UNBELIEVABLE

Yesterday was a fairly normal day for me until late afternoon, when it got a little crazy. I got out of the shower and noticed I had several messages on my home phone and cell phone. One of them was our realtor calling to say that someone was in the neighborhood and wanted to look at our house. This might seem pretty normal, except for the fact that we haven't listed our house yet. It was a girl from curves that I told about the house. We had talked about it, and she said it was what they were looking for. Apparently, they had looked at several houses, and really wanted to see ours because they were trying to decide on one. So, back to yesterday afternoon, I told our realtor that they could come look at it, but I would need until 5:00 (45 minutes) to clean up and get myself and the kids ready to leave. Well, he called me back and they could do 4:45, but not five. So, I had 30 minutes. I literally ran from room to room picking up, while calling out instructions to the boys. Luckily, I had cleaned the sunroom the day before, so that was one room I didn't have to worry about, but other than that, nothing was ready to show. You can't believe how stressed I was thinking of all that I had to do. I know it's stressful to get the house ready for people to see it, but it wasn't anywhere near ready, and I ONLY HAD THIRTY MINUTES!!! Well, with much help from the boys, we got it picked up and out the door before they arrived. I even remembered to do most of the things our realtor had suggested to do when someone was going to look at the house, lights on, blinds open, thermostat down (actually that was for me while I was iciing cakes earlier in the day!), etc. So, I guess I'll update this later today or Monday, whenever we hear anything. I will say this, they like the house and might make an offer on it, but they want to be moved in by May 15! Wow!! I feel like my life has just been put in fast forward.

Happy Birthday Brady!

I can't believe that Brady is already seven!! He's getting so big, but that shouldn't surprise me because he entered the world big already! He still sleeps like the picture of him on the couch too. I'm so proud of him and all that he has become. He's such an awesome kid. His heart is bigger than life and so are his hugs. Thanks Brady for all the laughs, and I'm looking forward to all the ones in the future.

Foggy

So, we have desktop weather from weather.com, and it lets you know if there are any sort of warnings or watches in your area. Well, this morning I turn my computer on and notice that there is some kind of warning. When I click on it, they tell me that it's foggy. Seriously?! Is this not something everyone can figure out on their own? I noticed when I got up at 5:30, and drove to curves. I actually noticed it before I ever left the house, because I looked out the window! This just strikes me as funny that they need to warn me about something like that.

Not motivated

I have got to get serious about packing. Really. Now that we've made it past spring break and Keith being gone, and the busy weekend, I need to be packing and cleaning every day. I was doing pretty good before spring break, and I was feeling motivated, but now, not so much. I'm tired, it's rainy, and the kids are home from school today(some kind of professional day or conferences). It doesn't exactly make for a productive day. We are planning on listing our house in two weeks!! That is so scary! I'm starting to realize that I'm avoiding everything about moving, from getting the house ready, to finding a new congregation. I like the idea of the new house and the fact that Keith will be 15 minutes from work, but other than that, I'm not looking forward to it. It's funny that I'm dreading something that I've willingly chosen to do. I guess that's the way it is with big decisions like this, there's good and bad. I know that at the end of the summer when we move into our new house, that it will all be worth it, but sometimes it's hard to see that. Well, I guess I better go get started on something.

Memories

Tonight Chloe was beyond tired because she didn't get a nap today, so she was being silly. She would hide her face from me and say, "Chloe", and I was supposed to say, "where's Chloe?" Most of the time the way she hid her face from me was to bend over and put her head on the ground. Of course this meant her behind was in the air and completely visible to me over the ottoman, but as long as I couldn't see her face, the game continued. This went on for about 15 minutes, until it was bedtime. The whole thing reminded me of when Avery was little. When he was around a year old, he would get behind one of us and say, "Where A go?" We played that over and over. It's fun to get to experience that again with Chloe.

Things I learned this weekend...

