Lili-bug

I'm Baaaaaaaaaack!!!

2011-12-03T18:06:00.002-05:00

Nothing like waiting almost SIX MONTHS, huh?

So much for my "posting every day of summer vacation". I think that lasted to Day 10 or something ridiculous!

I hope you're not expecting some amazingly exciting reason for my absence. Because, really, I've just been lazy. period.

Let's see...what's been happening since June...
Well, Brett turned 14 in July, Jeff is now 43, we've now been married for 18 years and I'm 41.
I took a job in July and I'm still there. I know. Believe it or not. It was a funny story. I get a call around 2:00 from this guy asking me if I'm still interested in a job I applied for back in March. I said "Sure, I'll come in and interview" and he asked "How about today?" So, I hurried up and put on some nice duds, ran down to the place and started work the next day. Meant to be, I believe. I ABSOLUTELY, POSITIVELY ADORE MY JOB!! Even I cannot believe it. I'm the executive secretary, administrative assistant, human resources, business office manager for an assisted living community here. I am in absolute LOVE with every one of our residents. I am blessed to work with the staff and I would be shattered ever to leave. It's only part-time 20 hours a week, which is perfect with the kids' schedules and it gives me some "Mom time" still. I honestly can't say enough good things about where I am and what I'm doing. I am completely fulfilled everyday. And, believe me, I keep waiting for the other shoe to drop--but it hasn't yet ;)

Lili is in 3rd grade, Brett's in 8th. Yes, my little man will be in HIGH SCHOOL next year. AAHH! And Lili only has 2 more years in elementary school! My goodness, I never thought time could go so quickly. Amazing.

We're geared up for Christmas this year. All decorated and a lot of shopping done, so we're trying to relax and enjoy it all and watch lots of movies. We already watched "Elf" over Thanksgiving. I look forward to that movie every year! It's so cute!!

Lili's at her grandma's and Jeff and Brett went to a college hockey game, so Mama and the dogs (and cat) are snuggling in for the evening. Mama's exhausted from her 1/2 off Goodwill shopping today! The bargains I found--outstanding!! :)

I will TRY to keep this updated more frequently than I have been. I'll post some pictures too. Promise!

Back in the Saddle

2011-06-25T22:00:00.002-04:00

We just returned from Florida a few hours ago.
We had a magical Mousketeer time.
Took 632 pictures.
Will post them all soon....just kidding :)
Off to bed.
'nite.

Day 17: Good, Clean Fun

2011-06-16T21:13:00.002-04:00

The kids and I cleaned the house today. I should actually say the kids cleaned the house today. Yep, believe it or not, all I cleaned was the guest bath and the master bath and they did the entire rest of the house. Lili cleaned the kids' toilet and shower and Brett cleaned the rest of the bathroom. Brett vacuumed the whole upstairs, Lili mopped the downstairs, Brett took out the garbage, Lili dusted. They were actually asking what they could do next. AMAZING!! I guess kids can do more than we expect them to. Huh.

We had a nice steak dinner with Meemaw and Peepaw who then took the kids to their skating lessons.

Productive day :)

Day 16: What, is it April?

2011-06-16T21:08:00.002-04:00

Wednesday was rainy, windy and chilly, around 65 degrees. Blech. It seems that we can't go more than 12 hours without rain and as soon as it gets up to normal temps, they fall a good 20 degrees the next few days. By the way, the lawn looks amazing.

We pretty much spent the day close to home. I watched a couple of good old movies, "Born to be Bad" (Cary Grant--yum!), "The Secret Six" (Jean Harlow--sexy!) and then the family watched "Furry Vengeance" in the evening. It was a cute movie. Not ONE single curse word or entendre. Amazing, isn't it? A good family movie.

Gearing up for our trip. So, so sad to leave the dogs and kitty behind, but they'll be in good hands with Jeff's mom. I hope :(

Day 14: MORE Shopping!!

2011-06-15T09:49:00.002-04:00

I can't believe summer vacation is 2 weeks old already! It really has flown by. We're just so busy (usually doing nothing) all the time. Not enough hours in the day.
Tuesday the kids and I headed out shopping. Again. We had some stuff to return, some other stuff to pick up. After Jeff got home, he and I headed out shopping. Again. Kidless, this time.
To be fair, we are getting some things together for an upcoming vacation.

WE'RE GOING TO DISNEY WORLD!!!

This will be the first time for the kids. Jeff was there over 30 years ago, I was there 24 years ago. We're going with my parents, too. Built-in babysitters for the nights!! (just kidding. no I'm not!!) We wanted to go while Lili's still enchanted with the princesses and while Brett's young enough to appreciate everything magical, yet while they're both old enough to remember it. Who am I kidding? Who doesn't love Disney World? Jeff and I are just as excited as the kids.
We have an itinerary all mapped out, a couple of 'unofficial behind the scenes' books, and SIX matching T-shirts. Yes, we'll be those people.
Can't wait :)

Day 13: A little bit of shopping

2011-06-15T09:30:00.003-04:00

Dummy and Dummier

Meemaw and Peepaw came over Monday to take the kids to their skating lessons. They came in a little early and took us shopping. The kids (and I) got some bathing suits. Old Navy had all their suits for $10!! I just couldn't resist. I now have 3 new suits for this summer. Brett has 2 and Lili has 1 plus the dozen or so from last year. Jeff, of course, has the same one from about 3 years ago :)

Day 12: More of the same

2011-06-15T09:23:00.002-04:00

Sunday was another day spent at the pool house. We went to church (HI CBC!!) then came home and laid out in the sun, which actually was out for the entire day, believe it or not. The kids swam again and the rest of us cleaned up the patio and did some furniture painting. And that's about it. It was nice to get a little tan and get some much needed work done. We headed home in the evening where the dogs completely crashed. It's so cute to see Rocco Mr. Ball of Unending Energy laid out on the bed oblivious to any noise or action. It's like when your kids finally go to sleep and you appreciate them all over again!

Day 11: Pool!

2011-06-13T14:32:00.003-04:00

Brett MADE me take a picture of this bug. It really was kind of neat. The picture doesn't do it justice. I was metallic silver and huge. I've never seen anything like it. It was like Manga bug or something.

Our pool is FINALLY FINISHED!! I love the new liner. I really like the darker blue with the speckles. When the sun hits it, it looks so nice and tropical. The water temp was actually 80. We couldn't believe it was that warm. We're used to opening the pool when the water's 60, nice suprise!

The kids could not wait to go in. They jumped right in and started like fish. It was amazing to see how much Lili's grown over the past year. Last year it was almost to her chin and this year she's just gigantic looking! No more swim vest in the shallow end!! Yay!

I think Brett and Lili spent more time underwater than above it. Lili can do a pretty amazing summersault and front and back flip. She can stay under forever . So much so that we're always a little worried she's never going to come up. She takes the 'Little Mermaid' thing veeeerrrryyy seriously!

Day 10: Ehhh....

2011-06-13T13:25:00.003-04:00

Did a lot of nothing today. Kinda just packed for the weekend and laid around...again. The kids didn't get dressed again till around noon, which isn't so bad considering they haven't been gettting up till about 9. I think we're getting into a habit. I ran to McDonald's for lunch (eaten in their pajamas) and then made sure to TiVO about 36 hours of movies since we got HBO, Showtime and Cinemax free for 3 days. I now have 19% memory on my DVR :)

We decided to go to the pool house Saturday morning instead of Friday evening, so we were able to watch a couple of movies that night. 'Jaws' and 'Clash of the Titans'. 'Jaws', in honor of the pool being ready and in anticipation of swimming and 'Clash of the Titans' because it was a good ol' butt kicker of a movie. Does anyone else root for the shark in 'Jaws'?

So, Day 10 is in the books.

Oh, do you like my haircut? I've been wanting to go shorter and I think I finally found a place that can do it right. whew.

Day 9: Mom-cation!

2011-06-10T12:49:00.002-04:00

Not a lot of mommy time today. The kids stayed at our house with Peepaw while Meemaw and I went shopping. I never, NEVER go to the mall. Too many people, too many crying screaming kids, too much overpriced stuff. But, it was nice to go there since I haven't been there since last fall sometime. My favorite part is the food court and the Chick-Fil-A is always yummy. Meemaw and I got LOTS of summer togs for the kids. They've both had a big growth spurt this year, so it was lots of new shorts, shirts and shoes. I can't believe how much fun it is to shop for the kids. How unselfish of me :)

After Jeff got home from work, we all went to the newest Chinese Buffet. Always a crowd pleaser. Lili always always gets Lo Mein noodles, harboiled eggs, green beans and corn. Brett always always gets pizza, hardboiled eggs and bacon wrapped lobster bites. It's super yummy for everyone! Later that evening, Mee and Pee took the kids to their skating lessons and Jeff went to a Men's Club Meeting at church, so mommy had the house all to herself again for 1 1/2 hours. Of course, I didn't know what to do with myself...craft? watch TV? read? What to do, what to do? I think I watched the season 3 finale of Dexter and let the dogs outside 5 times and that was about that. Whooping it up mommy style!

Once again, I think we'll be spending the weekend at the pool house, sans internet. I'll check back in next week.

Have a great weekend :)

Day 8: Groceries and Short Cuts

2011-06-08T16:35:00.002-04:00

Before

After

Before

After

Today Lili and I went grocery shopping. Brett wanted to stay home, so I let him. Lili and I had some chocolate donuts, stopped by WalMart, Meijer and the bank. We went home, picked Brett up and went to Steak and Shake for lunch. While we were there, we decided that this would be a good day for a hair cut. Brett's been talking about ridding himself of his mop, and Lili suprised us by saying she'd get a hair cut too. Up to now, her "haircuts" have consisted of 1/4 of an inch off the bottom, but today, she got several inches cut off. It's amazing how old she looks. She LOOOOOVES it. She keeps swinging it around and bouncing saying how much she loves her hair. I told her she looks 10 and she's just thrilled! Brett looks older too. It's amazing how much a quick 5 minute hair cut can do. Cool!

Day 7: Library and McDonald's for Snacks

2011-06-08T16:10:00.002-04:00

After sleeping in until TEN O'CLOCK (!) We hung out at the library for over an hour, Brett on his laptop and Lili on the library's Mac computers making funny faces and movies of herself. Yep, just what the library's all about. What? They have books there? Huh.

They just LOVE getting treats from the library vending machines so they each took $1. Yikes!! I couldn't believe that they've raised their prices so much. $1.25 for a regular sized candy bar and $.80 for a 5-stick pack of gum! Well, thank goodness for good 'ol Mickey D's. $1.00 for 3 cookies and 59 cent ice cream cones. And, of course, hazelnut iced coffee, this mom's crank.

We had a fun time, as you can see.

Day 6: Yawn!

2011-06-08T16:02:00.002-04:00

Monday was a really, really lazy day. We laid around in our pajamas till after lunch. Rocco was even sacked out on our bed until 2 or so. We did venture out, just Lili and I, so we could spend some of her money on a "Dragon Ball Z" DVD. Season 9, I believe. Whatever. I hate those cartoons. Give me Jabber Jaws, Scooby Doo and Captain Caveman anyday! While we were at Target, I scored some nice polo shirts for Brett for $1.74! Could not beat that.

When we came home Lili watched like every episode of her new DVD and I pretended that I was exhausted from the kids and all I had accomplished when Jeff came home :)

Day....whatever: Bad, BAD Blogger

2011-06-08T15:53:00.003-04:00

OK, so it appears I've crapped out by day four ! I warned you that I wouldn't have internet for the weekend and darn it all, it's mid-week and I still haven't gotten back to the computer. We've been busy, I guess.

