Casualty #2 of the Kitchen Redo.

(Edited to say: The counter top guys just left (without running over anything else in my yard), and the counters look GREAT! The color is not quite what I imagined from the one inch square bit we saw, but it's great...and I think I like it better than what I thought it was. Once the whole thing comes together, it's gonna look muy bueno!! Plumber is here installing the faucet, new sink plumbing (did I mention that I LOVE this new sink)...think the painter may start tomorrow. Progress! Now, let's see if we can make it through without anything else getting destroyed!)
The counter top guys pulled into the driveway at 8:00. Right on time! Then promptly proceeded to ram their van into the brick edging of our front walkway....which promptly toppled over like the Walls of Jericho and landed atop my roses. I'd say the day is off to a great start!
Actually, it's not that big of a deal considering the bricks were only balancing on top of each other when we bought the house. We had them reset by a brick layer, so looks like he'll be repaying us a visit.
Thought I'd mess with their heads a bit and told them that my husband was going to flip and that my husband had a horrible temper and wouldn't take the news very well. The poor guy was like, "I feel like I wanna throw up!" I died laughing and told him, "Dude. It's brick. Calm down!" Haha. He was white as a sheet. I did make him pick it up off of my roses, though. My poor roses!! I told him I was more worried about the roses than the stupid bricks. Flat roses, the rose bed of the future.

Air Show Footage

A little clip of Jack getting suited up in some flight gear.

(If it's choppy the first time that it loads, just click to re-play it.)

Questions that need answers.

Sophy asked the following question this morning on the way to church:
"Mom. How is zero an even number?"
I tried my best to give her an educated answer.

She followed that conversation with a new topic:
"Well, Abraham Lincoln's beard grossed me out, for real."

Yeah.

Mothering Sunday

It's great to be home after a long and eventful day! The kids brought me breakfast in bed, and that was great. However, I couldn't quite eat without wondering who (or how) the dishes would get done considering the fact that the counter tops (sink included) were removed yesterday. Hhhmmm. Sam and Sophy wrote a song for me and presented it to me along with a various assortment of other artwork. Seriously cute.
Jack gave me a little potted flower that he made at school. After the morning festivities, we arrived at church about 10 minutes late. The day was fairly overcast as the morning wore on, but we headed out to the airshow after church anyway. When we got there, we heard that all of the demonstration planes were grounded due to the overcast conditions. We walked around and saw hot rods, jets, planes, helicopters, etc. Jack was on Cloud 9 just viewing those sights.
Pop showed Jack the type of plane that one of his cousins died in during the Ploesti bombing raids in Romania in 1944. (My grandfather's brother lost 2 sons during a 6 month period in 1944. He received their purple hearts on the same day.)
As the afternoon wore on, the weather cleared up a bit and the aerial acts started up, and the show started. The Marine Corps, of course, makes you earn everything. No freebies, so Jack had to do 3 pull-ups, 2 different times, to earn a set of dog tags. One for himself, and one for Sam. Of all the things we saw today, I think Jack enjoyed the WWII reenactment the most--troop drop (skydivers) reenacted the way troops were dropped in Europe, then a P51 (one of Jack's fav planes) did a mock dogfight with a Japanese Zero. Very cool. We were able to see the Canadian Snowbirds and the Blue Angels. I don't care who you are, or if you like planes, it's just an amazing thing to see...so very glad we got to go. And I'm even happier that the air show that I went to so often as a younger person is still the same air show of today. At one point, we anticipated my daddy being thrown in jail for insulting a wagon load full of police officers who were doing crowd security. Oy. Luckily, his joke about their donut eating ways didn't strike a nerve with any of them. Again. Oy.
After the show, we ate bbq chicken and tater salad at my folks'. The kids decorated a chocolate Mother's Day cake and rode their bikes until almost dark. The kids were exhausted, so we put them down a bit early. Luckily, I don't have school tomorrow due to the counters being delivered.
Fingers crossed.

Crawfish, etc.

Had a good time briefly visiting with friends at A's birthday this morning. Didn't get to stay too long, but it was good to see old faces! My daddy and Ben were knee deep in destroying the kitchen for the countertop installation on Monday, so I hurried home after stopping by. Hope A's second year of life is as super cool as her first! Looked like a swinging feista! Lots of babies needing naps! Hahha!
We had a fun time at our friend's annual crawfish boil this eve. The kids swam for about 4 hours (until some cool air blew in...brrr), we ate, and ate, and visited with folks. We ate lots of crawfish and enjoyed the warm weather! Downright hot!
Excited about the air show tomorrow. We'll be seeing the Blue Angels, and Jack is beyond excited about that. We'll be eating at my folks' tomorrow eve, and then I'm off Monday. YAY! The countertops will be here, and the painters are due to come the day after. Hope it all goes smoothly, but we are prepared in case it doesn't!
Here is a clip of crawfishboil fun for your viewing pleasure!
Happy Mother's Day weekend!

