Musings on the parenting styles of others...

There are many people out there that I simply don't agree with their parenting styles -my sister, for one. She and I just don't really see eye to eye when it comes to... hmm.. well, just about everything and her parenting style and mine are quite different.

However, in the dailiy interactions with the living, I see people that are too strict. People that say things I think are inappropriate to say around children. People that are too lazy. People that are too selfish. If there's one thing in life that is a guarantee, there are different kinds of people out there.

So flash forward to this weekend...we just had some friends come into town to stay the night. They used to live across the street and their son and my oldest were best friends. Their son, "A" has always been a bit of a handful and was a bit on the impulsive side but I always wrote it off to him just being a kid. So they moved away a couple of years ago but still come back this time of year every year for the rodeo here in Fort Worth.

Their tradition is for the first night they stay at the Embassy Suites and he lets the boys spend the day/evening swimming and playing and having fun. While they were here picking up my son, A kept acting like he was doing karate kicks on his dad's knee. Dad just laughs it off. When they were leaving to head to the hotel, I said to my son, "You better listen to Mr. ____ so that I get a good report or you will have consequences." His reply was, "Yes, ma'am." Then the other little boy said, "You know, you're not the boss of him, it's a free country." I said, "It may be a free country but until he's an adult and while he is living under my roof, it's my rules" and I smiled and bid them a good evening.

So the next morning, my son comes home to tell me that A just walked off from them (intentionally) and basically got lost in the hotel on purpose so that his dad had to come down to the front desk to get him. ??? He said that A told him he feels more like a grown up when he's doing things on his own.

Flash forward to yesterday... when they go to the rodeo... he's calling his dad stupid.... idiot.... told his dad that he's not the boss of him.... says he doesn't have to listen to him.... apparently my son said his behavior was just BAD. I think it really speaks WORLDS (not that I'm bragging) but that my son can really SEE and WITNESS this type of behavior in a peer.

They come home from the rodeo and we all go to dinner last night. A doesn't eat a THING ... literally, they bring home 85% of his dinner in a take home box but when we walk past the Smoothie Factory which we parked in front of, his dad was ACTUALLY going to BUY him a smoothie? We just LEFT A FREAKIN RESTAURANT???? Don't buy that kid a smoothie! He didn't because I said that I make smoothies at home. Which I do - but I didn't intend to. I said I'd make one in the morning depending on when we were going to breakfast.

We get back to the house and eventually he goes to change into his pajamas. He walks around the corner, changes and tosses his clothes in front of my bedroom door. I didn't notice until I was headed to my room for the night. It was then that I asked him politely, "A, can you come here for a second." He replies, "HUH?" I said, "I think you left something over here." Again, "HUH." His dad comes over and gets his clothes off the floor FOR him... ???? what lesson did his son learn. I'm sure that he was just trying to be a good guest but... seriously, let the kid learn a lesson. :(

OMG it was the MOST aggravating thing ever. His dad finally did just lay into him at one point before dinner last night but??? to even ALLOW the things that come out of that child's mouth.... to come OUT OF HIS MOUTH... with no consequences... I'm just floored.

They've invited Josh to their lakehouse for a few days this summer but seriously, I'm not sure I WANT him to go or that HE would even want to for that matter. He was really looking forward to seeing his friend and then to have him behave like this really ruined a lot of Josh's fun.

Josh actually said to me last night, "I'm glad I know that we have rules and that you're a good parent. I'd hate to act like that in public." I said, "...and can you imagine how Mr. ____ feels having to come up with apologies and excuses for that behavior?" My son said, "I thought in a couple of years, he'd grow up but he's just gotten worse. How sad." MY SON FEELS SORRY for his friend beuase he treats his dad so horribly.

Man alive I can't even begin to imagine what that child will be like as a teen.

This morning they all went to breakfast (I wasn't really hungry) and my son said that A sat at the table texting the entire time, didn't eat anything and rarely, if ever, engaged in conversation. I won't even let my children ANSWER the phone at home during mealtime... let alone sit at the table playing with toys...

