it became VERY painful. I finally quit verbally communicating with my family. I used finger snaps, hand claps, pounding, pointing, and "my" sign language to get my point across. The kids did really well with this but my husband is denser than a solid door. He said he didn't do sign language. So I pointed to my lips and said lip read. He said he doesn't lip read. (Hello, didn't you just read my lips?) Then I pointed to my head and his head and he said he doesn't read minds neither. So pretty much there was no conversation between the two of us last night but the kids and I could communicate! It was awful sitting out in the hot sun at Hayley's softball game and feeling terrible but I'm a dedicated mom and wanted to watch her play. And she played really well last night so it was worth it.

We ran to Culver's for supper being they were having their grand opening celebration and even root beer floats didn't soothe my throat.

Finally at 8:30 last night I decided I'd had enough and I was going to bed. I was starting to get a headache (and I was praying I wasn't getting strep throat)! So I took my birth control pill, a sleeping pill, and three ibuprofen and went to bed. Do you know how HARD it is to swallow FIVE pills when your THROAT is on FIRE plus you tense up and squirm when you're only swallowing your saliva?!?! How I got those pills down me is a miracle!!!

Well, I sure didn't sleep very good last night. I think I was awake more than I was asleep. In the middle of the night my nose starting running which is a nuisance but good news because the sore throat signals a cold and not strep throat. YEAH!

So I woke up this morning and still have a sore throat (not as bad) and a slightly stuffy nose but no headache so I think I can safely assume I do not have strep throat. I REALLY did not want to go in for a throat culture.

So back to the kissing...... My husband hasn't been sick. My kids haven't been sick. So where did I get this sore throat from??? My hubby is waiting for an answer.........

lia sophia

2007-06-20T08:58:00.000-05:00

Friday night my sister had a lia sophia jewelry party. They have some pretty awesome jewelry so I decided to host my own party. Being I'm starting a new job, I need some new jewelry. I decided to have my party on Friday, July 13th and I'm getting a lot of slack from people - superstitious people! I've never had anything bad happen to me on Friday the 13th so I think I'll be just fine! (I know, there's a first time for everything.) I'm so excited as there is so much jewelry I want to buy.

Do I hear carpool?! All my fellow blog readers in M are invited to come on up to my party.

If you remember, awhile back I went shopping in SF for a new work wardrobe and didn't fair too well. Well, this past week, I've been shopping here in W and I have found so much stuff!! There was no need for me to leave town to do my shopping. I'm so excited I've found (and bought) so many clothes! My last two trips to the dressing rooms resulted in almost everything fitting and looking good. That never happens to me!!! Out of the 15 items I usually bring into the dressing room (I know, only 5 are allowed - sue me!) I usually leave with 2 (if I'm lucky) that I liked and fit! OH, Happy Day!! (I'm doing the happy dance!)

Happy Father's Day!

2007-06-17T09:58:00.001-05:00

My dad is GREAT! I couldn't have asked for a better dad!! He has always been there for me. I'm proud to say I am daddy's girl!! He's a quiet guy, a man of few words. He's honest, kind, considerate, and caring. He rarely, if ever, raises his voice (unless he has just electrocuted himself or smashed his fingers). My dad is a jack-of-all-trades, there's hardly anything he can't do or won't try. Dad has always had high hopes and goals for me and without those, I probably wouldn't be who I am today. (Thanks, dad!) My dad is always there to give encouragement and guidance. I never hesitate to talk things over with dad. I look forward to our weekly chats, however, I sometimes get caught up in my busy life and more than a week will go by without our weekly chat (sorry, dad). My dad is my idol, my role model. Thanks for being a GREAT dad! Happy Father's Day! I LOVE you dad!

My hubby is a GREAT husband and dad! He is very involved in our kids' lives. The kids look up to him and enjoy spending time with him. Dean treats the kids and I very well. What can we say, we're spoiled. We couldn't have asked for a better husband/dad (well, maybe someone with a better memory and someone who listens the first time we talk but we'll still keep you). The only thing Dean loves more than us is golfing (just kidding). We enjoy spending time as a family whether it be out golfing, going for a walk/bike ride, playing outside, playing games, or watching movies. You are such a loving and wonderful person. Thanks Dean for being a GREAT husband and dad. Happy Father's Day! We LOVE you!

Summer Activities

2007-06-14T09:21:00.000-05:00

Our summers have been busy the past few years. As a kid, I did not get to participate in summer activities and because of this, I have allowed my kids to (almost) join every summer activity they want to. I say 'almost' because last year they didn't do everything they wanted. I initially had their events penciled in on the calendar and then they wanted to join one or two more activities so I showed them the calendar so they could see how busy they already were and let them make the decision whether to add those extra activities. They decided not to. They wanted pool time and time to just play in the neighborhood with friends. Good choice, kids!

This summer we're not quite as busy as previous summers for a few reasons: 1) we're in a new town, 2) we just didn't know how many activities they could participate in if I was going to be working, and 3) there were time conflicts. (And I say 'we're not quite as busy' because I'm the one who has to get them to their activities.)

Here's what our summer months look like. I like to color code activities and I just hate it when I have more activities than I do highlighter colors. :)

JUNE

JULY

AUGUST

Hayley is participating in golf league, tennis lessons, softball, and swimming lessons. Tanner is participating in golf league, tennis lessons, summer reading program, and swimming lessons. The only activity I require is swimming lessons - those are non-negotiable. The rest are up to them. Last year, in addition to the above activities, Tanner participated in basketball and arts & crafts, while Hayley participated in basketball, arts & crafts, and dance. So as you can see, this summer is a breeze!

We start out busy and as the summer goes on, we get less busy with activities. Therefore, we plan our vacations for August. However, we haven't decided yet what we want to do this year. Any suggestions?

I know some people think it's not good to overschedule your kids but I don't. They do. And as long as they are enjoying themselves, that's all that matters to me.

Such a Busy Weekend

2007-06-11T17:06:00.000-05:00

So this is what we've been up to lately. We've been busy!

FRIDAY
The kids and I went to SF shopping. It was a LONG day as we had lots of things planned. We were on the road by8:30 am. I just HATE that it now takes me twice as long to get to SF - boy, is that A LOT of wasted SHOPPING time. And oh, the construction - I believe we went through FIVE or SIX areas! YUCK! We didn't pull into our driveway until 8:30 pm.

