Work, Work, Work

I need an extra day between Tuesday and Wednesday this week. I worked 7am-3:30pm and then 6pm-12:30am yesterday. Today I will have worked 7-3:30 again, plus 6pm tonight to 6am Weds. morning. I love getting the extra hours in, I am just trying to figure out when I am supposed to pay bills and do my baking and such. And on top of that we did lunch at the park again with Adam's preschool friends today. I ran the kids around and around the park chasing the cheapo Barbie kite. We managed to break both streamer tail thingies off it AND broke through both pre made holes you attach the string through. The wind was a little volatile!! I thought for sure we were going to take out a few people. I am going to have to get J to show me how to put together our real kite, which is more fabric like and huge, for next time. Still no camera, but I wouldn't have time to get the pics up anyway!! I have to take Adam out of school early Wednesday for an eye doctor appointment and then we have some running around town to do so it will be another busy one!

Hope everyone is enjoying the weather!

Enjoying the Weather

Okay, so despite the fact that we have a few inches of snow on the ground this morning we really enjoyed the warm weather last week!! We spent a lot of time outside on Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday.

We went to the park with a bunch of kids (and their moms or dad) from Adam's preschool on Tuesday. I hadn't known about the play date beforehand so I called Justin and he was willing to pick up a couple of happy meals and bring them to us. It was so nice of him!! I think the kids played for about 2 hours and all did such a great job. I think the plan is to try to go every Tuesday when the weather is nice. It should be lots of fun and I really like Adam's classmates and their parents, so that's a big plus.

Thursday was a very busy day of driving all over, but was so worth it! After Adam got out of school we headed up to Golden for a play date with a bunch of MOPS friends and their kids. Their were five of us moms and we all have a 4/5 year old, 3 of us have 2 year olds and the other 2 have babies. I had such a great time getting to visit and catch up with my MOPS friends, especially since both our meetings in April were cancelled due to the weather!! We stayed at the park for 3 hours then had to head towards home for an appointment before the seminar we go to on Thursday nights. We had 2 picnic lunches that day!

We started Friday off with Adam's 5 year well check, went to the optical shop to fix Noelle's glasses, and then headed up north (again) to my dad and Sheri's house. Sheri, Stef, and I took the kids up to Boulder to the (FREE) Children's Festival. It was tons of fun and the weather was perfect for it, cloudy but no rain! The kids did all kinds of fun activities. Adam planted a bean plant and added some worm compost to the top of it, which proceeded to be spilt in Sheri's purse when we were visiting the dogs at the Humane Society van. Sheri was teased endlessly about having worm poop in her purse the rest of the day!! Noelle made a bracelet with a few beads at the Girl Scout booth, she is still wearing it! They also fished, got tattoos, stickers, face paintings, played with a parachute, in moon sand, with bubbles, well you get the idea. They seemed to really enjoy themselves and I'm sure we will make a tradition of going every year. Oh, and the tulips up there on the Pearl Street mall were just gorgeous!! They were huge and vibrant, I have never seen anything like it!!

We had to head back home Friday afternoon so that Justin and I could go out for our birthdays. Dez was so kind as to watch the kids while we went to get dinner and to see a movie. We saw "The Soloist" which we both really liked and would definitely recommend.

I have some great pics from last week but can't post them since I left my camera up north. Hopefully I can pick it up Wednesday when I head that way to take a dear friend and her family some goodies to help them through a difficult time. So check back late this week for the pics AND I had a great picture for my Friday Photo that I will post (even if it will be nearly a week late).

Happy 5th Birthday Adam!!

My sweet little boy is 5 years old today!! I just can't believe it. He has changed in so many ways recently that I am having a hard time keeping up. I think the biggest, and hardest, change for me is that he actually eats like a boy now. He has always been a picky eater who didn't require a lot of food or drink, therefor we have always had to push him to eat a little more and to try new things. Well, all of a sudden a few weeks ago we went on an outing and I didn't have nearly enough food with us for him!! I felt so awful that I couldn't give him anything else to eat when he was still hungry. It is so difficult now to bring enough food for him when we are away from home, and I always feel I am putting too much on his plate, but he eats everything every single time. It's just amazing that he lost 1 pound after his surgery (since he was a lightweight to begin with, this actually halved his percentage!!) and has now gained 3 pounds in the last 3 weeks!! We assume this is related to his tonsils and adenoids coming out, but who knows. Maybe he can actually taste his food now!!