I'll condense Days 4 and 5 since it was actually "day 4, repeat". We had a yard sale at Meemaw and Peepaw's Saturday and Sunday. Saturday it was HHHHHHHHHOOOOOOOOTTTTTT! Like 500 degrees with a million % humidity hot. Mmm, Mmm, good. Not so much fun when you're moving boxes and bags, but it sure beat the heck out of another 60 degree and rainy Saturday. Sunday was another yard sale day. Nice weather again, a little cooler. We all made some money. Brett now has $102 in his "I get to go to Europe envelope". He has a chance to go to France, Germany, etc. through his school next summer and we're trying to start saving the money now. I was pleasantly suprised that he let the money go so easily rather than spend it all. He must really want to go on the trip.....and don't think I'm not going to be angling for a chaperone position. Hey, why waste 3 years of HS and 2 years of college French? Mais, non!

So, that was about it for the weekend. Lots of time spent with Meemaw and Peepaw. Got rid of some stuff, made some money and stared out at our pool that's unswimmable. We got a new liner and it's not quite ready yet, so it was a little swampy looking all weekend, about 1/2 full of water. Yech. I've never seen that side of it before. No likey, likey!

Day 3: Groceries

2011-06-03T15:32:00.003-04:00

You know I didn't take one picture today? Argh. Day 3 and I'm already blowing it. Not much to see anyway. We went to McD's for breakfast and Hazelnut Iced Coffee for me. Seriously, seriously addicted to that stuff. I could have 2 a day and still want more. It's very cheap at $1.99 for a large and very, SO VERY good!!
Then we went grocery shopping. Things were all exciting at Meijer where the kids got to scan (Lili) and bag (Brett), but by grocery store #3, things started to get a little funky. It's all fun and games eating, but the actual aquiring of the food, not so much.
Also made a quickie stop at Goodwill. I haven't been there in about 2 weeks and the ENTIRE STORE was changed. They work fast! I got some bingo cards and some summer shoes. Ewwww. I know. Shoes. From Goodwill. But I'll have you know that all my 'fancy' shoes come for Goodwill and I've never had a problem. Just a quick couple of wipes with a sanitizing cloth and I'm stepping out in style. Plus shoes were 1/2 off today :)
We had an appt. at 1:00 and since then we've been hanging out at home, packing up for the weekend that will be spent at our other house. Which means that I won't have internet access till Sunday night, but I can tell you now what the plans are: movies, playing outside and YARD SALE at my mom's. Hopefully it doesn't rain. Like for the first Saturday since sometime last summer. Geesh, I think the mosquitoes will completely drain me this weekend. Oh well, what I won't do for a quick buck ;)
Have a great weekend!

Day 2: House cleaning and PJs (*updated with pictures)

2011-06-03T15:25:00.004-04:00

Day 2 was house cleaning, PJs and movie day.
I cannot believe how much help the kids were. They cleaned the entire upstairs! They vacuumed and dusted their rooms, plus the bathrooms, the hallway and my bedroom (all while I drank a cup of coffee and caught up on my 'Dexter' DVDs---shhhh.). It was really, really awesome!! They were more than willing to help and Brett even asked what he could do next! I know it's only "week one", but so far, so good.
Then after mac n' cheese and watermelon we watched our movie, 'Aliens in the Attic' and had lots of popcorn :) The movie was funny but a LOT scarier than I thought it would be. Not a lot of feel-good cutesy alienness in this one. My kids loved it, but it might be a little much for the wee ones.
All in all it was a nice day. Nice weather and nice hanging out at home.
Blogger IS NOT letting me add pictures for some reason, but I did add them on the previous post.
"Day 3" coming soon.

Summer Vacation 2011: Day 1

2011-06-01T19:40:00.004-04:00

Since I've been such a hideous blogger lately (and I've heard about it too!), I've decided to embark on a little summer bloggy-venture.
I'm going to try , I repeat, try to keep a record (hopefully most with pictures) of every single day of our summer vacation this year. I counted down how many days total, and the number scared me: 85! That's it?! 85! It doesn't really sound like much of vacation when it's only X number of days till school starts. Yikes!
So, this year, we're going to try to live it to the fullest. Everyday, I'm going to give the kids 2 choices for the next day. They each get a vote, with me being the FINAL vote, thank you very much. We all vote before bed about what to do the next day and we DO it. For example, today's choices were:

Go to the park

Stay in our PJs all day and watch a movie together

We all (whew!) decided to go to the park since it wasn't too cold or too hot and we actually saw the SUN today!! We went to 2 parks, ate a picnic lunch and had 1/2 off Steak and Shake shakes. I did take pictures, but I'm too worn out to load them :)
Tomorrow's 'decisions' are:

Clean the house

AND

Stay in our PJs and watch a movie ("Aliens in the Attic")

Not much of a choice for tomorrow, which I warned them about in advance. No choices when it comes to work.
So, we'll see how this whole thing goes.
I think that we'll enjoy looking back at summer when it's 20 below and snowing, which around here, could be next week.
Just an idea I had in the middle of the night. Kind of a challenge, if you will.
Hang in there with me and keep me accountable. I'll get pictures on here too, but I *promise to try* to blog our daily activities.

Just a few reaons why I LOVE Lili's school!

2011-03-25T21:39:00.002-04:00

It was "Dr. Seuss Reading Night" at Lili's school tonight, with "special celebrity readers". No kidding! FOUR Notre Dame players, including the quarterback?!

Winning!

You don't often get the opportunity to have 4 players right there in front of you for the picking, so Lili and I, OK I took total and complete advantage of it!

There were only about 15 kids per group and the guys were just sitting there, offering to autograph things a pose for pictures FOR FREE! Hello! I love me a bargain :)

I have never felt so short....or old in my life!

Lili did tell me that I "looked like a teenager, like one of those boys". Can you believe that? I wanted to lick her feet right there. What a kid!

We did have a really fun time, she thanked me for taking her.

I thanked her for taking me!!

GO IRISH!

Happy 8th Birthday Lili!!!

2011-03-20T20:25:00.003-04:00

What more could a girl want for her 8th birthday than...

corn?

In all seriousness, Lili truly did ask for corn for her birthday.

"Corn and Barbies" to be exact!

Obviously, the girl likes cake too!
As you can see, she's pretty excited to get to it.

Celebrating her Hello Kitty party.

We've already done every Princess and Spongbob, etc.

Who knows what we're going to do next year!

Overwhelmed!

Making a wish...

probably for more corn.

Blow out the candles!

Lili also asked for a "treasure box with money in it".

We figured out it was something that Grandma has made in the past that she reaaaalllly loves. Come to think of it, I think I want one too!

Look at that FACE!

JACKPOT!!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY LILI!!!

2011-02-16T14:23:00.002-05:00

OK, so this isn't Lili's Valentines Day outfit, but I took those pictures on my purse camera and I'm too lazy to go get it and upload, so this'll have to suffice.

She is still kinda cute anyway, isn't she?

Part of my Valentines mantel.
(I just kept the same red lights from CNY)

I made lots of stuff with the Cricut and from the Graphics Fairy, but most everything else is stuff from around the house anyway. It's like Valentines Day all year!

A little something I made for my craft room.

It's a 1.00 frame with some scrapbook paper, ribbon and lots of buttons from my Grandma's stash.

Here's my island! The table top is from our 20 year old kitchen table.

See why you should NEVER throw anything away?

My favorite thing: Part I

Peg board with ALL my tools.

LOVE, LOVE, LOOOOOVE it! It's so super organized, it's fantastic!!

My favorite thing: Part II

Ribbon Rack!

I LOVE, LOVE, LOOOOOVE this too!!!

All of my ribbons are out of boxes where I can actually SEE them and GET TO them!

Yay!!

Rocco blowing a kiss for Valentines Day.

MWAH!

Ready for CNY (CRAFTY New Year!)

2011-01-26T20:55:00.001-05:00

We're all decorated for Chinese New Year (CNY)

Boy, these winter holidays sure roll around fast.

My stick tree all decked out for CNY.

My ode to the Year of the Rabbit (you'll see him again for Easter)

2 cutie little figurines I got on our trip to Texas...somewhere in Missouri, I think.

My craft room: Drywall and lighting completed

Floor installers. It always happens, doesn't it? 2 guys on the job, one's the worker and one's the goof!

The flooring is complete, or can't you tell because this is all the STUFF I need to find a place for!!

Crafting mosh pit

Believe it or not, I was able to find a place for EVERYTHING!

Jeff is still working on my island and a couple other storage units. The island is from an old kitchen table top that we've had since 1991. Aww.

My favorite spot so far.

My little window to the world. (see the alarm clock? I set it everyday for 5 minutes before Lili comes home, otherwise I think I'd miss her completely!)

My other favorite spot. All my glitters and paint and stuff all orgainzed and easy to get to. YAY!

Pretty little glitters, all in a row...

See that "N" bookend? I got it at Goodwill (of course) and I think it was a "U", but I turned it upside down, blinged it out and made it an "N".

OR-GAN-I-ZATION, baby!

Creepy little doll from a yard sale. Rocco ate her hair one day, but I managed to glue it back on. Poor doll lasts for years and years and one week with Rocco and she's scalped.

Jeff thought I was nuts for stocking up on jars for the past couple of years, but I'm actually running out. Time to go thrifting!

Jars-a-palooza!

We still have some work to do in the old craft room, that's why I haven't shared pictures of everthing yet. Lots of things still in boxes on the floor in one corner, but, all in all, I'm pretty pleased with the way it's turned out so far.

Now if I could only get out of the room so I can take care of the rest of the house....

From 'To Do'...

2011-01-13T18:43:00.002-05:00

To 'Tah Dah!!!"
Take a dusty, skanky $4 "window" from Salvation Army, add some paint, scrapbook paper, Goodwill plates, bells and crystal salt shakers, etc. and VOILA! The perfect "window" for my new basement craft room.
Yes, I am putting the cart before the horse, thank you very much, but I'm going STIR CRAZY here! Jeff is ready to prime and paint my room this weekend. Then we'll get the flooring and he can build all the shelves and the center island...eventually. He said it will be done sometime in 2011. I'm hoping...

Snow Job

2011-01-10T12:47:00.003-05:00

Friday night we went to bed at midnight with about 2" of snow on the ground.

Saturday morning, by 7:00, we woke up to over 18"!

Tunneling out since we were expecting MORE snow. Lovely lake effect snow. (I HATE that freakin' lake!)

Proof positive.

By mid-morning it was snowing so hard, we could barely see out the door.

We ended up with over 30" by Saturday evening.

Thank goodness we didn't have to go anywhere, although it was 1/2 off day at Goodwill, dang it.

And thank goodness the NFL playoffs were on Saturday night. We had chili and rolls and enjoyed the fact that we were trapped together. No, really, we did!

It renews my faith in humanity when I see people pull together to help one another.

Besides looking like a scene from the "Walking Dead", this was most of the men on our street helping to dig/push out a car. The 3rd car of the morning, by the way.

Lili DEMANDED to be thrown in the snow and packed in like a dead fish. She stayed there for hours . She even drank her hot chocolate out there, which was convenient, since she was able to cool it off by adding some snow to it :)

Ginormous drift. See how high it is in front of the house next door?

Thanks to our neighbors, our driveway, sidewalk and our entire street was snow-blown by the end of the day so we could finally get out of the house on Sunday.

69 more days till SPRING!!

Feelin' a little crafty

2011-01-07T12:58:00.003-05:00

OK, my first 2 projects I lifted from other blogs. This cute little snowman family is an idea I got from Kim K's blog.

Isn't it cute? Like Kim, I got all the supplies from the Dollar Tree, so it cost NOTHING! I even let the kids (and Rocco) help me with it...which is saying a lot since I have little patience and a lot of perfectionism in me!

This project was an idea from the Graphics Fairy, via this blog.

I also got all the supplies from the Dollar Tree and the Graphics Fairy. (styrofoam wreath, coffee filters and bird postcard)

Super quick and easy. I think it'll look great hanging on one of our big mirrors.