Our first stop was Best Buy. I got myself a printer/ scanner/copier. I haven't used it yet but I'm looking forward to it. Then we were off to Kohl's and the mall for my new work wardrobe. I was under a HUGE time constraint as we had plans to be in M by 3:00 to visit our old neighborhood friends. I didn't get all my shopping done so I'll be going back again soon. Aw, darn it! :) I hate it when that happens!

We got to M at 3:15 and the kids were so EXCITED to see their neighborhood friends. Their mom and I chatted while they played and the next thing we knew, it was 5:30! YIKES! We couldn't believe it. Where did the time go? We then met my friend Maria for some GREAT Chinese food at China Moon. They even had my FAVORITE green bean dish. It was all so YUMMY! And I got to see little Jordan, her son. He's such a cutie! I can't believe he's already 8 1/2 months old.

SATURDAY
I was invited to play golf with Dean's mom, aunt, and sister. How intimidating! I've never golfed with anyone except my hubby and kids and then last summer, my dad, who told me I had an UGLY golf swing. So needless to say, I was a bit worried. Plus, Dean comes from a family of golfers. I swear they were all born with a golf club in their hand. Dean's family even lived across the street from the golf course and his parents have also managed a golf course. I do enjoy playing golf (for the most part) but I am NOT good. I finally agreed to play with them as long as they didn't laugh at me. So at 11 am, we set out for a round of golf. I found that even they have bad shots. Me a little more often than them. However, I still had some really nice shots and they let me know it. How kind! And they kept their word, nobody laughed at me! Then we had lunch at the clubhouse.

I finally got home about 2:15. I had arranged for Dean to take the kids to the pool at 1:00 because if you don't get there when it opens, you don't get a chair. Seriously! (A few days ago we arrived 5 or 10 minutes after it opened and ALMOST didn't find a chair.) So I went to relieve Dean from his post because he doesn't like going to the pool. When I got there, I had one lobster of a hubby. He remembered to spray the kids with sunscreen but not himself. Geez! And of course, he left it at home instead of taking it with him. His legs and arms are still really RED. STUPID guy, REALLY! I get so angry with him when it comes to the sun because he has LOTS of MOLES and last fall he had a cancerous spot removed from his temple so this is serious business. Anyways, the kids spent three hours swimming to their hearts' content.

When we got home, I thought it was a GREAT day for rootbeer and orange floats. So we called up Dean's parents, Dean's aunt who was in town, and Dean's sister and her three kids and invited them over. They were YUMMY! Then we all headed to the tennis courts/park because the kids wanted to play tennis. Here's Tanner & Hayley playing with their cousin Rylea.

SUNDAY
For the past four years, I've been using my mother-in-law's old golf clubs, which are a petite set. For those of you that know me, you know that I am not petite. Well, on Saturday, Dean's mom finally saw me use them and later told Dean I really need new clubs because they are too small for me. So, being Target had a set on sale, I ran out and got me a new set of golf clubs - just my size! They are so COOL! And isn't that the most important thing about golf clubs? Besides being the right size? :)

The kids and I decided to go to the pool AGAIN. The weather was just so nice it'd be terrible to pass up a nice day because you don't ever know how many of those we will have. Also, there's supposed to be RAIN for most of this week so we definitely needed to go. So we spent another THREE hours at the pool. (My tan is looking pretty good! And YES, I use sunscreen.)

After supper, Grandma invited the kids over to watch a movie she had rented from Netflix. However, when they went to start the movie they found that the DVD was cracked. So they didn't get to watch Lemon Snickety's: A Series of Unfortunate Events (or whatever the name is). Instead they watched Shrek - an all-time kid's favorite.

Being Grandma had the kids, that meant the hubby and I were free to do .......... something! But what??? Well, we just couldn't stay home, could we? NO WAY! We did something WAY more EXCITING!! Instead we swung by Culver's and got a turtle sundae to share and drove through some of the dealerships looking at vehicles. How romantic, huh?! Guess you can tell we've been married awhile!

MONDAY
Today the kids had golf league this morning. And you guessed it, we went to the pool AGAIN. However, we didn't get there until almost 2:00 because of golf league and there were NO free chairs. This meant I would be on the ground. (I'm too old and spoiled for that.) At least I didn't have to lay on the cement because they have a grassy area. In M, I always took my own chair because they didn't have any at ALL but I don't think you can bring in your own chairs here in W, or at least I've never seen any brought in. (I might have to check on that because laying on the ground is not comfortable, especially if I'm going to be there three hours.)

I'm thinking this upcoming weekend should be a nice lazy weekend with no activities...........

Another Job Offer......

2007-06-06T09:12:00.000-05:00

Last Tuesday I received a phone call from a company that I'd interviewed with saying that they were not offering me the job but they were really impressed with me and would like to keep my resume on file in case another accounting position should become available. (Btw, this was the same company my hubby works at and the position was for a Cost Accountant.) It's just as well, my hubby wasn't too sure about us working at the same company. He said he goes to work to get away from me and now he'd have to take me with him. How dare he! :) So then shortly after that phone call, I received another phone call for an interview and they wanted to know if I would be available Friday. (When one door closes, another door opens.) Being I had no commitments that day, I told them I certainly could meet them for an interview and I was WIDE OPEN that day. So what do they do? Suggest an 8:00 interview!!! Are you kidding me??? 8:00 AM! Well, I didn't want to say no just because I was lazy and didn't want to get up that early so I told them that yes, 8:00 works for me! (Note to self - NEVER say my day is WIDE OPEN even if it really is.) So all last week I was dreading Friday. I did NOT want to get up at 6:30! It's GREAT to be able to sleep in. Went I went back to the interview room I found out I'll be interviewing with THREE people in the room at the same time! Oh, YIPPEE!! I prefer one-on-one interviews not three-on-one. Well, it wasn't nearly as bad as I thought it was going to be. It was formal yet informal. It sounded like a GREAT place to work. It's just a small office with 12 employees.