• leave plenty of room for anyone playing tennis on the wii
  
• wii golf is even more boring to watch then real golf
• stephanie is a very handy person to have around (decorating the cake, getting the attic ladder down, shopping, etc.)
• carissa knows the entire dora the explorer song so well that chloe thought it was actually on the tv in the van
• saturday night live can be disturbing (dora the explorer skit) and funny (peyton manning) at the same time
• clean up(after the party) is easy with everyone helping
• when you have enough people with you at church to take up a whole pew, people notice, especially when over half of them are six feet tall or taller
• watching people play the wii is funny, but it's even funnier at midnight
• i shouldn't stay up until midnight or to watch saturday night live
• my family and friends are amazing (I didn't learn that this weekend, but I was reminded)
  
• starbucks, inside target, closes at nine
• thad is a french vanilla sort of guy
• letting your kids skip a day of school makes you a hero
• chipper doesn't know what no means, just ask kodiak
• bowling(wii) granny style is easier and the ball actually goes straight

Go Kart

I wish I had taken more pictures of everyone on the go kart. I'm not sure who was more excited to drive it, the big kids(men) or the little kids! This actually wasn't even planned. Dad called me on Saturday to see what I thought about him bringing it, and I think it was a highlight of the day. Thanks Dad, great idea!! I think everyone took a turn at it, from the oldest to the youngest, but at varying speeds! We even let a one armed boy take a turn! Just kidding Tucker! The pictures of my boys and their "friends who are girls", not girlfriends, are going to be really fun to look back on. Avery would kill me if he knew I was saying this, but when he and Brenna took a ride, it was almost like seeing him go on his first date!! Kathrin looked like she might have been thinking the same thing! I have to share this story about Avery asking if he could drive Brenna. He asked Kim, her dad, and he asked Avery if his intentions were honorable. Avery responded with, what does that mean? Then, when we were outside watching them get ready to drive, Kim seemed a bit flustered, and said that he hadn't expected to see his daughter drive away with a boy for quite a while!! I think we were all a little taken back by it. Just think, that was only a little drive around the parking lot within sight!! I'm not ready for the real thing! On a lighter note, I love the picture of Keith and Chloe. She was so tired that day from constantly going, but she was so good! I think she might have fallen asleep on the go kart if they had driven around longer! Wow, those third (or last) kids are amazing!! :)

Party

Here are some pictures of the party on Saturday. It was a combined birthday party for Brady and surprise graduation party for Keith. We had a great time just hanging out with everyone. Thank you to everyone that helped pull it off, and to everyone that was there to help us celebrate. I had to include a picture of Brady's cake, because I thought it turned out great. I can't take credit for it though because all I did was the basic stuff. Stephanie, my soon to be sister-in-law, did the eagle. Brady is a huge Philadelphia Eagles fan, so of course he loved it! The Dallas fans in the family weren't that excited about it, but they put up with it.

Wii

We had a great time this weekend playing the Nintendo Wii. I have come to the conclusion that it's more fun to watch people play, then it is to actually play. It's especially funny to see people do it for the first time. Notice that I'm not in any of the pictures, and that's on purpose!! :) It was really fun to have everyone here, but we'll have more room to embarrass ourselves at the new house! Also, golf might be fun to play, but it's terribly boring to watch. Just ask Lacey! I almost included a picture of her snoozing during a game!

Party

I have been planning a surprise graduation party for Keith for the past three or four weeks, and now I'm so thankful that it's over. We had a great time, but I'm glad to not be keeping anything from him. I'm not very good at that, but I'm pretty sure he was surprised. He sure did look surprised. I'm not much of a party planner, but I think everything went well. I didn't do it by myself though. I could not have pulled it off without everyone's help. Thank you so much!! I'll post more about this next week while the kids are in school. I've been waiting to write about this for quite a while, so I just wanted something on here about it. I'll also have pictures to add.

We've are having a great time with Keith's family in this weekend. I have some wonderful pictures of everyone playing the Wii that will definitely be on here!!

You call this a climbing wall?

When you have an uncle and aunt who own a climbing gym, the ones like this at the park aren't very impressive. Avery wanted me to take a picture so it looked like he was really high off the ground, but with the people in the background it doesn't work. I still like the picture though. We had a beautiful day, but we weren't the only ones with the idea of going to the park. I knew it would be crowded, but it was just too crowded. We didn't even stay for 30 min. The boys were bored and ready to leave, and even Chloe wasn't having as much fun. She couldn't really go up and down the stairs like she wanted because she was getting run over. Plus the swings weren't there for some strange reason. Well, I should have known better because it's a new park, so that's where everyone wants to go. I was a little bummed that the boys were so bored, but I think they would have had more fun if they could have run around without worrying about bumping into someone. I told them several times to be careful and not run over the little kids. I've been to the park before where the older kids were out of control and I didn't want that to be mine. Next time we want to go to the park, I'll just check them out of school and go!!