I thought it would be fun to do a little interview with him about what he likes and doesn't like, so here goes:


Mommy: What is your nickname?
Adam: Jaguar


M: Do you have a favorite color?
A: yes, blue


M: Who is your best friend?
A: Mateo (boy from preschool)

M: What is your favorite thing to do?
A: going to our playground to play


M: What is your favorite food?
A: pancakes


M: Is there a food you really do not like?
A: yeah, broccoli


M: Do you have a favorite sport that you like to play?
A: yes and it is soccer ball


M: What really bothers you?
A: when Noelle hits me


M: Is there a rule at home that you do not like?
A: yeah, uh, hmm, that when it's nap time and it's not my birthday party I get really mad because I don't want to go to sleep


M: Can you tell me a joke?
A: Um, hmm, I don't know what I should do, hmm, the apple one
Knock Knock?
M: Who's there?
A: Interrupting Apple
M: Interup
A: chomp, chomp, chomp


M: Which is your favorite stuffed animal?
A: Umm, Iron man
M: And who is Iron Man
A: My puppy I got from Easter

M: Is there anything else you would like to tell me?
A: Um, yeah, I like to cut out stuff because when I draw pictures I cut over the lines that I made.
M: Anything else?
A: No

Happy Birthday Adam, I love you!!

What time should I pick him up?

Adam had what I call his "kid party" on Sunday to celebrate his birthday. He invited his 2 cousins and 4 friends from school, everyone was able to make it which gave us a grand total of 8 kids. My assumption (and you know what they say about that!) was there would be the 6 invited kids, a parent or two per kid, and maybe even a few siblings thrown into the mix. Boy was I wrong, but at least we had plenty of food! Grandma shows up with the first little boy and asks, "What time should I pick him up?" HUH?!?! I hope we covered our surprise well. It never occurred to me that the parents would not stay for the party. This is only the second "kid party" we have done and last time every single parent stayed, plus some siblings. Is 5 some magical age I didn't know about where all of a sudden kids just get dropped off for a birthday party? I had thought that wouldn't start for a few more years. Well, sure enough the next 2 parents said the same thing when they came to the door, the fourth parent asked but opted to stay for the party. So we ended up with the 8 kids and 4 adults. I happen to like all four kids Adam invited from school and think they are all very well behaved so the party was a great success. The 6 boys ran around with swords and guns and played super heroes, while the 2 girls (Noelle and her cousin) did their girlie stuff for the most part. It appeared everyone had a great time and they all went home happy, if a little reluctant to leave. Now my big question is, is this what I should expect next time and is there a way I can write the invitation so it is clear that the parents are included or not? I guess I will deal with that in 11 months when it comes up again!

Even though Adam should have received his gift from us tonight at Chucky Cheese (his choice for dinner) we went ahead and gave it to him last night while his cousins were still over. That way they could enjoy it with him. We gave him Sonic Unleashed for the Wii. I'm not sure anyone was excited about it, what do you think?? LOL

This is a card his friend from school made for him. So sweet! I never buy birthday cards anymore. The kids always make cards for birthdays, regardless of whether it is for an adult or child. I just think it makes it that much more special. That's why I especially liked this card. We even allow the kids to wrap all the gifts they are giving to someone, and no they don't end up perfect, but again it makes it that much more special that they did it themselves for that person.

Snow Day, Snow Play

We really had a great time playing in the snow on Friday. We originally went out to get the mail and so J could shovel the driveway. We don't actually have sidewalks on our street so he lucks out there. J put the kids on the sled and pulled them to the mailbox and they had such a great time that I took them in the back yard so they could go down our hill. We all had so much fun sledding and throwing snowballs at each other. Afterwards we went in and all watched Horton Hears A Who together and tested out the pretzel rods dipped in chocolate and sprinkles that Adam and I had made earlier in the day (they are for the party bags Adam will give his friends at his party on Sunday).