I've been wanting to do this one for awhile. It goes along with my winter theme. I got a branch, spray painted it white, cut out bird shapes from the Cricut, glittered them and hung them from ornament hooks. The vase is from the Dollar Tree as are the white rocks. I like it so much, I've already cut out and glittered some Chinese New Year and Valentine ornaments. Brett even said he wants one for his room :)

OK, I guess I spend WAY TOO MUCH TIME (yet not a lot of money) at the Dollar Tree! Another Dollar Tree styrofoam wreath, some 90% off Hobby Lobby garland and tulle (I got 100 yards of tulle for .99!!) I got the 'love' word for .50! It'll be decorating my house soon.

This is a NON Dollar Tree craft!!! Change is good!

I got these take out boxes from Meijer for 75% off, added string and some Asian rubber stamp images and voila! I'm going to put tealights in them and hang them from my mantle for CNY...sometime between 'winter' and 'Valentine's Day'.

This is what the boxes looked like before. Cute, but not real festive, but at .14 each, I figured I'd take a shot!

I love my Cricut and Xyron!! Crafting is SOOOOO MUCH easier now!

I've been really, really into crafting here recently. And it's not because I have a new craft room, because I don't. Not yet. It's been drywalled and is about ready to be painted and get the flooring. I've got it all laid out, we just need to get the supplies and get everything built. Poor Jeff, he only has a couple hours a week to work on it all. I wish I could help more, but I think we want it done RIGHT, so I'll just stick to blogging about it :)

Christmas Review

2010-12-29T18:11:00.005-05:00

By December 27, all the Christmas decorations were GONE, but I did decorate the mantle for winter/New Year.

Gotta love the 1/2 off day after Christmas sales. I'm also loving my new Xyron sticker machine!! (thanks, Mee and Pee)

Some clearance stuff and a Graphic's Fairy New Year postcard---LOVE the Graphic Fairy!

More cheapo decor. The paper tree is from Goodwill.

I think it all looks very Mad Men, NY apartment vintage

OK, so we spent a few days over Christmas at our SUMMER home. The kids just did not know what to do with the snow all over. They're used to SUMMER here. Brett just could not let the opportunity pass him by, so he got on his suit and ran around, pretending it was July. This shot is right before I shut the door and locked him out....you think he'd KNOW by now.

Lili's excitment upon receiving her TV so she can "watch tv stations in my room". Her favorite channel? The 24 hour local weather station.

Brett's excitement upon receiving his netbook.

Between those 2 gifts, we haven't seen our kids once since December 25th.....

Rocco and Lola's Christmas portrait.

This is seriously going to be my Christmas card next year. I absolutely LOOOOOOVE it!!

Christmas Eve at Meemaw and Peepaw's

Meemaw, Jeff, Brett, Lili, Uncle Jack, Me, Peepaw

Lili's Christmas 2010 dress

Meemaw and Peepaw's through the Christmas Eve snowfall

Brett throwing a snowball at his mother, on Christmas Eve, not expecting coal in his stocking

Meemaw and Brett

We all had yet another wonderful, warm Christmas spent with family.

I can't believe it's only Lili's 4th Christmas with us. I can't imagine what we did all those other times. Speaking of which, this year marked Jeff and my TWENTIETH Christmas together. Geez Louise, how is that possible? I've now had as many Christmases with him as I did before him. Yowza. Kinda creepy, isn't it?

Now comes the time to mourn football season nearing its end and to wait impatiently for spring to come and turn into summer. Hey, only about 6 more months and I get to wear flip flops again!! Woo Hoo!

Christmas: Chapter One, 2010

2010-12-20T19:10:00.002-05:00

Christmas for Jeff's family at our house

The kids' table

Snack Central

Uncle Keith putting on Lili's new makeup ("Gasp! Mama! I got MAKE-UP...Loooooook, Daaaaaaddy! hee hee hee")

Family Christmas Photo

(Jeff and Me, Jeff's brother-in-law, Jeff's dad)

(Lili, Jeff's mom, Brett, Jeff's sister and Rocco)

We still have a few more Christmases to look forward to.

The kids and I went shopping today so they could spend every.last.dime. of the money they got yesterday. They're already praying they get some cash or giftcards from somebody else!

Merry Christmas everyone.

These are a Few of My Favorite Things...

2010-12-13T18:34:00.005-05:00

I found these little Christmas angels at different places at different times over the years. Some have the halos or wings missing, but I just think that makes them more interesting and adorable.

Everything you see here, other than the houses, is from Goodwill. The houses are from the Dollar Tree, I just added some snowy glitter to the rooftops.

I am absolutely in LOVE with all the different LED candles out there. These flicker in unison and I just love them! (from the Christmas Tree Shops--if you don't have one in your area, FIND ONE!!)

Goodwill santa and Oklahoma thrift shop centerpiece...that's why we drove to Dallas, you know. To stop at each and every thrift shop along the way :)

I just love the soft, muted whites and golds and silvers in these pieces.

Goodwill angel in a Salvation Army bell jar.

Of course we also did the tree and garlands, etc. but I just wanted to showcase a few of my favorite decorations that I've been accumulating for pennies. It's so exciting to go hunting for treasures, knowing that you're not breaking the bank coming home with sacks full of goodies.

LOVE!

I cannot believe Christmas is like 10 days away. I don't even have my cards sent out yet (that's why you haven't gotten one from me yet!) Hopefully, I'll get them out tomorrow. I haven't wanted to venture out much the last few days since we've been hit by snow and wind and cold. yuck!

Lili had her Christmas (Holiday) concert at school tonight. Brett has his Winter band concert tomorrow night, right after Lili's last fall semester ballet class. Busy, busy.

Hope you are all enjoying the season and find time to relax and eat cookies and watch you favorite Christmas movies!!

2010-12-01T19:33:00.000-05:00

Blogging Goulash...a little bit of everything

2010-11-11T19:57:00.005-05:00

This little turkey/chicken/bird cutie is part of my Thanksgiving decor. I just couldn't resist that little gilded face. I leave him out all year in my kitchen. LOVE him.

Here's the extent of my Thanksgiving decorating. Poor Thanksgiving always gets the shaft crammed in there between Halloween and Christmas. As you can see, it looks a lot like my halloween decorations, but if you look closely, you'll see some turkey stuff too.

I found this little gem yesterday for $2. It's going to be the first thing to go in my new....

CRAFT ROOM!!

Jeff has been working diligently every spare minute to get part of our basement converted into my special room. So far he's gotten the walls up, electricity run (TONS of outlets, thank you!) and 3/4 of the drywall hung. The builders already had it insulated and 1/3 of the walls built in, so that helped a little.

Here's the view looking in from the basement entryway.

Now, allow me to show you the fun part. I have to fit all of this...

and this...

(don't breathe when you view this picture, it might all come crashing down)

and this...

AND THIS

into a 9x13 room.

Good luck, huh?

My plan is to have LOTS OF SHELVES and STORAGE. We're going to use our old dining room table top and turn it into an island with more storage for the middle of the room. Oh, and my computer and desk have to go in there too. Yikes. Sounds nearly impossible, now that I'm writing it down. I'm sure we'll figure it all out. I think it's going to be pink and green and blue, all the colors that I love that Jeff just can't live with. Lots of lace and vintage and frills, just to make sure everyone stays out!

And now, for the entertainment portion of tonight's blog post...

She sounds so much to me like a Japanese businessman in an American karaoke bar, doesn't she?

At least she's a pretty good dancer! Geez Louise, I don't see 'American Idol' in her future anytime soon. (unless she wants to give William Hung a run for his money...)

Can anyone venture a guess as to what song she's singing? Jeff gave her his old MP3 player, so she's picking up some oldies but goodies :)

Halloween 2010: Snow White Redux

2010-11-06T20:45:00.002-04:00

My, what a difference 3 years makes.

Lili was Snow White in 2007, her first Halloween.

She barely had any hair, now her hair is halfway down her back.

She barely had a smile, now we can't keep that smile off her face!

She just has such a 'spark' now, there's no containing it.

Amazing.

Halloween 2007 (4 years old)

Ballerina Girl

2010-10-23T09:42:00.003-04:00

Lili in action during ballet class.

This week was 'observation week' at the school, so I was able to see all that she's been learning over the past few weeks. She's been learning A LOT. I couldn't believe it. All the positions and french words and posture. Wow. I'm impressed.
I love her teacher. She's very sweet, but not that syrupy "honey, sweetie" sweet, know what I mean? She lets them have the 1st 5 minutes to talk and after that it's shut up and dance.

Lili loves it and I'm glad cuz she looks so darn cute in that leotard and bun :)

Time for an update (I know, right?)

2010-10-05T08:02:00.005-04:00

School has been going well. I can't believe we're into October already.

As you can probably tell, Lili is taking ballet lessons. Honest-to-goodness REAL ballet lessons at a schnazzy ballet school. ooooohhh.

I just love seeing her in her leotard with her hair in a 'ballet bun'.

Cute, no?

Her classes are going well. She learns several new techniques every week.

She told me she "just loves ballet".

Since we are in the midst of October and the Halloween season, I figured I'd might as well deal with it and put out my Halloween stuff. I hate that the pool is closed and the nights are cold and the mornings are dark, but you have to get through it to get to summer again. blah.

Between the Dollar Tree and Goodwill, my house is pretty much set. I didn't spend a red cent on retail. So exciting. Makes me like the stuff even more :)

Not too much going on around here. We're back 'home' for the fall and winter. Not too many jaunts planned for going back to the 'summer house' (considering it is a summer house and all). I think we are going to spend Christmas Eve and Day there though since it'll make it easier to be with our families over the holidays. So that'll be nice.

I'd like to say we're going to spend Thanksgiving there too, but that's not going to happen.
You know why?

Because we're going to the Dallas Cowboys Thanksgiving Day game, that's why!!

It's my 40th birthday present. I don't care if they win, I don't care if they lose by 50 points, I don't care that I'll be 40 (gulp) I'm going to be there IN DALLAS live. Holy crap. I'm going to buy all the merchandise I see and I'm not coming back until I scour every. single. store. So tired of the Bears/Colts merchandise around here I could scream!!

As you can probably imagine, I can't wait for Thanksgiving.

6 more weeks.

Hope everyone has a nice autumn week.

Only 184 days to go!!

2010-08-18T19:45:00.002-04:00

Lili: 2nd grade

Brett: 7th grade

Yesterday was the first day of school here. (I actually had the post in the works last night, but blogger took forever to load the pictures, so I quit till this morning)

As you can tell, the kids were pretty excited about it. As you can also tell, it's dark when Lili leaves and light when Brett leaves. He starts an hour later than her and gets home 2 hours later. Don't ask me why...

I'm happy to report that they still had the same shining faces when they got home. Lili, of course LOVES school and her teacher. Brett really, really seems to like everything so far. He's very excited that he has has all male teachers but one. Jeff and I think that'll be good for him too. He's a "man's man".

Mom's "first day of vacation" (hee hee) went pretty well too!

Don't tell the kids that they only get 10 weeks of vacation and I get the other 42!!

2010-08-09T11:06:00.001-04:00

Happy

3rd

Liliana-versary!!

Not sure what we're doing yet, but I'm thinking it'll involve Chinese food and another viewing of our Lili-adoption-journey DVD.

What do you get when you cross a monkey with a pirrahna?

2010-07-23T11:36:00.003-04:00

We really should've named him "Ouch! NO!"

...he's lucky he's so stinkin' cute!

Golden Boy

2010-07-21T10:30:00.002-04:00

Brett's birthday was last week. His 13th birthday!!

Holy Sunrise, Sunset, when did my little guy get to be a teenager ??

We asked him what he wanted to do and he decided that he wanted to have a friend over to the pool to go swimming and spend the night. We had our family party the next day and had a really nice time (as always).

This was Brett's "Golden Birthday", have you ever heard of such a thing? I hadn't until his 2nd grade teacher told him that whatever day you were born on is your golden birthday when you turn that age. i.e: Brett was born on the 13th, so his golden b-day is his 13th b-day, mine would've been my 12th (sure, NOW you tell me!), Lili's will be her 20th!!

For Brett's actual birthday, on a Tuesday, he chose to go to Steak N Shake, since he had a free birthday dinner coupon...