Wow...

Thing is, I really, truly just love this family. They've got great hearts and perhaps, it's just the whole complete distant polar opposites as far as parenting styles but seriously, I'd knock my kid out of his chair if he called me stupid or an idiot. My heart hurts for this family. And frankly, I don't KNOW what issues, if any, this boy has (like autism or anything).... so that he's literally unable to control the impulses to act out. Sigh. I have my little quips and complaints about my kids (who doesn't) but I do feel blessed that it's no where near what I witnessed this weekend because I honestly do not feel like I'd be able to maintain my sanity or not have CPS called on me. I'll pray for them...because I want them to experience peace, and respect and love and authoritative roles that he will learn to appreciate and obey.

Freezer Cooking - My New Venture

I used to love going to a franchise owned by a friend of mine called the Dinner Station. This was a place you'd visit to do the preparation stages necessary for having dinner ready to go at a moment's notice. It was also all freezeable. You'd go through their selected menu and choose the items you wanted and then go there and prepare the dishes and then leave with a cart full of meals. It was AWESOME! It was SUCH a fantastic (yet, expensive) time saver. Fast forward to present day. We all need to do things that will save us money and so that's not the best use of my time or my dollar. I'm in the need to make sure that we have healthy, nutritious meals ready at a moment's notice. My schedule definitely isn't going to get any easier from here on out so my newest venture is to tackle the art of Freezer Cooking. Several of the blogs I follow are doing it and have great guides to follow so WHY NOT!?!

One of my favorite blogs, Life As A Mom has all KINDS of fantastic entries on freezer cooking! Check her out.

I figure, create a list of meals that CAN be "freezer" prepped - create a grocery list - shop - cook - freeze. Sounds simple, right? We'll see! Stay tuned!

THIS cake... takes THE CAKE!

THIS CAKE is about the coolest thing ever and I think it's definitely going on my St. Patrick's Day menu. How would that be to put a bunch of little coins around it... for the gold at the bottom of the rainbow? I love it! Check it out.

Friday Fill-Ins

1. Wouldn't it be easy just say, "Forget it and stay in bed?"
2. My marriage is better than ever!
3. I love the taste of Blue Bell homemade vanilla ice cream with Hershey's syrup on it.
4. In the mornings, we tend to flock in the living room.
5. The first thing we're going to do is figure out what we're having for breakfast.
6. Thursday it was drip, drip, drip; the never ending, soggy, soaking rain.
7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to Joshua getting to see his good friend Austin who drove in from Tennessee for the rodeo, tomorrow my plans include cleaning, decluttering, e-baying and Craigslisting and Sunday, I want to enjoy a clean house!!

Thankful Thursdays

This week it's the letter "C"... what am I thankful for that starts with "C?" See below...

1. Children
2. Company
3. Cold weather
4. Church
5. Colorado
6. Carrot Cake
7. Cub Scouts
8. Computers
9. Chipotle
10. Camping

Funny from Josh

Today is Drew's "Rodeo Luncheon" at school. Unfortunately, for him AND me, he doesn't like hot dogs so I told him I'd bring him some chicken nuggets for lunch and he could enjoy all the OTHER items they were having with the hot dogs and just eat the chicken nuggets for his main course. On the way back, I decided to pick up lunch for Josh and I. We were surfing the radio and listening to Van Halen's "Hot For Teacher." The part where David Lee Roth says, "I don't feel tardy," comes on. Josh misunderstood and says (matter of factly), "I don't feel retarded."

I couldn't stop laughing. Just another day in the life of mothering my crazy boys.

Funny from Drew

Drew was having a Bakugan war on the dash of my car while Josh was in guitar practice. Suddenly, he just stopped, looked at me and said, "Dad and I are getting you a new mini van for Valentine's Day because we know you need one. I know how much you like minivans. That's a pretty good choice. Is it?"

Then, he did that look where he needed to secure the conversation and leaned over and gave me a hug. He was very proud of himself for his generous idea.