Testing the Flip

Took my Flip Video to the LC the other day to film Jack. Still haven't received the waterproof cover, but when we do, we'll be able to film underwater to watch his strokes. This is one of the 4 videos we shot that day. We weren't timing him, since this was at the end of doing about 25 laps. The kid was tired!!

Sick Update

Jack started about an 8 week round of antibiotics yesterday that was prescribed by the pediatric ophtamalogist that we last saw regarding the sties. We had hoped to hold off and not have to start them, but earlier this week, he ended up with 3 horrible sized monsters on each eye. So painful. We're not exactly sure what has caused them to occur, but this has been a horrible year for his eyes. Poor guy got his first pair of contacts last week, and he was so excited to have them. But he can't wear them until his eyes clear up.
Sophy isn't feeling well at all. She has had a fever for a couple of days--achey, wet cough, headache, sore throat. Sounds like the flu, right? We don't think so, but oh man, is she weepy. Oh, it's almost more than we can stand. I know she feels bad, though, because she typically takes illnesses way better than the boys do. Not this one. On top of that, we had to up the prescription on her glasses, and they were sent off to add the new lenses. Without them, she has complained of headaches more. We should be able to pick them up tomorrow, so maybe that will help. Not sure if she'll go to school tomorrow or not.
We're watching Survivor while I type, so I better go....it's getting good.

Random bits and bobs in the month of May

We've got lots of fun things on the calendar for May. Oh, but one nasty rumor that I need to verify is that Six Flags in Arlington is closing?? Sar, do you know anything about this? We had planned to go in May/June, and ohhhh, won't the kids be upset!! Maybe it's just a vicious rumor. I hope.
We're hitting the air show this weekend, along with Miss A's first birthday (only Soph and I will hit that one! ha,) and I totally forgot that we had planned to go to an annual crawfish boil/swim also on Saturday. The weekend following, we're having a small swim-over/grill with some friends on Friday eve. The weekend after that, we're having our annual End of Year Swim for the kids and some friends from school. Last year, we had like 89 kids in our pool, so this year I told the kids they could each only invite 3 friends..but by the time you include all of the siblings, I'm sure we'll have close to 88 kids in the pool this year. Ha! Oh well, the kids had a blast last year, and what better way to shake off the schoolhouse blues? The next weekend will be Memorial Day weekend, and we're planning on visiting back in West Texas again. Not sure if DaddyP will make that trip or not, but we have a 3 day weekend that we're hoping to take advantage of. Of course, the following weekend is the weekend before our annual Cousins Camping trip, and this year we're headed back to the state park in Daingerfield where we spent Spring Break. Looking forward to some days of swimming, hiking, and fishing! Last but not least, the week following the camping trip will be our trip to Biltmore! (SCREEEEAAMMM!!!!) Yay! I. Can't. Wait! Of course, that is an update of it's own just waiting to happen!

Carpenter Snafu

Work continued today with a bit of trimming by the carpenters. Not "The Carpenters," mind you. Not those ones. The unionized kind. While they were here, they added the plate rail that we had told them we didn't want, put a funky trim on the new overhang over the sink that will have to be changed, and did some sort of weird act that separated a small portion of the ceiling molding from the wall and ceiling. So yeah, they got stuff to fix. Nothing extremely major, all of it to be expected, but still, when you're married to Mr. Anal Pants. It matters. Ug. I think they'll be here tomorrow.
In the meantime, I feel as if my house is upside down. Nothing is really too out of whack, but it just feels like things aren't where they belong, and that deeply disturbs me. I'll be glad for this project to wind down. I'd rather PDad and I do all the work. That way we are in charge of the time frame.
I'm so very ready for the weekend. For some reason, I've been way drained this week. Possibly because I'm having the menstraul cycle of a 400 pound elephant. Disgusting, but there it is. Doc has said he's ready to take out all of the appropriate parts when I say the word. I ain't saying the word, yet. Where was I? Weekend readiness. Yes. We'll be dining with the MIL and the FIL, doing some kitchen demolision, stopping by a sweet babe's first birthday party, and taking the kids to the air show. We are all pretty excited about the air show. I haven't been in years, but it was always a favorite growing up. Jack is beyond excited.
PDaddy will be home late this evening, and I'm too pooped to pop. Kids are fed and in the process of bathing/showering. Thankfully, they finished their homework before we left my classroom. Sam was pretty motivated considering the fact that I was called over to the elementary school today where I proceeded to burn his rear end with the principal's paddle. He's cooking my grits, that boy. Cooking. My. Grits.
Grits sound really good....