...and bowling. REAL bowling, not this bowling on the Wii thing---which I'm awesome at, by the way, unlike REAL bowling.

We also went to Logan's Roadhouse for dinner, aka "that place where you throw the peanuts on the floor cuz you can and nobody gets mad" :)

All in all, I think Brett had a pretty golden birthday. We got him some techie gifts, including a camera, because he's been going on some trips this summer and he's all into taking pictures now. He's at Cedar Point right now with his church youth group, so we'll be interested to see what pics he took.

It's very strange only having one kid around the house again. Especially the Chinese one. Kinda a new experience for us. (one kid IS a lot easier than two---amazing!!)

Oh, and a quick description of the previous post's pictures of our pool house.

All of the "after" labeled pictures should actually be labeled "during". We are no where near "after", but are pleased with what we've done so far. We still have to do all the walls and flooring and new kitchen cabinets, another bathroom....and, and, and the list goes on and on. But, we're happy it's feeling more like home and we've been swimming so much, we haven't really been inside but to sleep anyway. We had a lovely July 4th party/reunion and have had a relaxing 3 (or 4) day weekend all summer long. So, that's what it's all about. Which is also why I haven't been blogging much this summer, too busy traveling from house to house and having FUN!! :)

Hoping you all continue to have a safe, relaxing summer because school for us starts in less than a month---eek.

Making Some Progress...

2010-07-19T20:55:00.000-04:00

What we did on our (first 3 days of) summer vacation

2010-05-31T19:25:00.004-04:00

We had QUITE the jam packed weekend.

We left our house Friday after work and the LAST DAY OF SCHOOL (!!) to go to the pool. And what absolutely perfect weather for swimming! I can't remember a Memorial Day in the past couple of decades where it was in the upper 80s and sunny the whole weekend and the pool was even over 80 degrees!
Heaven!!

They're quite the little models, aren't they?

Our other kids, just itching to get outside where there are no leashes or collars out in the country! Lots of grass to roll in, dirt to dig in and sunshine to nap in.

Blinded by the light.

Rocco made a little puppy nest in the hostas. Cute little piggers.

A little slice of heaven. What's better than a hammock between 2 trees?

I guess a hammock between 2 trees with a view of the pool :)

And now, I suppose it's time I let you in on what's been going on around here and whey we're so busy every weekend.

I inherited my grandparents' house when my grandpa passed away this past fall.

It's something I've known about since I was very young.

Jeff and I (and the kids) are honored and excited to have been given this amazing gift.

We've been doing a lot of work, hoping to do my grandparents proud.

And this past weekend is what it's all about. My grandma's sister and her family have their mother's house as their family's summer home. The 2 houses share common land between them and I have so many fond memories of being able to walk across the field to see our cousins, aunts and uncles anytime. Lots of swimming and volleyball games, bonfires and cookouts have happened and will continue to happen.

This weekend was spent with cousins and swimming and eating and watching Brett and Lili frolick back and forth between the houses, playing with their cousins all day and night. The kids took care of themselves. We didn't even know where they were 1/2 the time, but knew they were safe and happy. The dogs were off their leashes, running around, acting like dogs and I was sitting there taking it all in. Reliving the past 39 years of my life spent in exactly the same way. Feeling so blessed that this is my life.

So, while we now have TWO houses to take care of and clean and work on, it's never been thought of as a burden, but a blessing.

HAPPY SUMMER!!

It's a Boy!! Our latest adoption!

2010-05-15T20:42:00.005-04:00

Meet Rocco, our latest addition

He's a Boston Terrier whom we traveled almost all the way to Lansing, MI after work/school on Thursday to pick up. (loooooooong drive on a school night!)

Poor little Lola. She's not used to sharing the spotlight. Maybe this'll knock her down a few pegs. Diva.

" Hey, sis! Let's play!"

"Hey, buddy, back off!!"

Lola trying to figure it all out.

"Stinky Boy!!"

He is a CHEW FREAK! This is a MUCH better option than my fingers. Ouch !!

Rocco, getting his freak on.

Me, taking a picture.

Rocco, taking the camera strap.

Little piggy face.

He plays hard and sleeps hard.

Rocco's lair: the laundry room. He's color coordinated to the floor. What more could you ask for?

Sleepy face.

Zonked out on his teddy bear.

Night, night, Rocco.

Well, Thank You, Madame!

2010-05-07T14:54:00.004-04:00

Well, there she is!! I finally posted a picture of Lili, aren't you proud of me?

Today was the day that Lili got to bring home her Mother's Day gift for me. I told her I'd put it away and not open it till Sunday. She looked at me like I had killed her and said "you HAVE to open it right now, or my teacher said it will DIE!!"

Ok, then. That definitely peaked my curiosity.

Lili had painted a bucket pink and planted pink and white petunias for *ahem* me.

She did have to tell me that she's always wanted flowers of her own and that I have sooooo many already, she really, really wished I could let her take care of these. I told her I think they'd look perfect in her room. They kinda go with the whole color scheme, don't you think?

Lili gave me not one, but TWO cards.
OK, seriously, if you think we're joking about how much this kid LOVES food, do you get it now?
"I really like it when you make me food." Yes, people, she really does!

This is the front of the card.

Here's another card she made me. Once again, it mentions that I'm a good cook (back to the whole food thing again).

And this is the cover of the card.

She is seriously into big, fat Angelina Jolie lips, especially as a self-portrait. And do not overlook the loooooooooong dangly earring that she's drawn for herself, since she can't wear them in real life, not until she's 35 anyway, if her dad has anything to do with it :)

Do any of you remember that puppet Madame from Solid Gold? Obviously Lili thinks she resembles her. A lot: click here for a blast from the past

And to all the moms out there, Have a happy, happy Mother's Day!!

A teasy little peek into what we've been up to

2010-05-06T15:51:00.002-04:00

Any ideas?

Yikes

2010-04-20T10:12:00.002-04:00

I was looking for recent pictures, and realized that I don't even have a FILE for April 2010. Unreal. I cannot believe I haven't taken one picture this entire month. I should have my "mom license" revoked.
Oh well. It's not like we haven't done anything picture-worthy in April or anything. Just nothing that would motivate me to get out the camera, I guess.

We had a nice Easter, 3 Easters, as a matter of fact. But, there wasn't much dressing up this year. We've been doing...something...every weekend that precludes any of us actually looking nice for most of it (more on that later).

Amazingly, the kids only have 28 more days of school, which also ties in to why we've been so busy (and scuzzy) every weekend.

Lili's only got 11 more days till she can finally change her earrings!! She absolutely cannot WAIT to go earring shopping. It's going to break her heart when I tell her no dangly, street corner earrings since that's all she wants to wear. The longer and sparklier the better. geesh. Her dad just cannot wait till she's a teenager :)

The weather's been nice so far this month. A few days in the 80s already. Last week we had the A/C on, this week it's the heat. At least the sun's been shining. It makes everyone and everything a little bit brighter.
I guess I need to dust off the camera and get some adorable shots of my equally adorable kids doing something, well, quite adorable I'm sure.

Hope everyone has a great, springtime week.

Lili's Performance: "These Boots are Made for Walkin'"

2010-03-22T11:10:00.003-04:00

I just realized that if you scroll down from my last post to the one previous to that, you can really see the difference in Lili. Just 3 years ago, she was living in an orphanage. She had no english, she didn't seem to speak much at all. She had hair shorter than Brett's, no ready smiles, no toys, no bed, no clothes, probably never enough food. Now to see her with her hair so long and shiny, talking and laughing up a storm, even smiling in her sleep, her closet STUFFED with clothes and shoes and hairclips and ribbons (not to mention her belly stuffed with food!), toys beyond belief, pierced ears , and all the love and family anyone could want, just makes you stop and think about how amazing God is and how He can truly work miracles--not just for her, but for us. Huh. Pretty amazing.

2010-03-21T18:52:00.002-04:00

I cannot believe my little girl is seven!! That doesn't even sound 'little' anymore :(

She had the best birthday ever. She's been taking figure skating lessons practically since she came home from China. This year, they had their skating show on her birthday. She was thrilled beyond belief to have a skating show and a birthday all in one day.

She did a wonderful job on her performance. I took video of it, which I'll have to post later. She just had the time of her life. She loved every second of it (as you can tell by the pictures). In fact, the only was I was able to get her off the ice was to tell her that she had a new dress and cake waiting for her at home :)

One of the things she said she wanted for her birthday was to get her ears pierced. I never have gotten mine pierced, just was never a particular need for me. why cause myself unnecessary pain ? But, it's something Lili's really wanted to do, so I told her we'd see if we could get it done. Her daddy wasn't very thrilled with the idea. Heck, he's not even thrilled when I paint her nails, but he caved in since it was her 'birthday wish'. But! He's drawing the line at anything dangly, which is precisely what Lili is drawn to. Lili was kinda/sorta scared about it, but resolved. When we got there, she almost maybe could've backed out, but stood firm. She was rather squemish when they marked her ears with the pen, however :) She clapped her hands over her mouth so she "wouldn't scream" and boom, it was over and she was thrilled. And if you think she was enamored with herself before, you should get a load of her now, there'll be no living with her! But, she had a wonderful birthday and got everything she wanted, so that makes it all worthwhile.

Happy birthday, Lili!!

3 years ago today....

2010-03-15T17:53:00.002-04:00

our lives changed forever.

3 years ago today, we found out we had a daughter. I cannot believe it's been 3 years already. It really seems like yesterday. I will never, ever forget that day or the days following when I was rushing around, filling out paperwork, shopping. Wow. It was just indescribable.

Below is my original blogpost from Thursday, March 15, 2007:

WE HAVE A DAUGHTER!!!!!!!!
I am shocked, amazed, dumbfounded and in total awe!!

I walked in my house at 4:25pm today to a ringing phone. It went to our answering machine, but I figured I'd answer it anyway. It was our social worker. She asked how I was doing and if Jeff was home or still at work. I told her that he was away on business in GEORGIA! FOR THE NEXT 8 DAYS!!! She said "Oh. Well I have some exciting news for you".........[loooong pause] "You have a daughter."

HOLY GUACAMOLE!! I HAVE A DAUGHTER? SERIOUSLY?

Here I am ALL ALONE!! My husband's gone. My son is outside and I'm FREAKING OUT!! Am I really on the phone, or am I completely psychotic, wanting this SOO badly that I'm imagining it, playing it out in my head? Thankfully my son came in and heard the rest of the conversation. I had to ask him later if I was insane (by the way, he said "yes") but he did confirm that the phone call did indeed take place!

So, I try to call my husband. Who has a work phone, a cell phone and a hotel room phone. No answer on any of them!

WHAT?!?!?! He PROMISED me that I could reach him ANY TIME!! I tried calling him for AN HOUR! AN HOUR! FINALLY, I got ahold of him. He was at a book store. I asked him if he found any books on adoption. He said "no, not really, I didn't really see anything....blah....blah....blah" I said "Honey, I was hoping you found something because you have a daughter!"[crickets chirping]

Me: "Honey? Did you hear me?"

Him: "Are you serious?"

Me: "Yes"

Him: "We're not supposed to find out until tomorrow."

Me: "Um, sorry" (???)

Anyway, he was just as dumbfounded as I was (and still am!)

So, here's the story of our Liliana Laura-Mei.

Our agency receives a special needs/waiting children list a few times a year. We applied for a girl last time the list was out (in January). We were not matched. So, this time we were leary. Should we really get a picture of this little girl and put our hearts out there for potential disappointment? Well, thankfully the answer was "yes". We decided to write our agency a letter stating our desire to be matched with this girl.

The list came out last Thursday afternoon. We spent all weekend praying about it and researching her special need. Tuesday I emailed our social worker our letter. They were supposed to review it today and notify the families tomorrow. Supposed to. WOW!!

This post is ALL OVER THE PLACE, but I am just a mess! A LONELY mess! AAHH!