How sweet is that? Awwww.... Lol

Not too sure how his daddy feels about that, however. Ha ha!

Being a boy...

Even when we were little kids on the playground, boys have a different method of communicating. I'm well aware of that. I'm well aware, too, that in this household and forevermore, I will be outnumbered. However, I'm quite content with being the sole source of estrogen, the "Queen Bee," if you will. I was not built to handle girl-drama. I can't handle it. I won't handle it and girl hissy fits make me want to B#%*H slap someone for letting their little girl get away with such ridiculous behavior!

Fast forward to today... I don't know WHAT happened to Drew but he was a DRAMA QUEEN. We got up and after my weekend, I wasn't even sure I was going to be able to BE vertical but was very thankful I was because I don't think I could take another minute of the television -- what an idiot box! Ugh! How in the hell do men sit on their butts watching that thing for hours on end? I'll never understand. I don't care WHAT it is... anything over ... an hour maybe...and I'm climbing the walls. Any-who, I digress... he gets up this morning and doesn't want breakfast. He asks for his favorite: apple butter on toast with chocolate milk. We're almost out of his chocolate milk so I pour what's left of it in a cup and fill the rest with regular milk. The milk is still brown... just not AS brown. He makes time to be sure it's pointed out to me that "this milk doesn't taste like anything." Yeah, thanks there Einstein. Appreciate that. He has a "headache" and doesn't want to go to school. Surprise. The child loves to do home school with Josh but since his day is about 1/3 of Josh's (if that) he can be a little bit of a distraction for my one that likes to really concentrate. I take him to school. I run by the house and pick up my books to be mailed and a check book. I take Josh to acting class. I stop by the post office. I head to the house and check my e-mail. I go pick up Drew. He wants Subway, I explain that we have to leave immediately to get Josh from acting and that we were simply going to McDonalds and then going home that I didn't feel 100% and that was lunch. He wants to eat there and starts to whine that his headache is "killing him." Oh the drama. So we get Josh and he starts to talk and Drew starts to whine because it's too loud. If it's something he doesn't want to hear, he cries, otherwise he's laughing and talking and giggling. It's a pain in the arse is what it is!

We go to the line and he gets sassy with me while I'm asking him what he wants to drink. I'm about fed up. Mommy doesn't feel good = zero patience for B.S. They don't have pictures of the toys that come with their happy meals so he's convinced he's not getting a toy (oh the travesty!)

We get home... he proceeds to play (his version of) Bakugan with Josh during lunch. I typically have a 100% no toys on the table policy b/c he needs NO distractions for eating SO DARN SLOW already... needs NO help! I finally give them a 10 minute warning that lunch was over in 10 minutes. Period. They finish up. And then it starts...one thing after another... the tears... the drama... the wrapped arms... the pouts... I'm like... who the hell IS THIS KID? Seriously, I swear he was going to start his period and I needed to go buy the kid some Midol!

So, like I said, I'm not feeling 100% and so I go to the restroom and then had planned on laying down. The doorbell rings. I'm in the bathroom and I hear Josh say it's the neighbor across the street (with her son, Drew's best friend). I hear the door shut. I get in bed and Josh comes in to tell me they brought Drew a present and Drew punched Hunter (his BF) in the stomach? I'm like... WTH? Apparently, when she was out, she found these cute t-shirts and bought one for her two boys and one for Drew too. They'd brought him a little gift bag but when Hunter was handing it to Drew, he bumped his arm so Drew wanted to be a little sassy butt and shoved him. SHOVED HIM? I asked Josh, "Well, did he at least say thank you?" Josh said, "I told him to and he just looked at me and then smiled." So... apparently Josh was the only one that had said thank you to Mrs. Oshell. UGH! The horror. This kid says thank you to everyone and anyone for EVERYTHING??? So, I called Drew into my room and we had a talk. He had to call and apologize... his message was so funny. They didn't answer but he left a message and the end of it was, "I'm having a bad day." ha haa... it was everything I could do to keep from busting out laughing. Reminded me of that book... he had a "terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day"

