I've been all kinds of busy lately... but haven't exactly done much.  Hmmm.

 

They delivered the brick for our new house today.  I can't wait to see it up! 

 

Also the fencing contractors I've spoke with can't get decent measurements to give me quotes because the builder has not done the final grading of the land yet.  Phooey.  The fence people's schedules are already out to mid-late July and waiting another month for the grading is going to mean that we are not getting a fence until the end of the season.  Probably this is a good thing.  I bet if I wait until fall I will get an off-season price break.  How's that for finding the silver lining?  LOL

 

Hmm, what else?  Not much.  Just the minutia of selling this house, getting financing lined up for the new house, hanging out with the little ones, daily chores, mundane every day things that keep me busy but don't provide lots of inspiration for blogging. 

 

OK I better stop procrastinating on going to the grocery store.  Ugh.  Usually I don't mind going but for some reason I am really not looking forward to it today.  Could be that it is officially HOTTER THAN HELL.  It is 93-95 degrees outside - that's approx 34-35 for Spice and FoX.  :P  No matter what number you assign to it, the weather is brutal and my beautiful lush green lawn is taking a beating.  Not to mention I am sitting in here, sweating despite the air conditioning (set to 75, but it still feels like at least mid 80s in here to me).  Ugh.  OK I am really going now.  Really.

 

Right.

 

Now.

 

Ummm, right...

 

NOW

 

Ok third time's the charm...

 

NOW!

Spice-The-Cat has posted photos of Mrs. Spice's cat, Emma on her blog.  I did a double take when I saw the pictures, Emma looks exactly like my cat, Tiger.

 

See for yourself!

 

 

Quite a while ago, I made a Band Aid Box.  It is a small rectangular box with a hinged lid.  All of our different character bandages are sorted in their own ziploc baggies, as well as the boring old plain bandages and the specialty shaped ones.  The box also has a bottle of hurt-free wound wash, pain relieving antibiotic ointment, and a bunch of squares of absorbant gauze. 

 

I can't tell you how many times this box has come in handy since Wes has come along.  It is so easy to grab the box and run to patch him up. 

 

This morning Colleen accidently stepped on Wesley's big toe with her plastic dress up high heels and the toe was bleeding quite a bit.  Wes didn't seem to mind much, but I needed to get him off the new carpet before it got totally ruined.  I ran him into the bathroom and sat him on the countertop, grabbed the box and had him back running around in a few seconds, with a cleaned, treated, and bandaged toe.

 

I highly recommend that any parent with a child like Wes (who seems to get hurt to the point of bleeding every day) create a band aid box and keep it in an easy to get to place.  Always put it right back after you use it (if I didn't it would surely get lost in the oceans of CRAP that seem to invade my home regularly).

 

Ta Ta For Now!

Hard to believe, my little boy is 2 years old today!

 

Can't write a proper blog right now, I only have nap time to wrap presents, clean out car, and load presents into car.

 

After they wake up from naps we are going to get his 2 year old portrait made, then to the grocery store to pick up his cake (all my pans are in storage!) and then we are off to pick Shawn up from work and head over to Chuck E Cheese to celebrate.  :)

 

I hope everyone has a terrific "Wesley's Birthday"  :)

 

HUGS, Jen

 

Hi everyone!  Sorry I haven't been posting much lately.  I open it several times a day and think for a few minutes about what to say, then just go ahead and close it.  If you don't have anything nice to say...

 

But today I am starting to feel better.  I am having a hard time with moving.  I KNOW that this is just a house, that I get to take my family, and my stuff, and my memories with me, but....  well.... I don't know.  And the thing of it is, I really love our new house.  It is coming along very nicely and it is going to be a DREAM to live there.  I love new house far far FAR more than I care for old house.  I guess it comes down to my complete and total adversion to change.

 

In happy news, my cousin Stephanie gave birth to her beautiful daughter Allyson Nicole.  She was a month early and weighed 4lbs 12oz but she is healthy and adorable.  She is so tiny that even premie clothes seem to swim on her, but she'll fill out.  Stephanie is a petite person as well.

 

At this point, I really must thank Colleen.  I happened to look over at her, a big beribboned hair scrunchie holding her hair in a half pony tail, a sparkley leafy crown with bright pink pearls left over from her Lilo and Stitch costume, a pale pink ballerina practice leotard with sewn on lycra tutu skirt, and her white high heel (1/2" rise, maybe) shoes with the rhinestones on the strap that she wore for Easter.  She did all of this herself.  This is a pretty standard outfit.  She alternates between this one and one of her long full skirted dresses.  That little girl makes me so happy that my heart could burst.  I mean really, who can stay stressed out and down in the dumps with that ray of sunshine running around?

 

Oh, and Wesley's big day is coming up.  He will be 2 years old on Thursday.  Hard to believe, huh?  He spent his 1st birthday in a cast and this birthday he will be running around like a wild man, riding bikes, climbing, generally making a nuisance of himself.  What a difference a year makes.  He has come a long way.  He has no idea that his foot is any different from anyone else's.  He has no idea that he has any limitations at all (and with that attitude, he really DOESN'T have any limits).  He is in every way your typical toddler.  He is even going through a "refusing to eat" phase.  Coco never did stop eating or only eat one or two things and refuse anything else.  Wesley only wants Milk, Tea, "Blue" (his word for candy), and small amounts of goldfish crackers.  He is a rascal.  I have to post new pictures of him soon.  You won't believe how much he looks like a little man now.  And JUST LIKE HIS DADDY.  He looks so much like Shawn, it is weird, but also neat, like looking at Shawn through a time machine set to back when he was 2.