I have so many people to tell and so much to do. My son doesn't have a passport yet. We should be traveling anywhere from 3-5 months from now. Unbelieveable. I still can't get over the fact that we're just going to be going to China! WOW! we never go ANYWHERE!

OK, so, our daughter is going to be 4 years old on the 20th. That's much older than we thought. BUT! God obviously knows that our Lili was born in 2003 and has been waiting for us all this time. Before we even knew we wanted to adopt. She's been there. Just for us. And, since our son is almost 10, the more I thought about it, the more I liked the idea of them being closer in age. Otherwise, there'd be a 10-11 year age difference. That's quite a bit. She'll be in kindergarten when he's still in elementary school. That will be nice. The thing that bothers me the most is all the time we've missed with her. All the milestones that she hit when no one really cared (not as much as her parents would). So, we have a lot of lost time to make up for and the rest of our lives to do it! I consider that a fair trade! :)

"In a moment what has been is lost in what will be"--Steven Curtis Chapman "When Love Takes You In"

Easter Crafts and Home Improvement

2010-03-14T15:03:00.004-04:00

First, I can't post any of this without giving credit to my buddy Kim for her crafty inspiration. I took a page (or 2 or 3) from her book and delved into some cutesy Easter crafts.

SO MUCH FUN!! Thanks for the inspiration, Kim (now if I only had a craft room...)

We redid our 1/2 bath a few weeks ago. It was all beige from ceiling to floor.

We added wainscotting, travertine-look floor tile and light, beachy blue paint. We're thrilled to see less beige!!

We got on a roll and decided to paint the living room while we were at it. It's kind of a "french" blue/green and we love the way it looks with the white as well as the darker woods. Once again, it had been "builder's beige", so we needed a shot of color.

We have some golden yellow paint for our den, so that's going to be our next project. We're just thrilled that all we need to do is PAINT! No ripping down wallpaper, tearing up floors, redoing plumbing and electric...so nice to be "modern" for a change :)

Hello, my name is Lili and I'll be your guide today.

2010-03-11T14:10:00.003-05:00

Lately, Lili's been into this thing of telling people what to do and how to do it. Almost mothering you to death. She's been very, I don't know, solicitous. Telling me to sit and relax and how to lay my head down and how to breathe. Both her grandmas said she's been doing the same thing with them. I don't know what it is with her, but if my kid's telling me to relax and breathe, I guess I should just take it :)

This is just one more example of how she's in the mode of explaning everything to death and showing off all that she knows. So take notes, I'm sure you'll learn something (ahem, ahem)

Your Next American Idol (circa about 2021)

2010-03-08T14:01:00.005-05:00

Can I just tell you how much we love this keyboard with microphone?!?! Yeah.

Lili was having "quiet time" (and I use that term loosely) in her room the other day, when I noticed she really wasn't being all that quiet. Imagine that.

I got a very cute video of her playing, singing and talking blissfully unaware that she was being watched, but I was sneaking up on her, so the video's pretty dark. Once she caught me, she just insisted I take more video of her. Imagine that.

I'll have to post her performance video: part II next time.

Until then, enjoy part I.

The Day I Was Born

2010-02-22T19:00:00.002-05:00

Lili was talking to Jeff last night at bedtime.
She started talking about when she was born. She said she remembered when she was born and Jeff told her there's no way she could remember that, nobody could.
She was adamant about it, so Jeff listened to her story.
She said that she remembered lots of people standing around looking at her. hmmm...
She also said that she cried. hmmm.....maybe she's onto something.
Then she asked Jeff if he remembered how she tried to run away out the door.
Oh, I get it.
Jeff asked her if she thought we were mean that day, and she said "Yes". (So then Jeff asked if she still thought we were mean, and I'm happy to report that she said "No"!)
She was talking about remembering how she had her candy and she was afraid and she was shy and she didn't want to come with us.
What a kid.
We've all heard that line about "the day I met you was the day I was born", but I guess with her, she really means it!

I give up

2010-02-18T10:05:00.002-05:00

Yesterday at dinner Brett mentioned that it was Ash Wednesday, mostly in response because he asked why, oh why, we didn't celebrate Mardi Gras with a king cake. (oops, maybe because it was snowing and blowing and I didn't feel like looking out the window let alone actually going anywhere)
Anyway, we started talking about Lent and things we would give up. We decided to give it a try this year. Only for one week, mind you.
Brett made lots of helpful suggestions for things Lili could give up. He also made lots of wonderful, selfless suggestions for himself, such as: homework, chores, showers and school.
Lili was very concerned about what she would give up. Snacks were suggested. Um, yeah, no go. She said "I GOT TO GIVE UP FOOOOOOOOD ?!?!?!" We reassured her that she did not have to give up food, it was her decision. She said she absolutely would NOT give up any food at all period. Okee dokee.
So, here's our list of what we've decided to give up for a week. Just ONE week, mind you:
Jeff and Brett are giving up after dinner snacks.
I'm giving up chocolate. CHOCOLATE !!!
Lili's giving up Barbies. Wow. That's a pretty steep commitment for her, but so far so good. We'll see how she does today after school since that's the first thing (well, after her snack of course) that she goes for after walking in the door.

Mid-February, amidst all this snow and cold AND I'm giving up chocolate. C-R-A-Z-Y!

Valentine's Day

2010-02-17T15:59:00.002-05:00

Lili had her Valentine's Party, or "Friendship Party" at school last Friday. I was kind of surprised to see that she brought home some candy from some of the kids since they have some kind of 'healthy eating policy' which means you can't bring cupcakes or anything sweet even for their birthday. They have a suggestion list of foods to bring: carrot sticks, crackers, nothing with peanut butter though, please, since someone might be allergic.

Ugh. What happened to FUN?

Anyway, isn't this bag she made the cutest? She was so proud that she made big, big lips.

I think we failed at the whole Valentine's Day-slash-Chinese New Year thing. Just too much in one day. We did eat Chinese food, but everything felt kind of rushed. I don't know. Maybe I'm just going stir crazy with this weather. We haven't seen the ground in months and I swear, every time I look out the window it's snowing. Don't even get me started on the 10 to 20 degree below average temperatures every day. argh. I really don't know why we stay around here.

Can you tell I DESPISE this time of year? blah.
Only about 6 more months till we get summer weather for a week then it's fall again. As I said, blah.

Snow Day 2010

2010-02-16T14:53:00.002-05:00

We had our first snow day last Wednesday.

Brett could barely sleep last Tuesday night, waiting to hear that school was canceled the next day.

We got about 6" or so, blowing and drifting, the whole shebang.

(which, it seems to be doing again as I just glanced out the window...I HATE freaking Lake Michigan!)

Anyway, Brett and Lili entertained themselves for most of the day in Brett's "hole" (and don't think we don't have fun with that !!)

Under the stairwell in the basement is the tiniest little space you could possibly find which is just absolute heaven for our boy. I think our realtor thought we all were a bit loopy because every time she'd show us a house, we'd go crazy over little secluded spots under stairs, in closets, attics, etc. squealing about how Brett would just LOVE it...and we were right. If he wasn't able go out during the day without screaming and turning to ash, we'd swear he's a vampire.

So, enjoy pictures of Brett's Hole (hee hee hee!)

They watched several movies and played games. They even ate lunch in there.

Other than the umpteen times Lili hit her head, (THUD!) I didn't hear them at all :)

This is the FIRST time in history that February actually feels like a short month

2010-02-10T15:30:00.004-05:00

Superbowl Sunday!!

What a fantastic game!!

You'll see our house was mostly decorated with Colts stuff (for Jeff), while I did have a small homage to the Saints (for Brett and me!)---I didn't want to push it though!

Speaking of Brett, he got a LOT of practice on his trumpet before the game Sunday, playing "When the saints go marching in"! hee hee.

Our mantle is decorated for Valentine's Day.
Which is THIS Sunday...I can't believe it.

I have some vintage Valentines. The backs of them are dated from 1910 to 1930, all from the same girl to and from her dad, mom and sister.

I bought them at an auction more than 10 years ago. The best part of the story is that I bought a steamer trunk that nobody wanted. The auctioneer's wife put in a pity bid of $5, and just to bid against her, I put in $10. Well, I won. It was locked and the auctioneer opened it and gave me the keys after the auction. When he opened it he put his head in his hands and almost cried because this trunk that no one wanted was crammed full of STUFF! Fabric, pillows, ephemera, old glasses and paperwork and hundreds of letters, shaving razors, years and years of memories from this one family. He looked at me and said "Honey, you got the deal of a lifetime". He said he could've sold all that stuff for hundreds of dollars.

Yeah, well, maybe next time you should unlock your trunks before you sell them :)
(I'm sure he did!)

Sunday is also Chinese New Year!
THIS Sunday...I can't believe it!

Since the mantle is all "Valentine's Day", CNY was relegated to the kitchen, which to be honest, is where most of the CNY festivities take place (yum!)

I got a 'Cricut Expression' for my birthday, so I whipped up these little signs for the windows.

Right on the heels of Valentine's Day and CNY comes Mardi Gras....what an amazing time to be in New Orleans right now, from the Superbowl to Mardi Gras, wow.

Hopefully all these festivities will make February and winter FLY BY!

Why is it that the month with the shortest number of days lasts the longest?!

yuck.

Funny. In a scary way.

2010-02-01T14:15:00.003-05:00

sniff...doesn't she look angelic?

So, Friday I asked Lili what she played at recess.

WRONG QUESTION.

You will never in a million years guess what she played.

No, not hopscotch.

Not tag.

Not even football, rugby or chess.

My sweet little girl played...

"Hot Girl"!

I choked and stammered and asked how one plays "hot girl".

WRONG QUESTION (again)

She put her hand on her hip, sashayed around swinging her hips and giggling and proceeded to tell me that she and another 'hot girl' walk around and talk and giggle and say "Hi" to boys.

"We don't kiss them, Mama, we just say Hiiiiiii" (giggle, giggle, giggle like a Geisha).

Oh boy.

Jeff and I knew Lili would be a real heart breaker one day, but FIRST GRADE ?

So, lock up your boys, the 'Hot girls' are in town.

double-geesh.

Tag! I'm it!

2010-01-13T21:16:00.004-05:00

I went to THE estate tag sale to end all estate tag sales today.

It was one of the most exhilirating experiences...I just love a good sale.
And, to make it even better, NO ONE wanted any of the things I wanted, so I just breezed my way through the house picking up this and that with no jostling, no waiting, no bartering, just grab and go! The best part was the prices. I could never, ever have gotten such good prices at an auction. This stuff was even cheaper than Goodwill! (Oh! and another great part was that everything is so clean! Usually I have to scrub and scrape everything--yay!)

I've just been reliving it in my mind all day.
ahhhhhh .......

OK, seriously. I have so many titles running through my head, but I think I'll just let you read for yourself...

2010-01-11T20:01:00.004-05:00

I kid you not, this was in the classified section of today's paper.

You just know it's a guy that placed the ad, don't you.

He's a keeper...unless maybe you could trade a ping pong table for him.

I am woman, hear me roar!

2010-01-11T15:35:00.002-05:00

Guess what I did on Saturday (while anxiously awaiting the 8pm start of the Dallas game)?

I re-wired a lamp!! Something that I've never, ever done before. Something that I never, ever thought I'd ever even want to do.

I can't sew, or do anything at all with a needle, but I can fix a lamp!

I dug this out of a box in the basement. I remember getting it, and another one kind of like it, at an auction in a box lot. I think I payed $1 for whatever I wanted and the 2 lamps were there too. They were dirty and didn't work, but I just couldn't throw them out.

Then yesterday we were at Big Lots and I found the shade on clearance.

I just love when things turn out like that :)

I'll have to get started on the other one...

I was feeling so crafty and full of myself, that I also made this sign.

We picked up the wood planks at the Habitat for Humanity Re-Store for .50 and the letters for $4, which I covered in scrapbook paper and, voila!