So, I waited for Andy to get here and let him walk Drew to his house to talk to him and apologize face to face. It's all better now but... man alive... makes me sad sometimes the things they'll do and say especially when you KNOW they know better! I feel like I plant those seeds of kindness and generosity and humbleness and compassion... I plant them in my boys every day... and I truly believe you reap what you sow... however, sometimes... those dang weeds just pop up and there's really nothing you can do but yank 'em up --roots and all-- because you can still admire the beautiful fruits of your labor -- but sometimes only AFTER you've weeded the garden!

So, this means I'll see it in about 20 years, right? ha ha ha!

The weekend recap

Saturday was the big day of our Pack's Pinewood Derby Race! Josh was pretty excited. We were really hoping that this year was his year to have a fast car that'd be in the top 5 (maybe). However, considering I don't possess a constructive bone in my body, I enlisted the help of a great friend and fellow Scouter, Carl Wilson. He helped Josh construct a better car that he'd had in years past. We ran one race, 2nd... and another... 3rd.... and another 1st... and another 3rd. Overall, he was 13th out of the nearly 40 cars that were entered and so I was very proud of that! I was also proud of the fact that it was HIS car not done by ME with him racing it. I always let him know that the reason the tigers and wolves do so well is because daddy is doing the cars for them. He's doing it all on his own and that is something to be proud of. How can you be proud of a car when you had nothing to do with it?

After the race, I had to get my oil changed. It was wayyyy over due! I was in and out in about 15 minutes (thank goodness for rainy days when no one wants to get out!) then we headed to Chipotle - FINALLY! I'd been craving one of those big honkin burritos for like... EVAH! OK, so not ever but at least a week. It was delicious. I got my mom some chicken tacos to go and we were en route to Grandmas. I dropped Josh off, picked up a BEAUTIFUL piece of stained glass she made to donate to the Pack's Blue & Gold auction next month and headed back to the house. Andy had taken Drew to a birthday party at Laser Quest for one of Drew's best friend's since I was going to be busy with Josh that morning. However, once I got home, I wasn't feeling 100%. I finally was like... get me some cough medicine or SOMETHING ...I'm going to die!

Then at 3:40 a.m. Sunday morning, I abruptly awoke with Braxton Hicks. Something that's fairly normal for this stage but...the fact that they kept going... and going... and going.... and not stopping... I finally got up and tried to drink water, walk, something to make them stop. I went back to sleep about 6:20 am and slept until Drew came in for donuts. It's a weekend thing.

In the morning, I finally called the doctor and was told to monitor them, drink tons of water, and call back if anything changed. Monitoring... 9:32, 10:11, 10:50, 11:23, 11:44, 12:04, 1:02, 2:12, 3:04, 3:09, 3:22, 4:30, 4:34, 4:40, 5:06, 5:08, 5:23, 5:26, 5:51, 6:12, 7:09, 8:01 and that was the last one....

After talking to the nurse again, it seems dehydration.... and the severe bronchitis-like-coughing-up-a-lung-smoker's-hacky thing and symptoms could have definitely triggered everything to just freak out. I was told live on cough syrup until everything is back to normal. So... all day Sunday I spent the ENTIRE DAY IN BED. Ladies and gentlemen, that is a very, very, and let me be oh so direct -- VEEEERRRYY hard thing for this woman to do. I can't even sit still long enough to watch a freakin MOVIE and I had to lay in bed, eat in bed, get up only to pee... it was miserable! I feel SO SO SO sorry for those moms on bed rest! UGH... but I made it and slept, surprisingly, well.

When I woke up this morning, I felt a little woozy and nauseated... slight cramp in my lower left abdomen but for the most part, back to normal. Today I've had a couple of BH but nothing like it was and for that I am so very thankful. However, because of this, I feel that I can't make my wonderful trip to Canton to go flea market shopping this coming weekend. :( I'm pretty freakin' bummed about that I must say.