Yesterday I got the call. They wanted to offer me the job. YIPPEE! And this time, I took it! I am an Assistant Loan Officer and the company offers loans to businesses. Currently it's part-time, which thrills me because I wanted the summer off. However, they expect that it will probably go full-time eventually so they wanted me open to that possibility - I told them I want to work part-time this summer and then this fall or at a future date, I'd be willing to work full-time. Oh, and this company offered me $2/hour MORE than I was making when I quit my job to go back to school. Unlike the other job offer that was willing to pay me $2/hour LESS than I was making when I quit my job. I don't start until June 27th so I have another three weeks to enjoy before joining the working world. Then I will be working 8-5 Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday.

I even got childcare already lined up which really works out great for us. The babysitter is my nephew's girlfriend and lives across the street from us and has a car so she can take the kids to their activities. I was hoping I'd be working W & F because the kids don't have any activities those days so luckily it worked out that those are two of the days they wanted me to work.

Now, I can quit the job hunt! I wish I'd quit stressing out so much because everything always works out in the long run!

Chinese Food

2007-06-02T17:59:00.000-05:00

Argh! I'm so upset and disappointed. I first found my love for Chinese food when I moved to M and ate at China Moon. China Moon has EXCELLENT food! Sometimes you don't realize how GREAT something is until it's out of your life! China Moon's atmosphere could use some updating but its food and prices are AWESOME!!

Well, since moving to W, we've tried two Chinese restaurants. The first time was back in April, I believe. It's a newer restaurant that's probably been here about a year or so. It had a very nice atmosphere and LOTS of food to choose from. I was first SHOCKED by the prices. For our family of four to eat, it was $40!!! Are you KIDDING me?? For a Chinese buffet?! Why so expensive? Well, at this restaurant, childhood ENDS at age 8. At the ripe old age of 9, you are considered an ADULT! CRAZY! I don't mind spending $40 on a meal when we go out but I'd rather it NOT be at a Chinese buffet. Or any BUFFET for that matter!! Then we got to the food. Although there was a HUGE variety to choose from, I was NOT impressed by the taste! I didn't like anything I tasted. It was all a disappointment, especially compared to the GREAT food I've had at China Moon. I'd rather have fewer choices and really GOOD-TASTING food than a HUGE assortment and yucky food!! I vowed NEVER to eat there AGAIN!

Today, the Chinese bug hit me again. I was craving Chinese food. So we decided to try the other Chinese restaurant in town because I had no desire to go back to that first place. I was pleasantly surprised to find that this restaurant considered a child a CHILD! Yeah!! So our bill was only $28. Not bad! Then we got to the food! Again, there was a BIG assortment of foods to choose from. But again, taste should trump assortment! Well, the food was even WORSE here than the food at the other place! I COMPLAINED to my family the ENTIRE meal! It drove Dean nuts! (Sorry, Dean, but it was AWFUL!) He couldn't wait to get out of there! I know, I should be thankful I have money and food to eat because many people are worse off but seriously, I don't think starving people would have eaten this food! First of all, I think it'd been sitting there for TWO hours! And secondly, they had so many WEIRD foods! Hey, let's stick to the basics. I think they need to concentrate on making GOOD Chinese food and NOT worry about providing 50+ dishes to choose from!

Dean told me I need to quit comparing everything to China Moon but I CAN'T help it! China Moon has GOOD food! I asked Dean if he thought China Moon would meet me halfway if I call in my order!! He didn't think so. :(

So I guess I'm saying I WON'T be eating Chinese food in W. This I know, anytime I'm in M or passing through, I will be stopping at China Moon for some GOOD Chinese food.

Hey, if any of my fellow blog readers are coming my way from M, PLEASE bring me some GOOD Chinese food from China Moon! I'll gladly welcome you into my home!

Helga's Identity Revealed!

2007-05-31T08:56:00.000-05:00

Yesterday's post seemed to cause A LOT of CONFUSION!! I thought for sure my BFF Julie would have figured it out. But she did NOT! Instead she CHEATED - she emailed me yesterday asking who Helga was and of course, I told her. Now she just spilled the beans to all of you! Way to go JULIE! JK!!! I was planning to reveal Helga's identity sometime.......

So yes, Helga is my nickname for my hubby. He is (usually) a GREAT help around the house and he even wanted to prove it to you!

As you can see, Helga has been slacking. There's dirty dishes all over the counters!

But don't worry, I took care of those this morning after he left for his other job, his paying job (with housekeeping being his other job, his nonpaying job).

Thanks Helga for all you do!

Helga's Back!

2007-05-30T10:58:00.000-05:00

Eleven years ago, Helga came into my life. I was THRILLED!! For seven years, Helga worked only part-time which was totally fine with me. Any help I can get in running the house, I'm happy to have. However, I have to admit, Helga's NOT perfect. Helga believes in the out-of-sight, out-of-mind philosophy rather than the put-it-where-it-belongs philosophy. So over the years, Helga and I have had our ups and downs and to this date, we are still working on those same issues. Helga has free reign over the housework EXCEPT for the laundry. Helga is NOT allowed to do the laundry.

When I went back to school four years ago, Helga started working full-time. I was EXTREMELY thrilled!! Although I LOVE a clean and tidy house, I just didn't have the time for it anymore with all the school work, college club activities, and raising two active children and a husband. The housework got pushed to the wayside so Helga starting working longer hours so I wouldn't go CRAZY with a dirty and untidy house! Helga's been a life-saver but do remember what I previously stated, Helga and I had our ups and downs on which was the best philosophy to ATTACK the housework! Sometimes Helga seemed to do more harm than good but I was still glad to have Helga around.

After I graduated two weeks ago, Helga disappeared. I guess Helga thought that being I was NO longer BUSY with school activities, I now had time to tackle ALL the housework. I think Helga should have talked this over with me first before just disappearing. Helga seemed to think I didn't need to be laying around the house doing nothing! How dare Helga say that! I was doing something - watching TV and "working" on my computer is HARD work! (Plus I spent a week getting ready for my garage sale and attending field trips, Helga's help would have been GRACIOUSLY appreciated!) So needless to say, the house had become untidy and a little dirty!

Well, this last past weekend, Helga finally resurfaced! I was EXTREMELY THRILLED!! Yeah, Helga's BACK!!! I hope Helga's back for good! Helga and I both worked hard this past weekend on tidying up the house and there's still more work to be done. Hopefully Helga will continue helping me - finish up the remaining housework and then maintain the housework!