Have you ever been to a Re-Store? They have 3 in our area and we just LOVE them. They have furniture, appliances, lighting, cabinets, doors, windows, anything you could possibly want there. It's just fantastic !

Now, the sign is for a little something I'll have to share with you later ;)

And, if you know Lili, you know you can't have a camera out without her getting in front of it, so here's your Lili shot for the day!

Wait. What's that strange glowing orb up in the sky?

2010-01-08T15:34:00.002-05:00

Holy cow, cats and dogs, it's the SUN!!

The animals came out in droves to drink it all in.
We seriously have not seen the sun in a good 3 weeks or more. Not for an entire day.
We haven't had a day without snow since before 2010 hit.
It is sooooo good to see blue sky. I'm getting all emotional...

I'm also a little emotional over the NFL playoff season kicking off tomorrow !!
My beloved, worshipped and adored Cowboys are playing tomorrow night. I'm a nervous wreck already (hence the piles of chocolate upon chocolate snacks---I get at least the bottom tier)

And dare I even hope for a Dallas/Indy Superbowl? shhhh....

I think I'd die. And considering the Bears/Indy Superbowl was contentious enough in this family, I'd almost hate to see it.

Almost :)

Happy (hopefully sunny)NFL Wild Card Weekend everyone!

Ahhhh, the good old days....

2010-01-07T14:37:00.002-05:00

HIGH SCHOOL -- 1950's vs. 2009

Scenario 1:
Jack goes quail hunting before school and then pulls into the school parking lot with his shotgun in his truck's gun rack.
1959 - Vice Principal comes over, looks at Jack's shotgun, goes to his car and gets his shotgun to show Jack.
2009 - School goes into lock down, FBI called, Jack hauled off to jail and never sees his truck or gun again. Counselors called in for traumatized students and teachers..

Scenario 2:
Johnny and Mark get into a fist fight after school.
1959 - Crowd gathers. Mark wins. Johnny and Mark shake hands and end up buddies.
2009 - Police called and SWAT team arrives -- they arrest both Johnny and Mark. They are both charged with assault and both expelled even though Johnny started it.

Scenario 3:
Jeffrey will not be still in class, he disrupts other students.
1959 - Jeffrey sent to the Principal's office and given a good paddling by the Principal. He then returns to class, sits still and does not disrupt class again..
2009 - Jeffrey is given huge doses of Ritalin. He becomes a zombie. He is then tested for ADD. The school gets extra money from the state because Jeffrey has a disability.

Scenario 4:
Billy breaks a window in his neighbor's car and his Dad gives him a whipping with his belt.
1959 - Billy is more careful next time, grows up normal, goes to college and becomes a successful businessman.
2009 - Billy's dad is arrested for child abuse. Billy is removed to foster care and joins a gang.. The state psychologist is told by Billy'ssister that she remembers being abused herself and their dad goes to prison. Billy's mom has an affair with the psychologist.

Scenario 5:
Mark gets a headache and takes some aspirin to school.
1959 - Mark shares his aspirin with the Principal out on the smoking dock.
2009 - The police are called and Mark is expelled from school for drug violations. His car is then searched for drugs and weapons.

Scenario 6:
Pedro fails high school English.
1959 - Pedro goes to summer school, passes English and goes to college.
2009 - Pedro's cause is taken up by state. Newspaper articles appear nationally explaining that teaching English as a requirement for graduation is racist. ACLU files class action lawsuit against the state school system and Pedro's English teacher. English is then banned from core curriculum. Pedro is given his diploma anyway but ends up mowing lawns for a living because he cannot speak English.

Scenario 7:
Johnny takes apart leftover firecrackers from the Fourth of July, puts them in a model airplane paint bottle and blows up a red ant bed.
1959 - Ants die.
2009 - ATF, Homeland Security and the FBI are all called. Johnny is charged with domestic terrorism. The FBI investigates his parents -- and all siblings are removed from their home and all computers are confiscated. Johnny's dad is placed on a terror watch list and is never allowed to fly again.

Scenario 8:
Johnny falls while running during recess and scrapes his knee. He is found crying by his teacher, Mary. Mary hugs him to comfort him.
1959 - In a short time, Johnny feels better and goes on playing...
2009 - Mary is accused of being a sexual predator and loses her job. She faces 3 years in State Prison. Johnny undergoes 5 years of therapy.

Can't we just go back 50 or 60 years?
Maybe then mothers (myself included) wouldn't feel guilty for either going to work OR staying home.
It's not like education, or for that matter, society has improved.
More kids are dropping out of school, teen pregnancies keep rising, more people are on welfare, drugs, there's more violence and more divorce.
I could do without cell phones, internet (Ok, so satellite TV would be a really hard one), but the more I see of the news, the less I like the world we're living in.

I guess though, if this was paradise, what would heaven be for?

Hello, 2k10!

2010-01-01T11:14:00.003-05:00

We had a nice New Year's Eve at our house.

Meemaw and Peepaw came and spent the evening with us.

We had lots of party food (BBQ meatballs, chips/dip, cupcakes, etc.) and played lots of games.

AND! We watched the Three Stooges marathon. I'm proud to say I watched it for 15 hours straight. Nyuk, nyuk, nyuk! (I love me some stooges!)

We played Kerplunk, foosball, Wii and some other board games.

Fun stuff.

Lili beating the snot out of her grandma.
It was very sad to see my mom getting repeatedly punched in the face and laying sprawled out on the mat (and it was also mildly disturbing to see how much Lili enjoyed it!)

The brawl in action (Meemaw facing us on the left, Lili facing us on the right)

Peepaw proving that maybe Meemaw should really drive home.

Playing MarioKart on the Wii and giving me motion sickness just by watching. urp.

I hope everyone had a wonderful New Year's Eve and is having a restful New Year's Day. I know we are. Everyone's just now getting up and around and we're STILL in our pajamas :)

Considering it's snowing and freezing cold outside, that sounds just about perfect to me!

And the Oscar goes to...

2009-12-28T21:31:00.004-05:00

Let me decipher this for you:

(Baritone):"I don't think I go sleep"

(Soprano): "I don't think I go sleep"

(Bass): "I don't think I go sleep"

(Falsetto): "I don't think I go sleep"

Lili's been doing this off and on this week. (staying up later, sleeping later, off schedule) If she doesn't immediately fall asleep within seconds, she thinks she'll never sleep again. Yeah, can you say drama ?

I told Jeff tonight, just for fun, I'm going to get it on video and see how she reacts. I NEVER expected it to end the way it did :) (although I probably should've guessed)

creep.

Christmas: Chapter 2

2009-12-27T10:51:00.003-05:00

In her Christmas dress

Yes! It has the all important 'twirlability factor'. We must've tried on 5 different dresses to find THE ONE that had the most/best twirl.

Aww! Lili went to the Christmas shop at school and bought her Go-Go the most bestest Christmas gifts ever :)

Lili and Lulu the FurReal kitty.

It was UnReal how we could not for the life of us get that dang cat to shut up! The whole time it was in my shopping cart it was meowing and purring, people in the store thought I was nuts when I would pass by. I got stared at A LOT.

Then, I bring the stupid thing home and it goes off every. single. time I turn the light on and off. We put blankets over it, bags over it, NOTHING would get it to stop.

Why didn't we just turn it off you ask? Because, the best part was that you had to take everything apart to get to the shut-off switch. Rip apart the box, remove the cat (with knives, screwdrivers and scissors) and then, undo the underbelly and find the switch.

Anyone remember when we were kids and there were NO TOOLS REQUIRED to get to your toys? Just, um, open the box. No screwdrivers to open the battery compartments. If you were stupid enough to eat a battery, you dealt with the consequences....ahh, the good ol' days...

I still have to post our Christmas Day family picture: Christmas: Chapter 3.

I hope everyone had a wonderful, blessed Christmas this year.

I can't believe it's over. I can't believe the entire first decade of the millenium is almost over.

My, how time flies.

We're Snow Fun

2009-12-23T09:22:00.002-05:00

Watching the camera instead of watching her back, of course.

Circus act...

Tah Dah!

Snow Angel

I'm no fool. I'm snug inside the house with the cat...my secret is out. I'm (s)NO(w) fun!

(believe me, I had my turn. I took the kids the neighbor's house the next day, built a snowman and got pelted with snowballs by four kids instead of two!).....six months till summer!

It looks like she's got a bright idea

2009-12-17T18:28:00.004-05:00

I don't really understand the candleabra head dress, but Lili seems to like it. "It's my crown, Mama."

Yeah, and this supermodel pose is her newest favorite thing. Can't take a picture anymore without her striking it.
Lili has kept her crown on all night . She ate in it, watched TV in it and now she's playing XBox in it. She said it keeps her head warm!
Well, it does have those candles on it.....

Christmas: Chapter 1

2009-12-14T16:16:00.002-05:00

Our annual 'Christmas at our house' for Jeff's side of the family.

It was nice to have our first official big holiday gathering in our new home. Everyone had a good time, as always.

Lots of food and fun.

Back row, from left: Jeff's mom's boyfriend, Jeff's brother-in-law, Jeff's sister, Jeff's dad, yours truly.
Front row, from left: Jeff's mom Brett, Lili, Jeff's grandpa, and Jeff.

Hmmm...I think I'll title this "The Perfect Couple" (ack!)

Gee, ya think Lili had fun?

One Christmas down, 3 more to go...

"It was Christmas Eve night at the poor house..."

2009-12-11T19:36:00.001-05:00

My favorite singing duo of all time from my favorite show of all time.
Enjoy :)

Baby, It's Cold Outside!

2009-12-11T15:12:00.003-05:00

We were at a store the other day and we passed a little girl who said to her mom "Boy, mom, that girl really likes pink!"

Ya think?

Her Highness' Royal Quarters

2009-12-10T10:01:00.002-05:00

It's taken almost 6 months, but I think we finally have Lili's room done.

She still wants pink walls, but we really don't feel like taking everything out and painting. And, who knows how long she'll really like pink......heh, knowing her....forever !

I cannot tell you how THRILLED I am that she's such a girly-girl. Thank goodness for her, or I wouldn't have any place for 1/2 my stuff that I was able to put in here. (Jeff told me if I hung another plate in the kitchen, he'd kill me....and considering how much Lili loves food, I think they're a good fit!)

I found this mirror at Goodwill for 25 bucks. Well, if you know me, you know I waited till 1/2 off day and got it for $12.50! A can of spray paint, and Lili loves, loves, loves it (and it matches her walls exactly. A point we kept stressing over and over!)

Most of her room is the same as it was in our other house. A little tweaking here and there, but it's basically the same look. I do miss the white wainscotting, but if we're not gonna even paint, I'm not gonna hold out for wainscotting!

I love my Big Lots Martha Stewart lanterns...a little nod to the Chinese thing. (even though Lili is NOT CHINESE! She will not even entertain the thought. Sometimes, she'll make her eyes into slits and say "There, now I Chinee." Corker.)

Since Lili loves mirrors (and herself) so much, here's one whole wall dedicated to her reflection. And I kid you not when I tell you it's her favorite part of her room. I'll find her in there for hours looking at herself and singing.

I still have some little things to do. Little tweaking here and there, but we finally got all of her things out of boxes and her room is clear of all packing/moving stuff.

I can't believe it took so long....I guess it's because her room was my favorite room in our other house and I just couldn't quite figure this one out. I'm still not 100% satisfied with it, but she likes it, so that's what counts.

The princess is pleased.

Oh Snap!

2009-12-07T15:17:00.001-05:00

Pleeeease tell me that someone else understands this.
It CRACKS ME UP! Jeff thinks I'm nuts.
If you remember Biz Markie, 1989 and Yo!MTVRaps, you're in tune with me.
Reminds me of 1989 at Ball State....
(if you need a refresher, search YouTube for Biz Markie/Just a Friend) hee! hee!

If you're getting a Christmas card from me, DON'T LOOK!

2009-12-04T14:58:00.003-05:00

Ok, so I know you're looking.
Everytime you say "Don't look!" it's guaranteed that someone will.

