Oh no!!!!!

Did you know.....

that windex works REALLY good on taking finger nail polish out of carpet????? I would rather NOT know this little interesting fact, but........ now I do. This mornig Talin got into some dark red finger nail polish ( I think he was actually trying to paint his toenails because it was ALL OVER his foot) and spilled it ALL OVER the carpet in Erin and Jamie's room - I'm not talking just spilled in one spot, I mean two places spilled several times and splattered!!!!! AHHHHHHHHHHHH! I was so worried I was almost SHAKING - did I mention we're selling our house??????? After some research - thanks MOM! - we used polish remover and then Windex - it's wonderful stuff! You can't even tell it was there except for a few tiny dried splatters that I'll go back and get after it dries. SIGH.....................

Moving right along.....

Today the dry-wallers started - Yippeee!!! We went to see and were so surprised they had already gotten so far! I guess putting it up is probably the fast part - it's the taping and filling that will take a while. It's fun to see walls, though - makes it feel more real. They also finished out porch today - we love it! It's just what we pictured.

Viola!

I just had to post my little viola player, too! She had another Orchestra Concert last night - it's so fun to see the improvements. They even played a fiddling number with all the orchestras (beg., int., and J.H.) where the elementary played regular time and the J.H. played behind them double time - it was so fun.

Insulation

We now have a multi-colored house! It's fun to see the insulation go in - it's really a LOT quieter in there now!!! This show all three kinds:

And, this is the foam underneath some of it - cool, huh?

They also finished the siding on the front - all the other parts will be veneer brick, and the rest of the house will be stucco. We used concrete siding because wood doesn't weather well in Arizona and the vinyl will melt ( funny, huh?).

Happy Valentine's Day

Somebody loves me!!! :)

Madagascar Monkeys (Lemurs)

My little Madagascar Monkeys - well, Lemurs, but monkeys sounded better! We watched Madagascar 2 tonight and the kids started dancing with the music at the end and Talin joined in - it was hillarious!!!

Students of the Month

Today they recognized the Students of the Month for January - for the value of Courage. Jamie received Student of the Month for her class because her teacher saw how much courage it has taken Jamie to change schools and adapt to new friends and stuff - it was really nice. And, Erin got Student of the Month for her history class - 4th time this year! Great job you guys!!! We really appreciate all your hard work and niceness ( is that a word?)!

Valentine Decorations

This is how Talin decorates for Valentine's Day..... He found one of Laura's crafts and proceeded to tear it apart and stick them onto Dixie. She's so good to him! I thought it was pretty funny.

Tagged, twice, and lazy!

I've been tagged twice and finally am getting around to doing it.


1st Tag: I'm supposed to post the 6th picture from my 6th folder and then blog about it.

This is Ethan last summer in his diving class. He has a pretty good fear of heights, and it took him a while to get up the nerve to go off the high dive. I was so proud of him when he did and so happy he worked through it and conquered his fear! He loved diving and worked hard at it, but I was also pleased with how he knew his limits and wasn't willing to stray from what he'd decided to do. I love getting to know my kids better through the things they do - and just loving them for it!

2nd Tag: 7 Things You Probably Don't Wish to Know About Me:

1. I've only ever kissed my husband. I kind of only wanted to kiss a guy I might marry, and I figured if I felt like I knew him well enough to kiss, then there was a possibility we might get engaged. I wasn't hard-fast on this, but I did reserve my kiss until it was REALLY SPECIAL - and it turns out it was REALLY SPECIAL and I married him 3 years later.

2. I'm addicted to chocolate - seriously. I'm really glad I never tried alcohol or drugs because trying to stop eating so much chocolate and trying to lose weight - I can see why people struggle and think it's just not possible to quit. (on a much smaller scale, of course.)

3. I'm probably the biggest supporter of breastfeeding who can't do it herself. One of my children was breastfed - and I loved it. After I got it down, it was fast, easy and wonderful - he gave me up before I was ready. But, my others just wouldn't work - I know La Leche says that anyone can breastfeed, but, trust me - I've tried, and I'm just built wrong! I'm SO grateful for good formula and I went through a lot of feeling guilty and all that until I finally came to terms with it and realized other people have trouble, too. It's actually been good for Lafe so that he can see both sides for his patients and be understanding.

4. I was supposed to graduate in Math Education (secondary) with a minor in History, but Erin was on her way, so I switched it to graduate in History with a minor in Math.

5. I love home improvement projects - much to the dismay of my husband. I grew up helping my parents remodel, garden, landscape, build, etc., so I get excited about it. Lafe starts to have panic attacks if I watch HGTV.

6. I love to plan and organize! I love leaving a room knowing I've made it more functional, and going someplace knowing I've planned and I'm ready for most things that could be thrown at us. You can imagine this is fun getting ready to move into a new house!!!

7. I'm a little OCD - especially about germs. I went through a major time in my childhood where I had to decide to not let it take over my life. I still take clorox wipes to wash off the carts and I take hand sanitizer for the kids to wash their hands after school ( we don't come right home and they want a snack) because I got tired of sick kids ALL the time, but I have a much healthier outlook on it all.

You probably really didn't care to know all that about me! Now I tag anyone who wants to do either one! I love to read them, so try it.

My Scout

Ethan had an overnight campout this last Friday. It was kind-of funny, though, because the "hike" was a mile from the leader's house to the baseball park by the Stake Center. Then, they "camped" under the stars - brrrrrrrr! The next day was the Stake Day Camp at the Stake Center so they were there and ready to go! He had a great time!

Awesome video!!!

I've been told in an email that NBC refused to air this during the Superbowl - whether or not that's true, I still think it's very powerful. Do you ever wonder why people can't see things the way you do? I'm sure they think the same thing.