PLEASE HELGA, DON'T LEAVE ME!!!

Last Week

2007-05-28T10:10:00.000-05:00

Last Monday Tanner's class had a Coffeehouse Poetry Reading. For the past few weeks, the kids have been writing different types of poems. Each child had to pick one to read to the audience plus they did some group ones. FYI - The PARENTS got into "trouble" because we clapped after the first child. Well, in a coffeehouse you're supposed to snap your fingers not clap your hands. It gets too noisy! Well, who knew?! It would have been nice if the teacher or OUR CHILDREN shared this bit of information with the us! :) Anyways.......

Wednesday evening Hayley had dance rehearsal for their Friday recital. Well, during the recital ALL dancers, gymnasts, and cheerleaders must stay backstage for the entire recital. So if they want to see the other performances, they must watch the rehearsals - which meant Hayley wanted to stay for the ENTIRE rehearsal. And being the good mom that I am, we did! She rehearsed from 5:15 to 6:00 and then we stayed until 9:00 so she could see all the other performances even though I'm going to see them all Friday night!

The last day of school was Friday and they got out at 12:30. The kids are REALLY excited to be DONE! We have one week of free time before our summer activities start. Then our summer gets CRAZY for awhile. Although I'm sure Hayley's softball team will be meeting this week as their first and second games are next week. At least I hope they practice or it could be a really AMUSING game!

Hayley's dance recital went really well. However, when Hayley's group was performing their routine, the people running the music STOPPED it in the middle of the routine. It's somewhat understandable as there's a break in the music, the girls stop dancing, and the audience always starts clapping but it's NOT DONE! They are only halfway done! That is why they do rehearsals, so the sound people know the music, well, of course, so the girls can practice, too. The guys didn't screw it up then so why that night?! Because they weren't paying attention! So the music stopped completely and the girls just stood there, like now what! After about 10 painstakingly LONG seconds they finally restarted the music and the girls were able to move on. I felt so sorry for them but they recovered very well, considering! GOOD JOB, GIRLS!

(ABOVE - Hayley is the on the far left, middle row, standing)

(BELOW - Hayley is second from the left, standing above a girl, facing the audience)

(All the dance groups performed a group finale in summer apparel with summer props.)

(Hayley is third from the left, in purple.)

Job Offer......But I'm Not Taking It

2007-05-24T12:57:00.000-05:00

So I received a job offer this morning. But don't get too excited because I'm NOT going to take it, or at least I'm 95% sure I'm not going to take it. It was from the company that I interviewed with about a month ago that was considering allowing the employee to work from home, which I was VERY excited about even if it wasn't my dream job. However, they are not offering me that position. Go figure! They are offering me a part-time summer temp position working in the sales office as an assistant. And they are willing to pay me almost $2/hr LESS than I was making when I quit my job to go back to school. How tempting! But I think I'll pass. However, I have until Tuesday to make my decision. I don't think I'll loose any sleep over this one! Also, they really want it to be full-time but are willing to let it be part-time (minimum of 30 hours/week) as I had expressed my interest of possibly working part-time for awhile. HELLO - I'll take the full-time job if it means working from home!! Oh, and they are willing to let me decide how many days, which days, and hours I want to work but I think I'll still pass. And they didn't even know if it would last through August so maybe it'd only be a month or two.

My dream job is out there somewhere.............OH, where are you job? Come and find me!

Anniversary Date

2007-05-21T14:56:00.001-05:00

So last night we celebrated our anniversary by going out for supper. Grandpa & Grandma picked the kids up at 4:45 to go see Shrek 3 and then took them out for supper at Burger King. I felt REALLY old going out for our anniversary meal at 5 pm on a Sunday!! I'm far too young to be celebrating like that!! Dean kept saying we are old so it's ok to celebrate like that. I said, it may be ok for you because you are OLD so you can say that, but I'm YOUNG! I can get away with saying this because he's six years older than me! :)

I kept telling the kids that dad and I were going out on a date and Dean kept saying no we aren't. We're just going out to eat. When you're married, doesn't that count as a date?! So when we got to the restaurant I said to Dean, are you still going to say we're not on a date? And he said, yep, because according to Tanner, a date is when a boy and girl go out to eat and kiss. So I made Dean kiss me across the WIDE table. NOW we were officially on a date!

Anyways, we decided to eat at Minerva's. We started our evening out with our beverages - Dean, a Morgan Coke and me, a raspberry mojito. (Note to self - NEVER, ever have another raspberry mojito for the rest of my life.......unless, I finally decide I like drinking Nyquil by the glassful!) I should have went with the glass of wine which I had anticipated having but then changed my mind. (Note to self - I've found that generally my initial decision is the best decision.) Then we moved onto our appetizer, which was Crab and Artichoke Dip. (Note to self - NEVER ever order crab and artichoke dip again.......unless, I finally decide I like crab.) I like artichoke dip. I don't like crab. But the waitress told me it didn't taste very "crabby" and she said it was one of her favorites. And Dean really wanted it. (Note to self - NEVER trust the waitress' tastes.) Plus I burnt the HECK out of the roof of my mouth. It is still really tender! Now onto our main course. We both chose steaks. Mine was a BIG 9 oz ribeye (way too much for me, especially if I'm having an appetizer, dessert, and glass of Nyquil). It was actually done to perfection, medium well! Yes! I had garlic mashed potatoes as my side dish. They were YUMMY! I LOVE my potatoes!! Last but not least, dessert. I was having a hard time deciding on which one to choose. Finally I asked the waitress about the Vanilla Bean Creme Brulee Cheesecake. She said it was her favorite. So I decided to go with it because I LOVE cheesecake and LOVE vanilla bean stuff - ice cream, cheesecake, etc, and even wear the lotion from Bath N Body! (Note to self - NEVER ever trust the waitress' tastes. Obviously I didn't learn my lesson after the appetizer.) Dean's chocolate Galaxy Pie was much better but he wasn't willing to share more than a bite!

So needless to say, I was VERY full after the meal. And although it may seem like there were many disappointments (ok, there was) it was still a GREAT night.