 

OK I had better get cracking.  I've got to get some stuff done around here.  We are a good 90% packed, with another 6% or so that needs to go in the Stow-a-way.  The rest we will keep with us, stuff we'll need in the "great in between".  The place we will stay in the "in between" time from selling this house and finishing the new house.

 

FUN!  :)  HUGS, jen

A wise old gentleman retired and purchased a modest home near a junior high school. He spent the first few weeks of his retirement in peace and contentment. Then a new school year began. The very next afternoon three young boys, full of youthful, after-school enthusiasm, came down his street, beating merrily on every trash can they encountered. The crashing percussion continued day after day, until finally the wise old man decided it was time to take some action.

The next afternoon, he walked out to meet the young percussionists as they banged their way down the street. Stopping them, he said, "You kids are a lot of fun. I like to see you express your exuberance like that. In fact, I used to do the same thing when I was your age. Will you do me a favor? I'll give you each a dollar if you'll promise to come around every day and do your thing."

The kids were elated and continued to do a bang-up job on the trashcans.

After a few days, the old-timer greeted the kids again, but this time he had a sad smile on his face. "This recession's really putting a big dent in my income," he told them. "From now on, I'll only be able to pay you 50 cents to beat on the cans."

The noisemakers were obviously displeased, but they accepted his offer and continued their afternoon ruckus. A few days later, the wily retiree approached them again as they drummed their way down the street.

"Look," he said, "I haven't received my Social Security check yet, so I'm not going to be able to give you more than 25 cents. Will that be okay?"

"A freakin' quarter?" the drum leader exclaimed. "If you think we're going to waste our time, beating these cans around for a quarter, you're nuts! No way, dude. We quit!" And the old man enjoyed peace and serenity for the rest of his days.

Nothing much going on these days... Not sure if I mentioned it before, but I have been sick for a while.  Finally went to the doctor late last week and was told I had a sinus infection that had inflamed the cartlidge in my chest wall (to explain why my chest and back were hurting)... the medicine was kind of helping but I was still feeling quite badly.  

 

The doctor's office called back this morning... oops!  Turns out I actually have strep throat. 

 

grrrrr

 

Hopefully I'll really start feeling better soon with the right medicine.  I hate this shakey weak feeling.

 

At least Shawn and I got a private joke out of it.  I was all for being fine, sure that there was nothing wrong with me but allergies and stress.  Once the doctor confirmed that something medical was going on I became this pitiful mewling little wimp.  So now, anytime I want to get a smile out of him, I just exclaim "My cartlidge!"

 

 

You know, I thought I was having a rough day.  My allergies have been acting up lately and I totally and completely HATE sleeping on the damn air mattress.  I WANT MY BED BACK.

 

Then the stupid xBox got lovely red ring of death (hardware failure) and it is what we use for a DVD player since ours died about this time last year.  I don't have live TV, so if I need the kids to stay out of my hair for a bit, I need to put on a DVD.  Parenting by TV, let me tell you, it's the way to go. 

 

So I had to clean the bathrooms with 4 little bodies pushing and wiggling, trying to get the best viewing position (2 kids, 2 cats, it fascinates them).  Wesley tried to help me clean the toilet in the duck bathroom with Colleen's toothbrush.  Cuz nothing says "I love you" quite like a nasty toilet-cleaning toothbrush.  LOL

 

So I'm getting all stressed out.  Wesley is throwing balls all around the computer room, with the big TV and the big PC monitor.  Both kids are using the walls, the TV, Me, the computer, any surface they can reach, as a track for their race cars.  Banging, laughing, screeching, crashing, etc etc

 

I get them down for naps and read a blog or two to relax before I get back to cleaning.

 

And it wasn't until I was crying over someone else's rough day that I realized... I am not actually having that bad of a day.  My parents have not just had surgery or cancer or anything life threatening.  My friends all seem happy and healthy and not too stressed out.  I don't have any major commitments looming over my head.  I don't have to worry about how my toddlers will fair on a bus ride to Arizona, which must be taken for a very important good bye.

 

All I've got is trying to figure out how we are going to pay for a new xBox.  And, of course, to play with my children.  Heck, at this point, I don't really even need to clean anything else.  Not one person yet has said that they won't buy the house because I have the kitchen cabinets junked up.  Or that the bathtubs aren't shiney and perfect.  Granted, not one person yet has said that they WILL buy the house, either.  Sigh. 

 

My heart goes out to everyone that is having a rough day today.  Laughter is the best medicine, right? 

 

 

One day, Mr. Phillard rushed his pregnant wife over to the hospital. As the doctors were prepping his wife, Mr. Phillard's idiot brother Bill arrived to watch the birth. But when Mr. Phillard saw the blood and everything else, he fainted. When Mr. Phillard woke up he was in a bed with the doctor standing above him.

"Mr. Phillard," the doctor said, "you are in the recovery room. Don't worry, your wife is fine and she had twins, a boy and a girl. Because you were unconscious and your wife was still under anaesthesia, she requested that your brother Bill name the kids."

"What! My brother, the idiot! I can't believe you let him! What did he name them?"

"He named your daughter Denise."

"Hey, not bad! I underestimated my brother. What did he name my son?"

"He named your son Denephew."