However, it's truly amazing to me what we women go through to bring people into this world... and I thank God above for keeping little bean (whatever-his-name is going to be) cookin' in the oven a little longer. I mean, I'd love to not have another 10 pounder again but lets shoot for a little more than 2 pounds. ;) I'm thinking a healthy 6-7 pound range would be perfect! :) ha ha

Friday Fill-Ins

1. You have a chance to make a new beginning and a fresh start each and every day.
2. The moment to live to your fullest is right now!
3. There is a peace about me when it's quiet and all is calm.
4. Eat junk now and pay later.
5. It's time to be honest, get organized, finish this house, do some laundry and get off the computer.
6. The future is up in the air but I'm still planning on it anyway.
7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to checking in Josh's pinewood derby car and hearing about his first day in sculpture class, tomorrow my plans include the Pinewood Derby and Sunday, I want to enjoy the time at church and have a great den meeting where we get a lot accomplished!

Just hopped on to share a quick funny (or two)

Just for those women that deserve a good laugh...

Thankful Thursday

One of my favorite blogs, The Mommy Files, has a feature on Thursdays called "Thankful Thursdays." Today's letter is: B and my list:

B: Boys -- I'm SO thankful for my boys!
B: Bible -- I'm thankful for this guide to life!
B: Blackberry -- I'm thankful for my little piece of technology
B: Boston Terriers -- my little Lola is such a wonderful thing to me
B: Books -- I love books!!! All kinds... all genres... especially new HS ones
B: Blog -- I'm thankful for my creative outlet and the others like The Mommy Files
B: Brown -- I'm thankful this Republican got into that, so called, Democratis seat
B: Blender -- I'm thankful for my blender to make strawberry banana smoothies!

A little rest... a little cough

I went to sleep last night a little late as I'd had caffiene -- it really keeps me awake at night. My little sidekick, Lola, snuggles with me nightly. I kept hearing this "snore/wheezing" sound and was like, "is my dog getting sick too?" So, I moved her around this way... that way... this position... that position. Poor dog was probably like, "LEAVE ME ALONE PSYCHO." The wheezing wouldn't stop. Then I realized, IT WAS ME! I'd been annoying the hell out of my dog thinking it was her, when it was me. UGH! This morning wasn't much better. As long as I'm vertical, I'm hoping it stays at bay.

I walk in to all the boys at the kitchen table and Drew announces with a cheeky grin, "I don't want to go to school today. I want to homeschool." Andy asks why? Drew says, "So I don't have to do centers, or coloring sheets and because homeschooling is more fun." Andy smiles at me and says, "Brainwashed him already, huh?" But I can (and did) honestly say, "This is ALL him," because it was! We can get through school without the lines... without the busy work... without centers because we get through it -- it takes it in and is better for it.

So, today, we'll do some school, hit the park and let them play for a while and really enjoy being homeschooled today for tomorrow will be a busy day.

They're lucky they're so cute and I hate not having NAV!

Today, Drew said he still wasn't feeling 100% but I took that as if, "I just want to stay home" and so I told him he still had to go to school. I had big plans to get finished today. "Get your teeth brushed," was my next order. I walk into my bathroom to ensure he's doing that and NOT playing with the toys or the water and what do mine eyes see? Drew... with his hand wrapped around MY toothbrush. Yes, the child who was medicated for croup and now has a HORRIBLE, phflegmy, debilitating cough has been using MY TOOTHBRUSH ALL WEEK! NO WONDER I feel like crap! I asked why and the response... because my bristles are prettier colors than his. OH MY GOODNESS it's evident now why God made them so cute because otherwise, they'd never live to see their next birthday... it was certainly to ensure their survival. I got Drew ready for school and we made it there ON TIME -- I despise being late!