As we left Dean said, wow, I didn't know it was possible to spend $90 on a meal here in town. Well, we're proof. It is! And boy, $90 is A LOT when you don't like your beverage, appetizer, and dessert!! But this is nothing compared to our meal last year for our anniversary......at the Eiffel Tower Restaurant at the Paris Hotel in Las Vegas.......that meal was $210.

Nice Picture, Dean!

I take really good pictures of the two of us - most of the time. The first one I cut off the top of Dean's head. The second one was great, that's the one posted at the beginning. I wanted to take a third one just because and Dean had decided he had enough and this is what I got. He thought it was funny..........until I told him I was going to post it on my blog! Well, I'm a woman of my word so Dean, this is for you! Ha ha ha!!! :)

Garage Sale

2007-05-19T15:09:00.000-05:00

So the garage sale is over! Thank goodness! However, it didn't go as well as I had anticipated. We opened two hours early and had lots of people the first five hours. The last two hours were EXTREMELY slow! I still have lots of boys and girls clothes left! Anyone interested??? We got rid of all our "big" stuff so that was definitely exciting. There were a total of six families participating in my garage sale and we made a total of $377, which I said earlier, I sometimes make that much myself. Well, not this year. I only made $165 but that's $165 more than I had on Thursday!

Grandma & Grandpa have company this weekend so they've decided that tomorrow would be better for us to go out for our anniversary supper being they will be watching the kids so today is just a lazy day - well, besides packing up my garage full of stuff and doing laundry. Other than that, I'm going to be lazy!!

Next week I'm going to do much of nothing - enjoy my last few days before the crazy, hectic summer begins with the kids and all their activities. However, this year it shouldn't be too bad as Hayley is only doing softball, tennis, and golf while, Tanner is only doing tennis and golf. Oh, and they are both doing swimming lessons but that isn't until August.

Btw ~ my hubby redeemed himself for forgetting our anniversary. At lunch he brought home a bouquet of pretty purple flowers! I LOVE flowers! And purple is my favorite color!

Happy Anniversary to Us!

2007-05-18T09:47:00.000-05:00

Wow! I can't believe we've been married 11 years!!! It feels like much longer - just kidding, honey! :) Where has the time gone??? Well, we really don't have any plans to celebrate. Last year we went to Vegas for our anniversary and this year we're having a garage sale. I think there's something wrong with this picture! Tomorrow grandma and grandpa are going to watch the kids while we go out for supper.

By the way, I called my husband at work to wish him a Happy Anniversary. His response? Oh, yeah - Happy Anniversary! My response? Gee, thanks honey! Nothing like knowing how to make me feel special!!

Well, I better get back to organizing my garage sale items!

Too Cold For Me!

2007-05-16T21:29:00.000-05:00

Boy, this weather is just too cold for me! Mother's Day was GREAT - temperature-wise. Where did it go?? Yesterday I went with Hayley's class on another field trip. This time to the Water Festival in B. It was only in the high 40s or low 50s when we stepped off the bus. Thankfully all our morning events were inside but we had to walk from building to building and the buildings were very far apart. It was SO cold and windy!! Some kids had on just shorts and a tank top or t-shirt!! What are their parents thinking??? Are their parents thinking?? Do parents not check the weather?? (I check it every morning.) Especially on field trip days?? Especially when teachers send home notes specifically stating that the kids should dress for the weather, preferably in layers?? I had on capris, a tank top, and a sweatshirt and I was FREEZING!! I felt so sorry for those kids. There was nothing I could do. Our outside events were in the afternoon and thankfully it had warmed up some but it was still pretty chilly, especially when the sun disappeared.

Today I started going through all the boxes and totes in my garage. Then I went through the kids' closets and dressers removing all the clothes that do not fit. Why you might ask? Because I'm having a rummage sale this weekend. Hopefully I'll sell it all. Wishful thinking can't hurt! Actually I usually do pretty good, $200 to $400. It's supposed to be a nice weekend for it so I'm glad I picked this weekend! Wish me luck!

I was on my feet most of the day, lifting and bending so I'm sore. I'm heading to bed so my hubby can give me a back rub!

I'm Done, I'm Done, I'm DONE!

2007-05-14T10:14:00.000-05:00

I cannot believe I'm done!! It feels so good to be done but I don't think it has really settled in yet. I'm still unemployed but that's fine by me. I'd rather have the summer off one more time before joining the working world. I don't mind not working but I really miss not having a paycheck! Oh, well. It will come soon enough, I hope! Like in September, maybe. Ssshhh, don't tell my husband.

It was a busy week last week. I spent Tuesday catching up on my four months of magazines that I was not able to read due to all my studying. On Wednesday, I attended a field trip with Hayley's class to the Laura Ingalls Wilder exhibit in DS. It was a gorgeous day for a field trip. I spent Thursday cleaning my house so it'd be in tip-top shape for my party. On Friday I went to SF shopping for my party supplies and summer clothes for the kids. I was planning to have a pink and purple (my two favorite colors) party for graduation because I hate royal blue and gold. When I got to the party store they were pretty much sold out of pink! Are you kidding me? Who else is using pink for their graduation party?!?! And they didn't have everything in purple. They had plenty of blue and gold, should I use that? But then I knew I'd just hate it. So I finally decided to go with a bright summer party - pink, purple, lime green, and aqua. I think it still looked nice. Then I had to stop in M on my way home for graduation rehearsal, which was a total joke! Afterwards I met up with a GREAT friend, Ellie, who I haven't seen all semester! She commuted on T & TH while I commuted on M, W, and F. We grabbed a bite to eat, had a drink (well, I had a drink and she had two), and gabbed nonstop. Then we had to take off because we both had about an hour drive home and we had things to finish up for our graduation parties, like cleaning houses and making food!

Saturday was the BIG graduation day. I didn't trip and fall when I walked across the stage so that was good. Before each of my friends went up to the stage, I whispered to them, don't trip and fall. They gave me such a horrific look, like why are you saying that?! As if I was cursing them. It was so funny! But don't actors tell each other to break a leg and that's supposed to bring them good luck?! Well, that's all I was trying to do! Really! After the ceremony, I stopped for cake & punch and to mingle with some of my professors. That was fun!