Just don't come crying to me when you get your card and you're all underwhelmed!

I have some rather amusing takes from the 'photo shoot' (and I use that term loosely). I'll have to post my perfectly charming, oh-so-photogenic-children pictures sometime.

I think this one turned out OK.

And now that I'm looking at it, Brett's tie matches Lili's dress perfectly . Huh, how about that?

This is from Christmas 2007.

Just 2 years ago.

Amazing. Lili was only home for about 3 months by this time.

Her hair was about ear length.

Now to see her with her long hair and her glowing smile is just something.

And the fact that she looks 15 all of a sudden. What's up with that? Yeesh.

"It smells like mushrooms and everyone looks like they want to hurt me."

2009-12-03T15:10:00.001-05:00

Just watched Elf, as we do every year now.
It's an instant classic and everytime we watch it, we find something new to laugh at.
Cute, cute movie!
If you haven't seen it, enjoy the clip.
If you have seen it, enjoy the clip!

It's Beginning to Look A Lot Like Christmas

2009-11-30T08:58:00.002-05:00

Never had an open concept house before. Kinda cool.

Had some extra mistletoe garland. I like it so much, I'm not going to want to take it down.

Woo-eee! We finally have an "open staircase"! Who cares that it's only 4 steps, we paid extra for it just so I could do this at Christmas.

OK, first time with a fireplace, so I went a little crazy. So exciting.

Here's my first Cricut creation. You can't see it very well, but I took gift tags and spelled out "Merry Christmas" on them, then hung them from floral wire above the fireplace (see previous picture).

Not bad for the first time.

I know, I know, not one picture of one kid. They're fine, I swear.

As a matter of fact, I need to start posing them for our annual Christmas card photo.

I swore to myself that I was going to go the professional route this year, but it's already NOVEMBER 30TH!

So, you'll be seeing LOTS of pictures as I try posing them in different locations, in different ways, trying to get THE shot.

I can't believe there's only 25 more days till Christmas.

ack!

Bad, Bad Blogger.....

2009-11-28T17:35:00.003-05:00

I just realized I haven't been posting so much lately.
I also realized I haven't taken any pictures of Lili lately. We went to TWO Thanksgivings and I didn't even take a camera to either. Ho hum. Just haven't felt like saying much lately, I guess. And what's with no Lili pictures? I don't know. Guess I'm just forgetful or disinterested, or something. Hopefully I'll snap out of it over the next couple of weeks and get some nice Christmas-y photos to share.

Speaking of Christmas, we've got our house decorated.
Lots of fun decorating a different house, but also confusing and time consuming. I knew where everything went for the last 10 years and now things don't fit, or I'm tired of them, or I want to do something different.
I think I have it all figured out, although I keep tweaking it everytime I sit and look at it for any length of time.

And, last but not least, I am blissfully unemployed ! I know that sounds kind of bad in light of the economy and all, but you know how I've felt and I'm happy to say, I'm GONE!
Originally I was going to stick it out till spring break, then it turned into sucking it up till Christmas, finally, I was out of there by Thanksgiving.
I've never had a job or been in an environment where I felt so unwanted and disrespected. I guess I've been spoiled (yes, I know, Kelly, Mary and Lisa!), but it was really hard to take. I'm just grateful I had the ability to leave. It was miserable. I thank God that I'm outta there. whew.

So, now that I'm home to enjoy my life once again, I'm hoping to get lots of crafting and baking and FUN done. Meemaw and Peepaw got me a Cricut Expression for my birthday and I hope to make a cute Christmas banner for our mantel as project #1....watch out, Kim :)

Hope you all had a WONDERFUL Thanksgiving full of continued blessings!

Snort!

2009-11-20T13:43:00.002-05:00

The Cherry on Top of My Sunday!

2009-11-15T17:52:00.002-05:00

We went to church today and shook hands with one of the ushers. Jeff introduced himself and said "This is my wife, Nikki". The guy shook my hand and said "Your wife..." I could tell he had a look on his face and I said "No, I'm his daughter." He said "OK, I was wondering that...." I laughed and told him I was, in fact, Jeff's wife. The guy said "Oh, really? You are his wife, because I really thought you could be his daughter." Poor Jeff. I've been calling him "daddy" all day.
So far, this whole '39 year old thing' is really working out for me.
On Thursday, one of my co-workers asked me if I had just gotten out of college, and Brett told me that one of his friends thought I was his sister heading to high school one day on my way to work.
Now, I only mention this because it's just too, too funny. I really think I look like a hag most of the time, so to hear that some (dumb and blind) people may think differently is a-OK with me!
Maybe it's the water here......

39 is the new 38

2009-11-13T14:18:00.003-05:00

Quite a big day around here yesterday.

Lili woke up and spit her other front tooth out. No muss, no fuss, just landed in her hand.

After school and work, we celebrated my birthday.

Yep, #39.

sigh.

"I GOT A BOP IT!!!"
Long story. Suffice it to say that my original Bop It was, um, "misplaced" 6 years ago and I've been hankering for one ever since.

I hold in my hands the 'new and improved' Bop It complete with 'party play mode'.

Ooooohhh.

This is our FAVORITE picture ever.

"Ghost Boy".....

Maybe this guy scared Brett to death.
(and, no, I didn't have a clown for my birthday, this is Uncle Keith dressed up for Halloween. creeeepy.)

And, what celebration would be complete without an original song and dance as only Lili can do it :)

Happy Birthday to me. I'm thankful for another year of blessings beyond compare.

ugh.

2009-11-11T18:14:00.002-05:00

Just a quick update to let everyone know I'm alive.
Last week almost did me in, but I survived. A big thank you to Jeff who did all the cooking and kid-duty till I got home.
I started at my actual job Monday.
I despise it.
Really, truly despise it.
I usually hate my job in the beginning because I generally don't like anything new.
But, I really do hate it.
The people are not nice and I don't look forward to going in. ever.
For the last 3 days all I can do is visualize me walking out the door. That's what's getting me through, knowing one day that that's exactly what I'm going to do.
mwah, hah, hah.

On a lighter note, the kids are doing well.
Lili's other front tooth is hanging by the thinnest thread. Utterly disgusting. She just LOVES to wiggle it around and around and laugh. ICK!
Oh, by the way, I couldn't wait to tell the kids that this week there would be NO kids club and that Mommy would be home every day after school.
Well, that was met with a round of "Oh, man! No kids club? No empty house? Geesh."
So much for me worrying all last week about leaving my kids without their mom.....

I thought I wanted a career, turns out all I wanted was a paycheck

2009-11-03T08:21:00.002-05:00

Yep, that about sums it up.
I have a magnet with that saying on it that's followed me on every job for the past few years.
Not the best "go get 'em" adage, but it's me, what can I say?

I started my job at the library yesterday.
My 20 hour a week, 5 four hour days job this week is really 9 hours/5 days a week, which makes for a 45 hour week. Not the best way to start, but hopefully it'll make next week seem like a piece of cake. (and I'm looking forward to my first check)
I'm working 9-6 at the main library branch, training in every single position.
It's busy, which is good because it makes the time go faster. But, holy cow. My last job I barely worked 45 hours a MONTH.

I realized though, that it just really isn't worth it to me.
Sure, the money's nice, but we don't need it. It'll help with Christmas and some projects, but it's just not worth the trade-off. Not to me anyway.
I'm not there when the kids get home from school. Lili has to go to an after school program. Brett has become a latch-key kid.
I'm not there even when Jeff gets home and he's having to make dinner, too.
I come home, eat, spend a few minutes with the kids between homework and showers and all and then we all go to bed.
Yep, living the dream. But think of all the STUFF I can buy. Just not worth it.

I'm definitely resigning by the end of the school year. I can't imagine paying MORE than I'm making a week for someone else to watch my kids.
We'll see.....I might not make it past Christmas.

The job really isn't that bad, it's just that my heart's not in it. If I really wanted a career (or even a job), this would be it. But, that's not me. I'm just in it for the money :)

Now I know where he gets it....

2009-10-30T18:01:00.003-04:00

Jeff came home, saw Lili's tooth and said "Yeah, she looks a little like Patrick, but I think she looks just like the sea monster from 'Sigmund and the Sea Monsters'!"

(a girl could get a complex in this house.....)

Quick Post

2009-10-30T10:30:00.005-04:00

We're on fall break today and it's a wonderfully dark and ucky day to stay in and watch Halloween movies. mwuh, ha, ha!

The kids just got their school pictures and here's what this year brings:

Brett: 6th grade

Lili: 1st grade

OK, hold everything. I was right in the middle of writing this quick catch up post when I heard Brett yelling for me. Lili lost her tooth. Right front and center. It's been loose forever, sticking straight out horizontally and making us HOPE that it would fall out soon, already.

Brett was in a bit of a tizzy as he witnessed Lili yank it right out. He told me that she was crazy, he'd never do anything like that (we know).

Lili was calm and pleased as could be.

Isnt that red gaping hole just icky looking? Byuck.

And, Brett, being the sensitive, caring, always ready with a compliment, typical older brother promptly told Lili she looked like Patrick from Spongebob.

Judge for yourself:

Hmmmm.....

What Have I Done?!?!

2009-10-21T07:52:00.003-04:00

Why is it that I always have to mess with a good thing?
I've got it pretty good.
I bargain hunt every day.
I do what I want, when I want.
I don't even need to shower everyday if I don't want to.

So why, oh why, do I feel the need to foul it all up?
Why, oh why, did I go on an interview Monday?
Why, oh why, am I just so darned amazing (ha ha) that I got the job?

It appears that I'll be working 20 hours/week at one of our local library branches.
Now, it's not certain yet. I haven't taken the drug test or done the background check yet. And, considering we've been through an international adoption I don't really forsee any problems with it....unless my thrift shop addiction somehow shows up in my bloodstream.
I have to say, I'm really not sure at this point if I'm going to accept it. I'm sure I will, but I'm really torn. I don't need to work, but that extra money sure would be nice.
After all, I have an addiction to support (although if I work, I won't have as much time to pursue it....)

argh...

Treasure Hunting

2009-10-20T14:31:00.002-04:00

I just had to throw in this picture of Lili.

Intimidating, huh?

Last Friday, I found an estate sale. Yay!

I picked up this picture for $2

The mirrors for $2.50 and the arborvitae (I got 2 of them) for $2.
I hope I don't have to wait till spring to get the urns for them. I think I'm going to put them on each side of the front door.

I went to Goodwill yesterday and picked up these 2 angels for a buck.

The lighted one was still in the box and imagine my surprise when all the lights actually lit. It looks like it's from the '60s...I don't recall seeing yellow twinkle lights lately either.

This little angel was hidden in the back of the box with the other angel.

What a find! I just love her sweet little face and glittery little outfit.

I just can't believe how many auctions and sales I've been able to find lately.

And don't even get me started on Goodwill. It's like crack. I go to each one once a week, every week. There are 4 in the area as well as 2 Salvation Armies and 2 St. Vincent DePaul's.

It's a full time job just scanning thrift shops, auctionzip.com and the classifieds.

Wish I could find a way to make money at it...

Yesterday I took Lili to get an eye exam. To make a long story short, she lost her original glasses from last year and her school nurse sent home a note requesting an eye check. We got the exam plus TWO pairs of glasses for one price. Not bad.

She was in prime form, let me tell you. She kept the doctor in stitches the whole time...never knew an eye exam could last so long. The dr. asked if we charged for entertainment. I don't think he wanted her to leave.

I, however, wasn't so amused after our wait in the waiting room:

Lili: (as I'm filling out forms) "Mom, I like your hair."

"Thanks, Lili."

[pause]...

"MAMA!! YOU HAVE A GRAY HAIR!!"

Man sitting across from us: "Bah Ha Ha Ha!!!"

Yep. What a kid.

The Day the Music Died...

2009-10-15T19:10:00.003-04:00

I'm a Hallo-Weiner!