Curly hair

You would think since I have wavy/curly hair myself that I would know what to do with Chloe's hair, but I don't. It's starting to get long and actually hang on her neck, but the front hasn't caught up with the back yet. This is how her hair looks right after her bath. I love it like this because it's all neat and in place. It takes very little time for it to get all messed up. It resembles a rat's nest in the back after her nap and after riding in the car. The back will go up in a ponytail or in dog ears ( is that what you call it?), but the front isn't long enough to reach. It's just long enough to get in her face, which she can't stand. I'm sure soon enough I'll be fussing about it being too long. I can't stand the thought of having it cut! How do you ever get it cut? Anyone out there with girls, how old were they when they got their first hair cut, even a trim? I'm curious...

Trampoline

Today turned out to be really pretty. There was a 60% chance of rain, but I never saw it. It was cloudy most of the day, but late afternoon was really nice. We went on a walk, blew some bubbles and jumped on the trampoline. Chloe loves to get on there with the boys. One holds on to her while the other one jumps. She actually loves when they jump hard and bounce her in the air (just barely off the trampoline), but I think it's too hard. It's funny how when I think they are a little rough with her, she seems to love it! I finally convinced her to get off so the boys could jump and play and do their tricks that they can't do with her on there. We all enjoyed the time outside, and I think it did us some good. A little fresh air and some sunshine can do wonders!

My blogging advice

Here are a few things I've learned since starting this blog:

1. make sure you save your post if you are going to try to move stuff around, or if you plan on using the backspace key (unless you like to upload your pictures over and over)
   
2. it's not a great idea to post when your in a bad mood
3. don't worry about every little thing you write, if people want to read it, they'll read it
4. even though I started this to share with family and friends, it's more fun than I expected and it's also a great outlet for whatever I'm feeling
5. don't go searching through the blogs using the 'next blog' button unless you are ready to see anything (very scary)
6. don't think that nobody's reading it just because there are no comments
7. do realize that starting a blog is somewhat like sharing your journal with the world, or at least it feels that way

Well, that's all I know for now. I might add to it later, if anything comes to mind. It's not terribly interesting, so read it or not, I don't care! :)

Keith as Vanna White!

These are some pictures of a house that is similar to what ours is going to look like. It's the same floor plan, but we are flipping it, so it will be opposite of this one. Anyway, we were trying to walk through and really pay attention to detail to see what we like and what we don't. That wasn't so easy with Chloe upstairs most of the time calling us to come up with her. (She has pretty much mastered the stairs now, so that's good news for when we move in!) Keith occupied her for a while with his keys. She was walking around everywhere trying to unlock something, like she is in the picture. That worked fine until she almost "unlocked" an outlet!!
I wasn't supposed to even take the picture of Keith in front of the door, much less post it! We like the window above the door, so we wanted a picture of it, but Keith didn't know I was taking it. I thought it would be nice to share this with everyone. By the time Keith figures out that it's on here, it will be too late!

Silly girl

This is Chloe after she woke up from her nap one day last week. She was in a really goofy mood, so we just sat there playing. I was trying to take pictures, but she was sitting in my lap, so I had to hold it out to the side and hope that she was actually in the picture. She was initially doing this to my face, but she was actually slapping me instead of just pushing on my cheeks. When I stopped letting her do it to me, she decided she could do it on her own. Luckily, she learned on me, so she didn't slap herself.

Dream Home

I just want to let everyone know that I'm planning on winning the HGTV Dream Home tomorrow. Carissa got me started entering the drawing, and I couldn't stop. I'm not going to worry about my odds, my positive thinking will take care of it all. I'll invite you all out to visit us, so don't worry. Actually, I'll probably need help just paying the taxes on it.

Okay, so now it's back to reality. I'm going to be content with the house we are about to start building, and not be greedy. Who wants to live in Colorado anyway? (please don't miss the sarcasm)

Doggie

Chloe has a doggie that she sleeps with all the time. She absolutely loves him. I've been wanting to get a picture of her going to sleep with him. She turns over on her belly, and grabs her doggie. I think she probably goes to sleep hugging him most nights. I'm not willing to disrupt her bed time routine for a picture, even one this cute, so this is actually after her nap. I asked her to lay down and hug her doggie so I could get a picture!

There's no turning back now!

It's official, we're broke! :) We signed our life away this afternoon, but we now own this lovely tree house! It might be temporary housing if our house sells quickly. Seriously, this is our lot, and all those trees are ours! They might have to cut some down depending on where the house is on the lot. It's in our contract to keep as many as possible, if that means anything!! We are very excited, scared and nervous about the next few months. It's hard to believe that we're building a house. Now what we have to concentrate on is getting this house ready to sell. That doesn't sound like fun to me, but it has to be done.