I had a good party. About 20 friends and family members came to celebrate with me. I think everyone, except my dad, was gone by 6:30. I was pooped by the end of the day. I served: hamburgers; hot dogs; brats; chips - dill pickle, cheddar and sour cream, and plain; pickles - dill and bread-n-butter; olives - green and black; cheese cubes - mild cheddar, colby jack, and munster; mixed fruit - red grapes, pineapple, honey dew, cantaloupe, strawberries, and kiwi; pea and cheese pasta salad; chocolate cake; mini chocolate chip cheesecakes; homemade mints - creme de menthe, almond, pepppermint, and cinnamon; beer; sparkling strawberry lemonade; and strawberry margaritas.

My Best Friend Maria & I

Ellie & I

Penny, Me, Jenn, & Ellie

My sisters - Kelly, Jodi, Shar & Me

My Best Friend Kari & I

My Dad & I

Dean, Tanner, Hayley & Me

My Party Decorations/Supplies

The First Hurricane of 2007...

2007-05-10T08:51:00.000-05:00

... is named Andrea. YIKES!! What does that say about me or about the year I'm going to have??? Sounds pretty stormy to me!!

Life Is Good ...

2007-05-08T20:49:00.000-05:00

Especially when you have air conditioning!

I felt like we had taken a step back into time. I know, it hasn't been that hot...yet! But this weekend is supposed to be in the 80s and I'm having my graduation party with a house full of people so I was starting to panic.

We'd been contacting our builder for about two weeks to get the A/C guy over to our house to install it. Some days it's gotten to 75 degrees in our house and while that don't sound that warm, it is, trust me. Especially when trying to sleep! So finally the guy showed up last Tuesday and at least got the A/C moved out of the garage and into the backyard on the slab Dean made. And then he was gone. He finally showed up again last Thursday when I was home, took one look inside and said oh, darn! (He thought all the inside piping and wiring were done inside but it wasn't.) This was about 10:30 am. He said he had to go buy some stuff to finish up inside before he could hook up the A/C. He said he'd be back in an hour. Well, he finally showed up today about 1:30 - boy, was that one LONG hour - and he didn't even say anything about why it took so long to come back! So he had to do some soldering and he said that usually sets of the fire alarms...oh, goodie! Sure enough, the fire alarms went off! Well, at least we know they work!! It took them a long time for them to stop, him and I took turns waving stuff in front of the alarm to make it stop beeping. By the time he got done, I had one heck of a headache.

And wouldn't you know it, I've been freezing since he left and keep turning the A/C up so it will warm up in here!

I'm So Happy!

2007-05-07T11:04:00.000-05:00

Yippee! Wahoo! Awesome! Cool! Yeah! Woohoo! Yippee......wait......I already said that. Oh well! Can you tell I'm SUPER excited? I completed my last test this morning at 8:30!! I'm done! I'm DONE! I'M DONE!!

Saturday I got a jump start on celebrating. My friend Kari and I went out for Cinco de Mayo. We were planning to head to SF to celebrate but due to all the bad weather, we decided to stay in town. And trust me, we still had lots of fun. I got home at 2 am and was in bed by 2:15 but I couldn't fall asleep for quite awhile - I felt fine standing up but when I laid down I felt horrible. Normally I'm so afraid of hang overs that I only have 2 or 3 drinks. Seriously!! I think I would have been fine if I drank stuff I've had before but I mixed it up, A LOT!! We started the night out with Chocolate Martinis, then a Cherry Bomb shot (wouldn't recommend it unless you like drinking cough medicine), a few Santa Semen (gross name but very good), and lastly, Grandpa's Backdoor Punch (I think this one did me in)! Needless to say, I was VERY sick yesterday and for some reason I woke up at 6:15 and couldn't get back to sleep. So I spent yesterday in the bathroom A LOT (sorry, TMI) and felt terrible the whole day. This was not good being I had a Biology test to study for and take at 8:00 this morning! I laid in bed until 11:00 and finally dragged myself out to study and get ready for Hayley's Girl Scout Ceremony - Thinking Day and Court of Awards. Then back home to study and in bed by 9:30, although my goal was 9:00. Even after all of that, I couldn't fall asleep right away. It took me a good hour and then I woke up about 45 minutes early this morning. Probably because I was so excited that today is my last day EVER of college!!! (I'm so glad I got 11 hours of sleep Friday night because that's the only way I got through yesterday and this morning, especially considering last week was a VERY bad week of sleep for me. Too much stress, I guess!)

Party anyone? Oh wait, I'm having one on Saturday to celebrate again! But trust me, this time I will be doing very little drinking!! :)

Our GORGEOUS Weekend

2007-04-30T11:52:00.000-05:00

FRIDAY
Friday evening I was supposed to meet a friend for supper/drinks but at the last minute her husband decided to come to town with her and of course, he didn't want to sit with us two so we'll meet up again next time she's in town. I was so tired anyways so don't know if I would have been good company!

SATURDAY
Saturday Hayley had her state dance competition in H. The competition was supposed to be held in February but due to that nasty snow storm it was postponed. The girls had fun and placed 3rd......out of three teams, but, oh well. It's not all about winning. They did better at their last competition, placing 2nd out of five or six teams. You can't win them all. It was a long day. We left about 9:30 and got back about 5:00.

The kids thought it was a great evening to go play mini golf so after supper that's where we headed. The scores were as follows: Dean - 50, Me - 58, Hayley - 68, and Tanner - 76. Hayley actually got a hole-in-one!! Even her dad the "real" golfer didn't get one of those! And boy, did I let him know!!

SUNDAY
Dean had a golf date at the "real" golf course with his dad early Sunday morning - out the door at 7:20. Thankfully he didn't disturb me! The kids and I wanted to go golfing, too, so right after lunch Dean called for a tee time. The earliest time they had was 6:46 pm!!! Wow! It was definitely a busy day at the golf course. After lunch we did some shopping, the kids needed shorts, and I got 8 loads of laundry done. Then we went golfing. I ate no less than 1000 gnats and wore at least twice that many!! Crazy! Every time we looked up at the sky all you could see were swarms of gnats! And of course our golf cart doesn't have a windshield and I like to drive FAST so everytime I took off I told the kids to close their mouths! Once I ALMOST managed to send Hayley flying out of the cart through the open windshield. Something flew in my ear and was buzzing around. I slammed on the brakes while swerving erractically!! Good thing she was able to grab something to hold onto or I'm pretty sure she would have been history! Poor girl!! I really think Dean does not enjoy golfing with his family (meaning his wife and two kids). We are NOT good golfers!! And we really don't care - we're out to have fun! Well, of course, I wish I did better who doesn't?!?!