I love this one of them catching snowflakes!!

We had a nice packed sled run going down the hill (I went down a few times myself just to make sure it was packed well LOL).

Noelle and J with his giant snow ball.

Gotcha!!

We have gotten a lot of snow, at least a foot as of this morning (Sat.) and it is still coming down!!

This is the view into the neighborhood.

I was supposed to work this afternoon but we cancelled due to the weather. So instead I am going to join J and the kids for a birthday party at the WOW Museum in Lafayette. I am really looking forward to it since I wasn't going to get to go because of work. I think once we are out of the neighborhood we will be fine, even if it is slow going.

Hope everyone is warm and safe!!

Friday Photo: Sledding!

We all really enjoyed sledding in the backyard this evening!! We have the perfect size hill for the kids to go down (okay, I went a few times myself).

Friday Photo: Sleeping in a net

Noelle just never ceases to amaze me with her sleeping positions. The net bin is usually full up with babies and other doll stuff, which was of course spread out all over her room.

Just as I was getting ready to post this I heard a loud womp and then Noelle crying, the poor girl fell out of bed. It's her first time ever falling out of bed as far as I know. At least she went right back to sleep after the initial surprise. Of course that could have been the Benadryl working. For the last 2 days she has had an awful bright red rash that's hot to the touch on her arms and legs, I even noticed it on her bum tonight. It also seemed to be starting on her face tonight and was seeming itchy so I went ahead and gave her the Benadryl at bedtime. I feel so awful for her because it just looks uncomfortable. We are going to be really strict with her diet the rest of this week and then see if it is still there on Thursday night. If it is we will have to take her to the doctor or the chiropractor (he does her allergy stuff). I am really hoping it is just from giving her too much food that she is not supposed to have. Wish us luck!

Home Sweet Home

It's been over 2 weeks since I posted last. So much and yet, it seems, so little has happened in that time. We bought our house and moved in, fortunately uneventfully. We are very much enjoying making a "home" for ourselves. Even though we owned the mobile we never really wanted to make it ours, we just kind of tolerated living there and wished to get out some day so we could have a real house. We have been having fun picking out things for the house and deciding what we need now and what can wait. I was actually excited to buy an outside trash can because it means we no longer have to use a dumpster! Word of caution: Only continue reading if you really want to know what we are doing with our home. (There are some cute pictures towards the end though.)

We have put vertical blinds on the sliding glass door as well as cellular shades on the 3 windows in the master bedroom. The sliding door was a big priority since the sun comes in shining on the dining area all afternoon and directly in our faces at dinner time. Then, after spending about a week having to change and dress in the bathroom, we made the decision that our bedroom had to come next, thus the cellular shades. Since the sun shines directly in the kids rooms in the morning Adam's room has the blackout curtains that we used in the kid’s room at the apartment. I had tacked up the flat sheet to Noelle's bedding on her window, which worked great and of course matched her room. I was even considering just turning it into the curtain for her room that would go in front of blackout curtains. Then a couple days ago she decided to pull it down. Now I can't figure out what to put in her room. I originally didn't want to do blinds since her window only starts about 2 feet off the floor which gives her great access to break and ruin the blinds. But now I am hesitant to put in curtains because I don't want her to leave a hole in the wall if she decides to tear it down once we have them on an actual rod. So I am now leaning towards the faux wood blinds like we will put on the 2 windows in the living room. I feel they are sturdier and would be best since she could easily move them out of the way to see outside and they wouldn't bend easy like metal or plastic blinds would. If anyone has any ideas or opinions I would love to have them!! Right now she has nothing on her window so it is very bright in the morning and gets very warm on nicer days.