Josh and I came back and then did some school... spelling... math (he's doing great -- other than those pesky word problems)... and then it was time to head to Carl's house. Carl is another cubmaster that I'm good friends with. He is also a toolman and craftsman. He is helping us with Josh's pinewood derby car since I am SO not mechanically inclined. We get there about 5 after 11 and are about done about 11:50 and my phone rings. I don't recognize the number so I don't answer knowing that we'll be on the road shortly. We get on the road at noon... there is a detour through a residential area.... I get lost and have no CLUE where I wind up! I start to check my messages hoping I'm going somewhere in the right direction (I have no sense about those pesky things anyway.) I call to check my messages. It was Drew's school. He's in the office, sick and needing to go home. I'm now in somewhat of a panic to get there and then realize that although I'm moving in a direction -- I have ABSOLUTELY NO CLUE WHERE I AM! I need help. I can't call Andy (the master direction giver)-- he's out. My dad (direction person of choice #2, in Hawaii. My MIL - at a bridge tourney. I'm left to my own devices... I panic... I call to speak to Andy's dad and I guess he was a little turned around mentally and sent me in the wrong direction on 820. It was SO frustrating. I said a little prayer and then called my mom nearly in tears -- HELP! Drew is sick and I'm lost... HELP! She gets me in the right place and saved the day.

Times like that, although I love my Blackberry, I really, REALLY miss my nav system on my old RAZR phone. It was awesome, I just had to type in WHERE I wanted to go and the GPS thing found me and led me out -- I was NEVER LOST. With the blackberry, I have to have a starting address and a finishing address. Hard to do when you have no flippin clue where you are!

Needless to say, we DID make it. Chipotle wasn't happening for lunch (Jack in the Box had to suffice - barf!) and we got home for him to rest and relax.

My night was spent getting progressively worse (health-wise). I had a cheese sandwich and chips for dinner because I had no appetite... I did get the kitchen cleaned up though -- that's definitely a plus.

Week in recap

• Homeschooling: Josh and I have spent the better part of this week trying to play catch up. Sometimes I really struggle with crossing off all the boxes on the agenda, not realizing that it's okay that he doesn't read "x" amount of pages. He IS learning and is still FAR BEYOND anywhere he'd be in a public school arena. I get a little frustrated, however, when we go over something new... he does fine and then completely blanks out on the actual "homework" problems and misses every one. That happened twice today. However, unlike at a regular school where they're marked wrong and sent home... we go over every one that is incorrect, talk about why it's wrong and I make SURE he understands it. Therefore, as we move forward, his foundation is being built STRONG!
• Scouts: I need to get my Webelos on track. We didn't meet in December (because of horrible and extrememly cold weather coupled with busy schedules. It's nearly impossible. However, these guys are going to make rank ASAP and I need to get them interested in getting there. Josh did get to cut and begin sanding on his Pinewood Derby car. The race is in a week. We will be working on taht this weekend for sure so that we just have to set the wheels and we'll be good to go! :)
• Vehicles: I realize that it's time, now, to move to a new vehicle. One that will enable third row seating access without having to a) flip chairs up or b) crawl up over the seats. Neither of those is a viable option in my opinion. So, I'm searchign for the dreaded mini-van. It'll be a Toyota, Chrysler or Honda. I'm going tomorrow to check them all out.
• Extra Curr Activities: We are back to the craziness of life and actually NEXT week starts the PURE craziness of my schedule:

1. Mondays: Drew will be in his reading/language/phonics class from 10-11:50 and Josh starts his acting classes from 10:45-12:15. In a couple of weeks, Drew will have speech on Mondays at some point too... we'll have to figure out what we need to do to work that into the schedule. It's hard to GUESS where/what time they want you to be available for speech therapy (he has a tongue thing with the -s, -sh, -ch and -j sounds). We will get him there!
2. Tuesdays: Drew - school 9:30-2:30; Guitar for Josh at 3:30
3. Wednesdays: Drew - School 9:30-2:30; Gymnastics for Drew from 4-5
4. Thursdays: Drew - School 9:30-2:30; 1st Thursdays of the month are my Scout Roundtable Meetings and 2nd Thursdays of the month are my Pack's committee meetings and the last Thursdays of the month (bearing no holidays) are my monthly Pack meetings.
5. Fridays: Drew has his reading/language/phonics class from 10-11:50; Josh has sculpture from 2:45-4:15
6. Saturdays: FREE FOR NOW
7. Sundays: Cub Scout meetings from 4-6pm