2009-10-13T15:27:00.002-04:00

Kim K. had a contest on her blog a couple of weeks ago, and I was one of the winners!!

(and a week before that, I won a bracelet from Shanny's blog too!)

I never win anything, but maybe my 'luck' is changing.......

I just wanted to say a big, huge, gigantic THANK YOU to Kim for the wonderful Halloween hat she made. Isn't she something?

If you want any fantastic Halloween craft ideas, recipes, decorating tips, visit Kim's blog at:

www.kenward.blogspot.com

One of these days, she's going to have a book/TV deal and we can say "we knew her when"!

And a big, huge thank you to Shanny for the handmade bracelet I won a few weeks ago. She's quite the little jewelry maker and I just love my jade green "Go Irish" bracelet! I wear it for every ND game (and so far, so good!)

Are you ready for some foosball?

2009-10-12T15:17:00.002-04:00

I went to yet another fantabulous auction Saturday.

They didn't have a lot of antiques, but they did have some good bargains.

I got the box of ice skates (for Christmas decoration projects) for $3, the sled (Christmas decoration) for $3 and the foosball table for two dollars!!

Brett was SO excited about the foosball table, he hugged me so hard he picked me right up off the floor.

I got some other things, among them 2 framed 11x14 prints for $1 total and some nice gifts. Everything for 17 bucks.

It was freezing and I stood outside for 6 hours, but I thoroughly enjoyed every single second. I can't think of anything else I would enjoy while standing for 6 hours straight, freezing my butt off (ok, other than a football game), but I just love, love, love bargain hunting, be it a flea market, yard sale, thrift store. You name it and if it's cheap, I'm there!

And no hot dog on earth tastes better than an auction hot dog. Mmm, mmm, good!

There's yet another promising sale this coming Saturday right down the road from our house...I think I really need to check it out :)

(by the way, I check www.auctionzip.com every week and make my plan of attack!)

A Very Sad Week

2009-10-10T19:48:00.003-04:00

You may remember I mentioned that my grandpa had a stroke.

He hung in there for as long as he could. Jeff and I made it to see him last Thursday. He tried talking to me, knew who I was and waved and smiled. He was alert and looked very good.

He died last Sunday. He had contracted pneumonia and was being made comfortable. He just slept and drifted away.

Exactly the way he would've wanted it.

He was 93 and was very strong, healthy and independent.

He wasn't your 'typical' 93 year old. He lived alone, drove, shopped, cleaned, did chores. He had more energy and sharpness of mind than a lot of people half his age.

Anyone who knew him knows that.

He was an amazing, amazing guy.

Lili called him "Roundball".

To make a long story short, my gramp has always, always done this little song called "roundball". Every single person in our family knows the song. People from 90 to a year old know it.

After the funeral, we were sitting at a table with my dad's brothers and sisters and they started singing "roundball" to Lili. It's awesome to know that seriously, hundreds of people know this song because of one man.

He made quite an impact on quite a number of people in his time on earth and I am blessed to have been both a recipient and a witness to it.

Thank you, Gramp, for everything.

Random Things....

2009-09-30T15:56:00.002-04:00

Our desktop computer is having some internet issues, so I'm posting on our laptop which is having some storage issues, so that means no pictures for this post :(

I went to the BEST auction ever last Saturday.
I got 4 gigantic topiaries that I'm going to turn into Christmas topiaries, a round wooden table, about 20 pounds of the long plastic grass that costs $7 a piece at Hobby Lobby, a wicker planter, 2 glass doorknob shelf-things, 2 shadow boxes w/ vintage keys, an embroidered down pillow sham, chrome fireplace tools, wood and leather 1/2 round shelves, 3 large pottery barn framed b/w pictures, LaZBoy coffee table.
All for $38 total. :)
You should've seen the things they were selling, and for sooooo cheap. It was a home builders supply/showcase auction. Unbelieveable stuff. No antiques, but really nice, mostly new furniture and decor. I really wish I needed more stuff!

Lili was hiding under our new coffee table the other day. She popped out and surprised Jeff who asked, "Where did you come from?"
To which Lili replied, "China."
What a corker!

Jeff is building a fire pit in the backyard. He used some landscaping blocks and it looks nice and only cost around $60. We were looking at it from the living room window the other night, which gives us a somewhat aerial view.
Have you ever seen "The Ring"? That creepy movie where that girl comes out of the well whenever the TV turns to snow?
Now I can't even look out the window at that thing anymore. Looks just like that stinkin' well. Now, if our TV goes out, I'm really going to freak.
We need to get some wood in the firepit, pronto.

Remember how I told you we've been getting trees, etc. like crazy?
Jeff swore he was DONE with planting for the year, but we went to Meijer and they had all their perennials 90% OFF so what could we do? We're now the proud owners of several MORE evergreen bushes....dig Jeff, dig.

And, I end this post on a sad note.
My grandpa had a stroke Monday. He's still in ICU right now, but he's doing OK. I wouldn't mention it other than the fact that I'd covet your prayers for him right now.
Which reminds me of another Lili story.....
Brett and Lili were staying with my parents a couple weeks ago. They visited the cemetary where my grandma, Laura, is buried. I think you know that Lili's middle name is Laura, after my grandma. Anyway, my mom said that Lili kneeled down at my grandma's grave and said "I love you. I miss you." Brett told her that she couldn't miss her, she didn't even know her. (my gram died 5 years before Brett was born) I guess Lili looked at him real indignantly and said something like, "Brett, I do know her. I have her name."

Now if I see Lili crawling out of our firepit............

Hallo-weenie!

2009-09-24T15:31:00.003-04:00

We went to the mall last night and picked up Lili's costume. You can't see it, but she has the light-up shoes too (buy a costume, get free accessory).

She sure does love the camera, doesn't she?

Oh my, we're in some serious trouble in another 10 years.

LOOK at that attitude. Work it.

Yikes.

I just know Lili's going to want the BRIGHT RED Ariel wig. It's really, really not going to be a good look for her. Think 'Heat Miser'. The auburn Belle wig last year was bad enough....

As you can see, I've started decorating for Halloween. At this rate, I'll be decorating for Christmas on November 1st. I have to admit, it's kind of exciting to decorate for holidays in a new house. Especially with a mantle! Soooooo excited to have a mantle!

Anyway, we're going to have fun trying to keep Lili out of her costume for over a month. Good grief, what was I thinking?

Happy Opening Day!

2009-09-13T18:04:00.001-04:00

Labor Day Lili

2009-09-08T15:14:00.003-04:00

So proud of my girl reciting the Pledge of Allegiance. (just in case you couldn't decifer it!)

We had a nice long weekend. The kids went to Mee and Pee's Saturday and Jeff and I were able to watch Notre Dame kick butt in peace and quiet....well, except for all the screaming and clapping.

Yesterday we went to a flea market where we found all kinds of little treasures and got some evergreens for cheap, cheap, cheap. We have so many various assorted evergreens as a matter of fact that some of our neighbors asked if we're opening a Christmas tree farm. Nope, people, just want a little privacy.....although we could use a little extra $ around the holidays....hmmmm :)

Today I scored a Dallas Cowboys Snuggli. You know, the blanket thing with arms? They have them on sale at KMart this week and I was SO EXCITED to find the Cowboys along with the Bears. Didn't even have the Colts. Just the Bears and Cowboys. Strange, I thought, but I'll take it! So, this winter I'll be all warm and Snuggli in the basement: my "(wo)Man Cave", if you will.

I have to say I'm just beside myself with NFL kickoff and all. I have lots of football decorations, etc. for the "cave" and I'm just stoked. By the way, if you have DirecTV, this Sunday is the NFL Ticket free-view. So that means that all the cheap people (ME!) finally get to experience it all. Every single game. Oh my goodness, I cannot wait!

GO COWBOYS!!

Easily Entertained

2009-08-31T18:01:00.003-04:00

One day, Lili spent over 1/2 hour watching the laundry spin.

She was watching her FAVORITE blanket spinning around and around.

This is the blanket we brought with us to China. The blanket that she latched onto when she fell exhausted in a heap on Gotcha Day. She hasn't let it go since.

(we got it about a week before our trip for $4 at WalMart as an afterthought. something that we slept with for a few nights to get our scent on it....to help with Lili's transition to us)

Anyway, she loves that thing.

"My blanklit" she calls it.

Imagine her relief when it came out of the wash unscathed :)

"Wait, did I hear something? Naaahh."

2009-08-23T16:03:00.002-04:00

Jeff and Brett were putting Christmas boxes in the garage attic...

...when the ladder fell.

I, of course, didn't know a thing for almost an hour.

I was in the basement watching "Sixteen Candles", lost in the '80s and Lili was in the living room watching "Scooby Doo".

I guess the boys were knocking on the walls and yelling for all that time.

Huh.

Nice to know our house is insulated well.

This is Jeff saying "Didn't I tell you Brett? I told you that as soon as mom found out she'd come out here and laugh and take pictures."

Awww. Isn't it nice how married people know each other so well?

Jeff told me "You'd better put the ladder up for us and RUN." Looks like he's about to make good on his threat.

Fortunately we're not having typical mid-August weather so it wasn't too, too sweltering up there. Just mildly sweltering, so I was told.

Can't wait till it's time to take the Christmas boxes back down !!

Bud Light: Real Men of Genius - Hopeless Notre Dame Fan

2009-08-22T17:11:00.001-04:00

You know that I'm a BIG Notre Dame fan, but this is seriously funny.
And, if you can't laugh at yourself, who can you laugh at, right?
Enjoy :)

Day One: Success

2009-08-20T18:24:00.004-04:00

Almost hated to wake her up.

Heh. Almost.

"I'm ready!!"

SOOOO EXCITED!

Very, very, creepy, freaky excited.

Who's the big first grader?

I didn't even get to wake Brett up. He got up on his own. (remember, he doesn't go to school till 9:00. Kids these days....)

Who's the handsome JUNIOR HIGHSCHOOLER?

"Later, dude!"

OK, so now that you're in 1st grade, get to work.

It's now Lili's responsibility to load/unload the dishwasher.

Cinderlili, if you will.

Don't think for a minute that she doesn't LOVE it.

It was so hard to get a picture of her actually working. She was so excited she was posing and smiling (imagine that).

So far, on day 2, they're loving school.

Granted, they haven't had homework yet, but they're pro-school right now.

The schedule is working out nicely in the morning. Lili and I have our time together and she leaves before Brett gets up and he and I have our time together.

And! Since I'm not rushing off to school with them, I actually have time to make them breakfast (don't fall off your desk chair, Meemaw!)

Heck, I even have time to make Jeff breakfast. But I don't want to overdo it this early in the game.

I think I need to pace myself ;)

Cute Little Lili-isms and it's that time of year again...some call it "The Most Wonderful Time of the Year"!

2009-08-18T18:13:00.003-04:00

(said to her brother as he was annoying her as all good brothers do) "Brett [last name], you ruin my life!"
(overheard when she couldn't get around the sprinkler in the backyard. hands on hips) "Crap."
(I asked them where they wanted to eat lunch today) Brett: "How about a buffet?" Lili: "A parfait? Brett, that just yogurt. That not enough to eat for lunch!"
Lili has also taken to calling me "Mother". As in "Muuuuuuuh-therrrr ".
She has also begun to salute me when I tell her to do something. ??

School starts TOMORROW!! None of us can WAIT! I'll hopefully get some pictures of them on their first day. Our camera hasn't been getting a workout like it used to. At least I know where it is. (I think....)

The school system here is very strange. The elementary school runs from 7:40-2:20, which is not only earlier on both ends than our last school, but about 20-25 minutes less per day. The middle school runs from 9:00-4:00, which is waaay later than our last school. So that means that Lili leaves an hour before Brett and gets home an hour and 1/2 before him. (which also means that instead of having from 8-3 to myself, I'll only have 9-2:30) Kind of makes it hard to work when I'm only available from 9-2. Not a major tragedy, mind you, but something to consider.

I'll let you know how the first day goes......fingers crossed!