If you'll be my bodyguard....

(Sorry, but that is the song stuck in my head...not that I'm complaining....I got crazy love for Mr. Simon.)
(Other random side note, we are having our #210 hellacious thunderstorm of the month of May. Yes, it's only May 4th. The thunder...Mercy!)
Carpenters came today and removed/added the old/new trim, installed the new cabinet section (which I love!), etc. Not only that, DaddyP surprised me with my Mother's Day present! I'll post a pic of it all as soon as I get new batteries in my camera.
We just made bedtime happen, and we're about to watch our DVR'd shows. Castle!! Love that show!!

Book Club

I especially want to update about Book Club. Book One was quite a challenging read, Little Dorrit, by Charles Dickens. When we chose the book, we didn't realize that it was also recently released on PBS. Talk about an added bonus! After reading a book the size of The Holy Bible, it's good to be able to see the film version. I haven't watched it yet, but I have it in the Netflix que to be sent soon and am very excited about seeing it. It was a very enlightening book, even if it was difficult to read. The Marshalsea isn't something that I was familiar with, so that, coupled with Dickens prolific use of characters--omg, there had to be at least 200 characters in this book, and I'm only slightly exaggerating--made for a very serious read. I can honestly say I would not have read the book any other way. Along with Dorrit, some of the book group also read My Antonia, by Willa Cather (one of THE best books I have ever read..made me want to high-five Willa Cather), and also The Memory Keeper's Daughter, of which I can't remember the author's name. I was NOT impressed with the book which is probably why I can't remember the author's name. Hated the book!
Since the hostess for the next meeting chooses our new novel, we received our latest read at last week's meeting! I'm very excited to get started on it, but I think it will be a much faster read than Dickens...haha, ya think? I could read the Encyclopedia Volume J faster than I read Little Dorrit. I am afraid of finishing the new book too soon, so I'm holding off on starting it until a bit closer to our next meeting. In the meantime, I have picked up The Forgotten Garden, by Kate Morton. If I'm honest, it appealed to me mostly because of the cover. Yes, I judge a book by it's cover. So shoot me! I'm thinking I'll start it in the meantime. Several book club gals have picked it up also, so we'll have something else to talk about in the time between, along with the new book. Oh, our latest title? I almost forgot! The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Society, by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows. Heads up, it's an epistolary! Can't wait to read it.

Lets call it a comeback.

Then & Now:

The past month has been insane. Between trying to get Jack to the pool with swim season fast approaching, which is becoming increasingly harder with DaddyP's schedule and is now almost 100% up to me to figure out, getting Sophy to gym-again-all me, and the usual weekly dance of homework, supper, laundry, dentist appointments, and attempting to get some flowers to bloom in my world, it's been slightly nutty around here. It doesn't help that I've had more migraines lately than normal. I'm thinking they are mostly sinus related, or induced--or whatever, since my upper teeth feel like they are about to pop out of my mouth at any second. At any rate, we've been nutty. Er, nuttier than normal. What has happened over the last month? Hhhmmm. PDaddy has had his busiest-on-record month. Ever. Jack broke past his 18 second mark on the 25m freestyle. This is huge. He was at 21 sec. at the end of last swim season. Sam had his first report card of the year with all A's and B's. No C's!! Whoohoo!! And Sophy completed her first backhand spring 100% by herself with no spotter. She was asked to be on the Gym's cheer squad, but we're not into all that jazz. Our gym turns out a group at Nationals every year that place in tumbling and cheer events, but we (meaning me) have no intentions of entering the world of cheering...for many, many, many years...if ever. Did I mention the cost was like $3,000 for the year? Haha. That's comical!