Another one gone

Brady's tooth was barely hanging on this morning when he went to school, but it didn't last long. He has been wanting one of the teachers to pull it, so she took care of it today. He was very excited that it was gone. I am too because it was looking pretty gross. Keith went up to his class today for a March Madness party, so Brady was able to show it off at school. I'm just thankful that his teeth are falling out on their own. So far, he has lost four teeth, and Avery has lost ten, but only two of his fell out on their own. Looks like Avery's going to get the glasses and the braces!

Scooby

This morning Chloe had some cereal for breakfast, and she wanted to share it with Scooby. It was funny, but I think he ate more than she did!

In the pictures, she gave him some milk, but didn't like that he had it on his eyes. She decided that the best way to clean him, was to use her mouth first and then her napkin. I have to remember to hide Scooby before we eat lunch so Chloe might actually eat something. Spaghetti is a little messier than cereal. Oh, by the way, please ignore the halloween bib. It's just a great size to catch all the milk that doesn't go into her mouth.

Not so little anymore

We went shopping the other day and bought Avery some new shoes because we realized that the ones he was wearing were way to small. Funny how stuff like this sneaks up on me! Anyway, Avery is now in a size six shoe, which is the same as a ladies' size eight. I wear size eight, so now we have the same size shoes!! I tried his on, and the only difference is the width because his foot is much more narrow. I feel like this has happened over night. I cannot believe how big both of the boys are getting. I guess the next milestone coming up will be when Avery outgrows me!! I'm really not ready for that. I know that parents everywhere deal with their kids getting bigger, but it still amazes me when it's my kids. I hope that when I wake up tomorrow Avery's not fifteen and driving!

Ya gotta love big brothers!

Avery has been asking for a while to read Chloe her books before bed, so last night we let him. Chloe loved it and probably would have sat there for as many books as he would read. It's so neat to see the boys with her. She can't get enough of her big brothers.

School Bus

I think Chloe would like to have a ride on toy! I knew she would love to have something like that outside, but I didn't realize how much she wanted one. I guess for now the bus will do, but I don't think it's the most comfortable thing to sit on.

No more school...for Keith!!

Keith went back to school a little over a year ago to get his masters. It's been difficult at times, but he's almost done! Every Monday he has had a paper or some sort of team project due, but not anymore. Last night was the last one!! I'm not going to know what to do with all the free Monday evenings now! I'm so excited for all of us, but especially for him. I know it's been hard balancing work, school and family. I haven't always been as encouraging as I should've been, and I'm sorry for that. I knew that we would make it through this last 16 months, but I really can't believe that it's almost over. I'm so proud of Keith for doing this, because he did it for us. He really doesn't like school very much, and I never thought he would go back. He got both of his degrees after we were married and had kids, so I think he deserves extra credit for that! That's one of the things he already tells the boys, to finish college before getting married. I'm not ready to even discuss any of that! I'm just trying to get through elementary school.

I just wanted to brag on Keith and share with everyone how proud I am of him! Thanks so much for all you do for us. I love you!!

Game night

Well, since I started the day whining and complaining, I think I should end it on a more positive note. I am in a much better mood now, thanks to game night with some friends. I'm so thankful that we have nights like these, where I can get away for a few hours, and come home so grateful for what I've been given. I love my family and spending time with them, but sometimes the responsibility starts to make you forget that you're someone other than mom. I'm not the only one that loves my nights out. The boys can hardly wait for me to leave the house before they start watching some movie that I don't like. It's so nice to feel loved. Actually, I do feel loved, every time I come home and they hug me like I've been gone for days!! So, I'm going to bed tonight feeling thankful and content.

It's Monday all day long!

Here are things I like about spring forward:

• longer days
  
• the kids are sleeping later (only a little though)
  

Here are the things I don't like:

• losing an hour of sleep
• it's dark in the morning again (making it harder for me to get up)
  
• when I forgot about it until almost 11:00 pm, which means it was really almost midnight
• did I mention losing an hour of sleep?

I've decided that I shouldn't really post when I'm exhausted and not in the best of moods. I'll remember that for next time.

Cutie pie

We have some friends at church who pass on clothes on to Chloe, and this is one of the outfits she got recently. I remember their little girl wearing it, so I couldn't wait for Chloe to try it on. She loved the hat, and I enjoyed taking the pictures. There are several that I didn't include, but I just had to share all of these, even if some of them look similar. She's such a funny little girl!

Well, I never got the post like I wanted, but I'm ready to move on. At least I finally got the pictures on here. Carrie, thanks for the help, but somehow I still didn't get it right. Maybe next time.