I did take golf lessons awhile back and I really don't know if I learned anything. Dean has tried to give me tips over the years and obviously they have not helped. Dean has told me I have a bad swing (plus I dance around - seriously, I cannot keep my feet still), but I didn't really believe him because he's a "real" golfer. So last summer we took my dad out golfing for Father's Day and when I teed off on the first hole my dad said, boy, you have an ugly golf swing! Gee - thanks dad! So the consensus is, I seriously need golf lessons! AGAIN! Last night, my first time out for the season, I scored a 68, which I don't think is too bad. I think par was 36 but still - a 68 isn't THAT bad! Trust me, there's been times when I've scored in the 80s!!

By the way ~ I am done with classes one week from today and graduate the 12th!!!

Road Construction.....ARGH!

2007-04-20T16:09:00.000-05:00

So wouldn't you know that they had to start road construction last Monday on my route to school! Could they not have waited three more weeks when I'm done commuting??? However, I can't complain too much. It's actually 12 miles of road construction but I only have to drive on 2 miles of the construction, so it could be worse.

However, it's like they don't know what they're doing! Or they're trying to play with people. One day I'm on one side of the road and the next day I'm on the other side. And they don't have it marked well at all. One night I was coming home, in the dark, and I was talking to my dad on the phone and I had to tell him wait, I can't figure out which side of the road I'm supposed to be on! I finally figured it out but it's that crazy! Then again, coming home this afternoon, I didn't know which side I was supposed to be on as it wasn't marked or barricaded well enough. Once I got near the end of the construction I found out I was on the WRONG side!!! YIKES!!! Luckily there was an opening in the cones for me to get to the right side but needless to say, I was embarrassed and upset that it's not well marked!!

So yesterday when I came to the road construction, there was a new sign, Grooved Road. What the heck does that mean?! Well, I soon found out. Grooved road means VERY ANNOYING vibrations and humming while driving over the road. Again, thank goodness I only need to drive it 2 miles because I don't think I'd be able to stand 12 miles of that!!

However, when I finally turned off of it and realized my butt and thighs were now numb, I thought wait a minute! This might be an excellent weight loss program. Maybe all that vibrating will help me lose all the extra pounds in my butt and thighs. Now this is a exercise program I can definitely handle......doing nothing!! I'd be willing to drive over that VERY ANNOYING grooved road 25..........no 50..........no 100 miles everyday. I could just crank the tunes to drown out the ANNOYING humming.

What a Week...And It's Only Thursday Morning!

2007-04-19T10:52:00.000-05:00

TUESDAY
Dean had to travel for work so he left at 8:00. I was so tired I could hardly open my eyes and I was laying on the floor at the top of the steps talking to him while he was getting ready to leave. And I didn't feel well most of the day but I didn't have time for that. I went shopping for a new outfit to wear for one of my busy nights this week. I got home and was making myself a ham and cheese omelet for lunch when the phone rang. It was a company that I had applied to but not specifically for a job I wanted but applied anyways. So I took the phone call and they wanted to schedule an interview with me so I shut off the burner but forgot to remove the pan from the burner. (By the way, I burned the omelet. So I ate two bites and put it into the fridge, my hubby will eat it when he gets back.) I had to run downstairs and search for my calendar and the conversation went something like this:

Job: Do you have a job to work around?
Me: No, but I attend school in M, though.
Job: Everyday?
Me: No, only three days a week.
Job: Let's try to work around your schedule.
Me: How about anytime Thursday before 2:00?
Job: No, the HR lady is out of the office that day. How about Wednesday?
Me: No, I'm out of town the whole day. How about Friday at 3:00?
Job: Well, Friday afternoons are not good days to do interviews. How about today?
Me: (Looking at the time; it's 12:15.) Well, it would have to be really soon as I have to pick up my kids from school and leave for M as I have a banquet tonight.
Job: Boy, you're busy!
Me: No, not really but you just picked my busiest week of the semester.
Job: Let's look at next week. How about Monday?
Me: Sure, I get back at 11:00.
Job: How about 11:15?
Me: Well, I need to stop by home to change and prepare so how about 11:30?
Job: Well, we can try that. (Whatever that means.)

So as we are confirming the details I realize I'm actually supposed to be in M the whole day that day because although I'm done with classes at 10:00 I have a banquet to attend that evening and am not going to travel back and forth. AARRGGHH!! So I'm thinking what should I do. I finally decided just to go with it and think about it later. So now that I've had time to think, I'm going to skip classes Monday morning, go to my 11:30 interview and then drive to M for the banquet.

Later that afternoon I start getting ready for my PBL Banquet and at 2:15 receive a call from my dad that he's going to be stopping by as he's going through town and he's 45 minutes away. Oh shoot! I forgot he was coming. OK, dad but I have to pick the kids up from school at 3:20. (By the way, he knew I was going to leave town shortly afterwards because I had told him this when we talked on the phone over the weekend.) So he should have been to my house by 3:00 but didn't show so at 3:15 left to get the kids. On my way home my engine light comes on. Now, this is my Explorer, my baby. We bought it brand new 2.5 years ago and I take very good care of it. Why is this happening? And more importantly, why today? So I go home and my dad still isn't there. I tell the kids to grab their suitcases and let's go to grandma's house being Dean was out of town on business and I was leaving town and wouldn't be home until 9:00 pm and would be leaving for M again at 6:30 am the next day. I'm trying to figure out how I'm going to get to M tonight and tomorrow and my hubby isn't due back until late Wednesday. Then I remember that although he left town his vehicle is still here as he rode with someone else. So now my only dilemma was whether I could make it the 2.5 miles to his workplace. So I dropped the kids off and made it. Although now I was not happy that I would now be driving the mini van (yeah, I know, we're sorta backwards, employed hubby drives 10 year old mini van while unemployed wife drives new SUV.) And I made it to M and back.