Book Sale

This is where I went this morning!!!
I had so much fun!!! I got most of my books in the damaged and deeply discounted area for $1, $3, and $5 - but all the others were 50% off, too! Then, they gave us 20% off in the non-sale part of the warehouse where I got a couple for fun. So, I have a box of books, but I won't let the kids have them until they finish what they've already got - maybe for prizes, summer reading, or I don't know. In case you're in PHX and interested, it goes through Saturday and I can send you the email.

What to post about???

So, I was trying to think of something to post about.......and I was thinking, and thinking, and thinking- what have I been doing lately. Hmmmmmmm.........

So, this is what I've been doing today. Luckily, I kind-of enjoy laundry. I love the feeling of organizing the clothes and getting them all put away. And, it feels like the kids all got new clothes each week. And, for what I feel like ALL I'VE BEEN DOING for the last couple of weeks..........

AHHHHHHHHH!!! I'm really tired of feeling like I live in a glass box. DON'T TOUCH ANYTHING!!!! or I have to clean it up! Now, don't mistake me - I want to do this because I want it to sell, but it's ALL I DO! Try to keep the house clean - or at least within 1/2 hour of clean - in case a realtor calls. But, I'm super grateful that they're calling! Hopefully soon.

Picnics

Kelcie was talking about a picnic and eating outside, and so I told her she could do it today if she wanted. She got excited and immediately started planning. She found a basket and picked out some cheese, chips, and I made them a sandwich. Then, she got Talin and set it all up. She did the whole thing - she even cleaned up! And, Talin loved it, too! I love when they get to do what they want every once in a while :)

100 days of school!

Today was the 100th day of school, and they honored all the kids would had no absenses or tardies the first 100 days of school - Ethan was one of them! It was pretty fun - they gave each one of the kids a certificate, a candy bar, and a balloon that they all let off at the same time to celebrate the 100th day of school.

Ethan with his balloon.

Lift off!!!

There they go - there were 105 kids that hadn't missed any days.

Ethan with his certificate.

Leaves

I know most of you will laugh, but we are finally having "Fall". The leaves on our tree all dropped and we finally got around to raking them up, so, of course, we had to have some traditional fun! Talin wasn't sure at first when they sat him in them, but once he figured out they crunch when you walk through them, he was in! Then the jumping and throwing began, and for living in Arizona, we had a fun "Fall"!

Things I love today!

2 things I love today:

1. Sam's Club Extended Warranties!!! - Our printer went out and I'd tried everything they said on the website and finally decided to find the receipt and warranty info. Luckily, I found it, and we had gotten the 3 yr. extended warranty on it at Sam's Club. We bought it 3 1/2 years ago, so I called last night to see if it was still active - hooray, it was! And, not only that, but they are going to reimburse me and I can do whatever I want with the old one! YEAH!!!!! I got a new printer!!! It's already bought and hooked up, so that check better come!

2. Wii Fit - I love it! There's something about having to make it to the end of that activity that keeps me going. And, I love how they started out SO SLOW, so I don't feel stupid and so I don't do too much and give up (previous experience - lots of previous experiences!).

So, that's my 2 cents for today - enjoy!

WAIT - 2 more:

3. Target - especially their clearance racks!
4. Kohls - especailly their clearance racks!
Can you tell where I scored recently on clearance and cute clothes? Yipee!

House Update, again!

They're working on the house, again! After Christmas and New Year's 2 week slow down, we're excited to get it moving again. Yesterday, they put tar paper on the roof, and today they started on the stucco - Yeah!We got our fireplace Christmas Eve - can you believe they put it in on Christmas Eve? It's really cool, though! There will be a hearth in front of it and brick around it and all the way up.Can you believe all these wires??? They all go from our closet under the front stairs to the TV, mostly, and also for the modem for the whole house. Funny, huh?

We picked out our cabinets, cultured marble, and countertops today - that was fun! I hope it all turns out looking nice - it's kind of hard to tell from a little piece! But, I'm really excited about what we picked - even though EVERYONE keeps telling us to do granite everywhere!!! I love granite, but we chose to insulate better (2 story, Arizona) instead. It's moving - so fun!!!

Pets

When we show our house we try to take our dog, Dixie, with us so they can see everything and not worry about a dog. So, today we took her with us to get the kids from school, and as we left with the window open she decided that was fun. We were laughing at her because it made her face look so funny!










Jamie and Laura came home with two little chicks last Saturday (with permission :) ), and so I thought I better put them on the blog. We wanted to do chickens after we moved, so I guess this will give us a jumpstart! They've named them Frieda and Freddy ( they think the black one is a boy). Once we got them to stay in the cage they've been pretty fun. Dixie really likes them, too :( - she ate some of Lafe's brother's chickens.
O.k., this one is NOT ours!!! But, Lafe's dad does Rocky Mountain Horses, and one of them just had a colt a couple weeks ago - isn't he beautiful??? He looks like his mother who is just beautiful! Lafe enjoyed them this afternoon.

And, these pictures don't include the cat, hamster, butterflies.....

Butterfly

SOOoooooooo............ about a month ago (I think?) the kids came running in with these two caterpillars that were on our lemon tree and looked just like bird poop (sorry for the crudeness :) ). Well, we've kept caterpillars before and let them build their cacoon and then they turned into moths - cool, but a little boring. Jamie brought one home from school in 1st grade that turned into a butterfly, but it was ordered. So, we were excited when we found this one this afternoon and it had turned into a beautiful butterfly!!! The thing in the foreground above is the second one - it still has a few days. Isn't it pretty? Below is it's new container because the other one was too small, and some cottonball nectar for it to drink. Fun little science project - you never know what you'll get!