Now, mind you, this doesn't take into account that both boys are about to start athletics: Josh will have tackle football and Drew t-ball....so we'll have shuttle duty to/from those practices as well..... in March Drew will start swimming lessons again... It's a busy, crazy, fun, full life but I wouldn't trade it for the world! Drew also wants to play soccer -- I'm not sure if we're going to sign him up for that or not... we'll have to see. It's an indoor league and it's only 8 games. I think he'd like it but again. We will see.

House:

• FLOORS: I am in the middle of a lot of revamping. . . I saw that Home Depot has their carpet installation on sale for $99. I'm thinking perhaps of getting carpet installed in my bedroom instead of hardwoods -- more for of the instant gratification kind of thing b/c otherwise waiting for hardwoods then picking out a rug... UGH... the waiting sucks. :) What color of carpets when you were going for a dark wood floor? I'm thinking DARK BROWN carpet? What do you think? Too much? I've never picked out carpet before. I had someone come and give an estimate on refinishing the hardwoods, handscraping and then installing them in my bedroom. $6200 UGH!
• PAINT: I had someone come give an estimate to paint all the trim/baseboards downstairs, the playroom (red), the hallway, prime and pain the laundry room and the ceiling and the door in the laundry room, strip and paint the kitchen island black, prime and paint my bathroom cabinets black, ceiling in the family room and the crown molding in the foyer and formal dining room along with the walls in the formal dining, foyer, upstairs hallway and the hallway connecting the boys rooms. $1700 for labor - i provide the paint. I think that's AWESOME! Even my friend that owns a painting/faux finishing building was like "that is shockingly low"
• IKEA STORAGE: I need to purchase the wall unit that will go in the playroom (with the addition of a third, the playroom got moved to the formal dining, the formal dining to the formal living and the formal living went BYE BYE!) I don't miss it AT ALL. I built it online and it's about $1300. I also built my dream scrapbook room $2300 and then am getting a $200 Bily bookcase for the niche upstairs for the boys books. It should all come together nicely.
• ELECTRICAL: I've got a company that is coming out to install a chandalier in the formal dining room since there is no light source in there and isntall a switch for it, swap out a switch or two for ones taht are dimmers or ceiling fan controls, and move one switch to a place where it's much easier to reach. That should be fairly easy.

So, this past week has been fantastic... it's been busy... lots of planning... lots of moving forward! It's an awesome life.

Friday Fill-Ins

Thank you to my wonderful friend, Felecia, for this fun little blog to follow. It's time for


1. There are places your mind just should never go...and if they do happen to go there, they should only visit and never stay.

2. The hot air from Washington could blow those clouds away.

3. Standing in the rain holding Joshua's hand and splashing in the puddles out front is a fond memory I have from living on Wendy Street in Irving.

4. Boy, oh boy. Or maybe it should be boy, boy and another, oh boy! ;) hee hee

5. He went out tiger hunting ..... wow, this is a weird one... no ideas here... no ideas....

6. Dear Lord, please keep my mind from wandering.

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to family game night, tomorrow my plans include date night and the boys will be at a local gymnastics place from 7-11 for Parent's Night Out and Sunday, I want to see my Webelos, see my church and get some rest!

Menu Plan Monday

I'm back on my strive to be the ultimate domestic diva! It starts this week with the infamous Menu Plan Monday. Here are this week's worth of divine dinners:

Monday: Creamy Mushroom Chicken (crockpot)

Tuesday: Steak

Wednesday: Quickie chicken quesadilias

Thursday: Stuffed shells florentine

Friday: Grilled chicken caesar salad

Saturday: OPEN (I can hope to go out to eat this evening!)

Sunday: leftovers

So far... so good.