At present, we're waiting on the kitchen remodeling job to start. This week we are hoping to get a section of cabinets in that we had removed/rebuilt by a carpenter where we previously had a broken ice machine, circa 1972, and a trash compactor, circa 1971. That cabinet section has been removed. YAY! The new section of undercabinets will house the microwave, freeing up cabinet space, and the trash can will be housed there also behind a pullout door. Speaking of trash, we have a double bin now, for recylcing. Finally, we now have recycle pick-up with our trash. The carpenter will also be doing some other wood trim work on our cabinet doors/trim, etc. to bring the cabinets up-to-date a bit. Removing some of the trim and replacing with new. We priced replacing the cabinets, but it just seemed extravagant to replace solid wood cabinets with, hello, solid wood cabinets. Poor trees, let's give 'em a break. Anyway, so the new cabinet section will be installed next week. This coming weekend, will be removing the old countertops, at some point, and the new countertops should be here a week from tomorrow. The day after they are installed, the painter will be here to begin painting the cabinets. Once he is finished, 3 days-I believe, the tile man will come and finish the job! Oh, and Mr. Tile Man will also be tiling one of our bathrooms (the kid's Jack N Jill bathroom and vanity areas) that were previously carpeted by some person...some very, very intelligent (not!) person. And then, we'll be finished!! Free to start another project! Next up, the master bath! Hahhaa.

This week. Let's see. Tomorrow morning my mom is taking Jack and Sophy to eye appointments while I'm at school. With no days left to take off, it would be June before I could get them to the eye doctor. Sophy has been complaining horribly for about a week and a half of headaches and eye pain. Jack is due for a check-up also, so off they go.

Back to the usual week of swimming and other stuff. Is it June yet?

Be patient

Don't give up. I'm still here. I'm having a word drought. Rest assured, the flood gates will open soon. Until then, feel free to weed back through the entries of days gone by. That should keep you occupied for at least a day or two.

Kitchen Update

The kitchen remodel is rapidly taking shape. Everything has been measured, sketched, contracted, ordered, etc. Still a few last minute things to pick out, but overall, we're waiting for the big stuff to start. In the process of getting the backsplash tile ordered, we went ahead and ordered tile for the kid's bathroom and Jack/Jill areas. Carpet is currently in those areas (who carpets anything close to a bathroom? OLD PEOPLE, that's who,) and I'm very happy to be getting rid of that. While we wait on things to start arriving, PDad is installing new lighting in the kitchen. Very, very scary!

The Dark Side of Barnes and Noble

I'm afraid things got ugly tonight at Barnes and Noble. One of the clerks felt compelled to yell at my children. She and I had a discussion about the correct way to a.) treat your fellow man/child and b.) other options for relaying to children that their behavior is inappropriate and even, oh yes, c.) that it is extremely rude to scream at one's children when one is a few feet from said children attempting to correct their behavior but can't be heard because insane checker person is screaming at them. It was a very informative conversation for her...after which I rounded up my children, marched them up to her, and even though she was 4 times my age, I schooled her like she was 12 and explained again for her benefit, as well as my kids while they listened, about how we are to treat people and be treated BY people, and how it was incredibly rude to scream at anyone. I then told her, "Now. Let's try again. This time, without yelling, explain to them what you wanted them to know. Which she did. I then approached the store manager and explained the situation to him while giving him a plethora of other ways that Miss Crotchety Pants could've approached the situation. He explained that she was "a little jumpy." To which I told him, "Right. And now I'm jumpy....and when I'm jumpy, I don't feel like buying books." So then I bought a hot chocolate and left. The End.

Chicken and Dumplings

I wonder if the woman who birthed me would make me some chicken and dumplings sometime soon.