I arrived early to my PBL Banquet, believe it or not. In time for happy hour, 2-fers!! Trust me, I needed it after my day. The banquet was really small but really fun! Boy is Dan, my PBL advisor, going to miss me next year! Whether he believes it or not! :)

While in M I called my sister and made arrangements to meet her back in town when I got back so I could give her my car keys to give to her fiance who is the Service Manager at the dealership in town. My drive home was LLOONNGG!! I swear I was seeing double because I was so tired. I called my dad to find out what happened to him and he showed up at my house at 4:20 after I had left and had forgotten I was leaving town. He wanted me to talk to him awhile being I was so tired but I really needed to concentrate on the road. I almost hit a pheasant and bunny (AGAIN) while on the phone and just knew those deer were waiting out there for me. I wonder if those are the same pheasant and bunny I've almost hit several other times???

Well, for some reason, when I got home, I couldn't go to sleep. Probably because I had no husband and no kids! I was in bed by 10:20 and still awake at midnight. I made a decision that I was not getting up at 5:30 to go to 8:00 class so I reset my alarm and got up for my 9:00 class.

WEDNESDAY
By the way, I missed a quiz in my 8:00 class. Go figure! So I made it to class yesterday at 9:00, had a meeting, had lunch with my friend Maria, had class again, spent a couple hours at Maria's house chatting (again) and enjoying her little 6-month boy Jordan, and then went to another banquet/dinner. This one at the President's house of the college. He invites three faculty members and those faculty are to bring one student. My PBL Advisor choose me to attend. It was a good time. So I got back home last night, talked to my dad almost the whole way home as he was giving me a play-by-play on American Idol. Boy, was I happy to see my kids and hubby!

By the way, my sister's fiance called me to tell me what was wrong with my SUV. Really, nothing, but something.

John: Do you use E-85?
Me: Yes, but we can as it's a flex-fuel vehicle, the manual says!
John: Yes you can but do you switch back and forth between the two?
Me: Yes.
John: Well, with yours, if you are going to change between regular and E-85 fuel you have to wait until it's below 1/4 of a tank. There's a sensor in your tank. If you fill up above 1/4 tank, it assumes you are putting the same fuel in. If you don't, you confuse your vehicle. If you fill up when it's below 1/4 tank, it will actually sense what type of fuel.
Me: Oh, well it would have been nice if I knew that sooner!

So for convenience, I'll probably start using regular all the time as I don't want to keep track what I put in there last and I don't like to wait until it gets below 1/4 tank to fill up, especially with commuting.

THURSDAY
I'm working on a group presentation that we are rehearsing tomorrow afternoon so I better get back to that. Then I have another banquet in M tonight, Delta Mu Delta. But before I go to the banquet I'm going to stop at my friend Julie's (which by the way, she's going to be serving a variety of wines, cheeses, and desserts on a silver platter with the red carpet rolled out for me when I arrive) and chat with her and see her little girl, Alonna. I'm so excited!!

Gosh, driving to M five days this week is going to do me in. Actually it was supposed to be six. I had a Kappa Sigma Iota Banquet last Sunday but I decided I was skipping that one. I'm glad I did, too many banquets and too much driving. By the way, I have another banquet next Monday. I think if I ever hear the word banquet again will be way too soon!

To Tell or Not To Tell...

2007-04-13T13:55:00.000-05:00

That is the question. What is the answer?

I can't even remember when I realized that mom and dad were the Tooth Fairy, Easter Bunny, and Santa Claus. Even after us three older siblings realized it, we had to keep up the facade because my youngest sibling was eight years younger and we didn't want to spoil it for her. Then when she started figuring it out, we kept trying to make her believe they were real because we were afraid it would all come to an end after all of us had it figured out!! But it didn't.

So anyways, I have no idea if my kids still believe in these "people." They have raised questions of doubt over the past couple of years but we've never come out and said yes or no, they are or are not real. We have said things, such as well then where do all the presents come from and just asked them to explain it to us.

Should we say something or just let them be? Everyone I've talked to said they knew by the 2nd grade. I think I was much older, say 4th or 5th, which are the grades my kids are in. I hate to take away their innocence. They're only kids once. I'm afraid my kids might get beat up on the playground at school for believing in these "people." Especially my son, who's the oldest!

Yesterday Tanner lost his tooth in school. So, of course, he had to put it under his pillow so the Tooth Fairy could bring him money. I, over the years, have actually discouraged them from putting it under the pillow because 1) if the Tooth Fairy decides to take it, he/she has to find it without waking the sleeping child while in the dark, and 2) it might get lost. So the conversation last night went like this:

Tanner: Mom, I put my tooth on my toy box, in the corner, away from the wall, closest to my door.

Me: Why are you telling me this?

Tanner: (With a small grin and some thinking.) Because you like to know where things are.

Me: Oh, really.

Tanner: Yes. (Walked away and went to bed.)

So that was at 9:00 pm. At 10:00 I started getting ready for bed. I was in bed for about 30 minutes when I suddenly opened my eyes and hit my sleeping husband to tell him the Tooth Fairy forgot to come. His response, yeah, so. My response, please go do it, I don't want to get up. So he raids my purse for money and then brings up the tooth and puts it on my armoire. Then the conversation goes like this:

Me: You can't take the tooth.

Husband: Why not? (Already back in bed.)

Me: Because it's a silver crown and the tooth fairy only takes good teeth to give to kids that don't have teeth. They don't take bad teeth.

Husband: Whatever. (Almost back to sleep.)

Me: You aren't going to make ME bring it back downstairs, are you?

Husband: Argh! (Whips the blankets back, gets out of bed huffily, and replaces the tooth.)

This isn't the first time the Tooth Fairy has forgotten to come. (At least this time, the Tooth Fairy remembered before the child awakened in the morning to find nothing.) The prior tooth Tanner lost, his other silver crown, it took the Tooth Fairy 3 nights to come!!! I think we could have won the Worst Parents Ever Award for that one! Our excuses each day after a night would pass with no Tooth Fairy were: maybe the Tooth Fairy doesn't bring money for silver teeth, or maybe she's been too busy, you know kids loose their teeth everyday. We felt awful but we just couldn't remember. It wasn't intentional. Really!!!

Tanner didn't say a word this morning about how much he received from the Tooth Fairy so maybe the Tooth Fairy didn't come last night??? I'll have to check on that.