We are slowly unpacking with the goal of having the boxes already in the house unpacked by next Sunday. I also hope the new living room furniture will be installed by then. You see, we are having Adam’s kid b-day party that day and it would be really nice to have the place looking like a home for our guests. I am still working on organizing everything as well. We have a very large pantry in the kitchen and extra storage above the washer and dryer, BUT no linen or coat closets. When I bought our front load washer and dryer when we moved in I purposefully got the pedestal drawers to go under them so we could use the space above them for extra storage. I am also working on organizing the kid’s rooms/toys. Noelle’s is a challenge since we have to be able to put ALL her toys in her closet when she is sleeping. The closet then gets locked so she can’t make a huge mess and will go to sleep sooner. I got some pink and purple bins with lids, to go on a bookshelf in her closet, for her toys that have a lot of pieces and don’t come in a storage container. Since she doesn’t have a dresser the only things left out in her room during sleeping time are her bed (including bedding and stuffed animals), doll station (but no dolls or toys to play with it), and the humidifier (which I usually have to turn back on and/or plug back in before I go to bed LOL).

The kids and I are really enjoying being able to play outside so easily. When we get home in the afternoons I usually let them play in front for a while. The block has lots of kids on it, varying from about 3 years through elementary school. The 3 year old girl lives in the other half of our paired home. The kids love to blow bubbles and run around with her. It was so nice out Wednesday that I let the kids go out back after lunch. They had a great time running around and having a squirt gun fight. It is SO nice to be able to open the door and just let them go out to play. After 2 weeks I already know several neighbors names, which is more than I can say I knew after 7 years at the mobile. Everyone seems very nice so far and hopefully we will continue getting to know them.

A quick funny story about our mail and then I am done. When we moved in we got 1 mailbox key, but we had no clue which box was ours. The realtor told us to take the deed of sale to the post office and they would tell us which box the key went to. When I did the guy handed me a piece of paper to fill out and said it would be $35 (or some ridiculous number) to re-key the lock. I told him I had a key and just needed to know what box it went to. His response, “I don’t know which box it goes to, you’ll just have to try it in every hole until it works.” WHAT!! I think that falls really close to being mail tampering. Since I really had no other choice that’s just what I did. I felt like an idiot standing there trying it in every box until it worked. And of course there were other people getting their mail AND landscapers doing some work right across the street. I had to go through more than half the boxes before I hit the jackpot, and there was even mail in it!!

We're still here!

It has been a long while since I posted. I have lots to share and some great pics I want to post, including the two Friday Photos I have now missed. The reason I haven't posted (besides being busy unpacking), technical difficulties. We have 3, no, make that 4 computers at home (2 desktops and 2 laptops). One of the laptops isn't good for anything really, it doesn't have Microsoft programs or Internet or anything on it (I don't recall what it runs, but I don't believe it is Windows). One of the desktops is currently out of order because J tried to install Vista on it, computer couldn't handle it, and now the XP disk isn't working in order to get the computer up and running. That desktop was our main computer before J bought his new desktop in December. My whole life is on that computer and it has been a long process of creating new files to replace my old ones and getting addresses for families I work for, but the hardest thing is that I hadn't printed any pictures from Christmas or Noelle's birthday. His new one has Vista and can handle Spore as well as making WOW easier to play. It is very nice! Unfortunately it does not have Picture It, which is what I am used to messing with my pictures in. So that has left me with the other laptop, it is about 6-7 years old but works great for what I use it for and used to work great off wireless Internet and was networked with J's new computer. Well, on Tuesday last week I took the kids to the zoo, within a few minutes my camera was reading full. So I unloaded it on the laptop on Thursday or Friday (I usually would have put it on the old desktop were all the other pics and videos are organized). The camera had about 1 month worth of pics and lots of video on it, apparently so much that I took up just enough room on the laptop that now it doesn't have enough extra space to run the network, which means no Internet. Very frustrating!! I actually have a post written on the laptop, just haven't been able to post it! I even have pics picked out for Friday Photos and just in general. Now that I have bored you senseless with all of that, I will put forth the energy to use the flash drive tonight in order to get what I want off the laptop and onto J's desktop, in order to do some posting tonight. I will post several different times so that it is not just one huge post. So be sure to check back on Tuesday to see what we have been up to!!

Hope everyone had a wonderful Easter holiday!!