4H, piano lessons, flying tents, Crazy 8's, good drugs and such

First off, thanks to Chingon for the info/comment on the Pre v. Iphone. I appreciate it! I think the Iphone is pretty darn neat (but then again, I think electric can openers are neat,) but PDad is all for holding out a bit to see what comes of this techno war! You're right, there is always something better out there..or on the way! C, do you have a Flip video? I love it! I'm curious if you have had one and what you think. (Also, I forgot to include the link to this article about the DSi. Jack has asked for one for his birthday, but we weren't sure how to compare to what he already has. Sounds like if you have the DS lite, you should stick with it as game play is the exact same...and that's what we're interested in, after all. If you don't have an DS, it's worth it to definitely get the i for the added features. The camera stuff sounds cool. Sophy would love that.)
I've just ingested a Relpax to make my migraine go away. Any minute now, I'll feel like a normal person again. Already I feel it starting to work. Miracle drug, for sure. God bless the makers of Relpax...and may they never stop making it (or find out that it's causing my internal organs to rot.)
I just looked in the backyard and saw Sam's tent (which is a full-sized family camping tent) inflated like a balloon and slowly gliding across the yard about 6 feet off the ground. I hope Sam wasn't inside...and no, I don't think Relpax causes hallucinations. It's just pretty windy here today. Windy, ha! This is a slight puff compared to west Texas wind. I never thought I'd say thank goodness for Pine trees, but at least they buffer the wind. Speaking of Texas that is west of here, I think I'm having withdrawals. Wish we could've visited longer. The younger girl cousins are planning to get a family reunion together this summer, so I know we'll be out there before we know it. The kids had such a good time this visit. They're getting old enough to remember places and faces. Sophy is already begging to go back to eat at Underwood's.
Sophy has become a card game fiend lately. Go fish, Uno, Crazy 8's, you name it. As I type, she's trying to teach herself how to shuffle while she waits for me to play another game with her. I'm so tired of card games!
Sam recently played his first song with both hands! He is so proud of himself, and I have to say that I almost cried when he played it for me the first time. Coming from a boy that eats dirt and collects sticks and rocks, I'm happy to see that maybe one day...MAYBE ONE DAY...there will be a bit of refinement. Haha. Sam. Refinement. HAHHA! Anyway, we're planning a recital for the end of the school year. He is thoroughly excited!
The boys have both asked to join 4H, so we're looking into some things for them. Sam recently learned about the competitive skeet shooting team, and he almost had a stroke. He has to be in third grade to compete, so we're still getting info on that. He will be playing football this fall, so we'll have to see what conflicts. Jack wants to show an animal (oh, I soooo don't want any part of that...,) but we'll see. Maybe Jack can shoot skeet too!
We played hookie from church this morning. The kids were seriously over-tired from the days on the road, so we're doing laundry and relaxing. Piano Girl will be here in a bit, so I'm off to order a pizza for lunch.
PS Happy News! This is a 4 day week, and then my SIL will be here! Tea party and girl fun!!!

PS Don't buy an IPhone!

For all of you techno wizards out there, here is an interesting article! I had all but sealed the deal at Christmas time on an IPhone for PDaddy. In asking some last minute questions in an attempt to get our plan finalized, etc., PDaddy caught on to my plan and begged me to wait. He had heard that now "wasn't the time" to buy. So, being the SOOO not-caring-about-techno-gadgets type, I waited. Then this weekend, my cousin told me that she had just bought one, but that she had heard that Palm Pilot was coming out with a competitor phone that would rival the IPhone. Great, I thought, PDaddy will want one. SIGH! So, we looked it up for funnsies to compare and found this article. Nothing really pushes one over the other, well, actually it does. However, the new IPhone software that will available this summer, sounds like it will be over and above what is available now and an upgrade would be quickly inevitable if you bought now. Which means...if you get the Palm Pre, then their upgrade is imminent, I'm sure. The answer? Haha, keep waiting? Not sure! I do know, if nothing else, hold out for the new IPhone...or try the Pre. Or wait for the new Pre. Or the newer than new IPhone that will surely come after that. Pffft. I think the technology is so emerging that it would be beneficial to wait, at this point. PDaddy, for instance, continues to wait. HA! In the meantime, I'm getting an Ipod touch...with no waiting. So there.

Finally home..

Are you aware that it is closer from El Paso to California than from El Paso to Dallas?
Don't believe me? Investigate. I lie not.
We made it home tonight from a mad, and I mean M.A.D, dash across the fine state of Texas to my Granny's funeral. If you drove north or east from my house for the same amount of hours as it takes you to reach where I call "home," you would either be in Kansas or almost North Carolina, respectively. As it is, we were still in Texas when the driving was said and done. Albeit, the part of Texas that is filled with cactus, deer, lots of wind (think hurricane-and I wish I was kidding), sandstorms (O.M.G.)...amongst other things.
We had hoped to make it to my Granny in time to at least see her before she passed, but my mama called as we were on the road (about an hour or so away) that she was in the process of passing away. Several of her children and grandchildren were there. My cousin, April, who is an R.N. was able to be there in Granny's hospice room to help the family tend to her and help make those last hours more comfortable for Granny. Instead of heading to San Angelo, we went to her hometown, Brady, where our family is and where the funeral would be held and went ahead and checked in at The Roach Motel because Best Western was full to overflowing. Brady is the hub of turkey hunting at this time of year, and we were out of luck for a room at the "good" choice. And by Roach Motel, I mean. The. Roach. Motel. You know, the one with hair and food between the sheets, a hair in the coffee pot, fecal matter on the toilet, dried food on the sink counter and questionable stains on the carpet. Yes. THAT roach motel. (My mama, who hadn't slept in a NUMBER of days from helping tend to and fight my Granny in her final days, confronted the "inn keeper." Poor man. We stayed, virtually, for free. He never saw her coming. Bless his poor Middle Eastern heart. I'm sure he knew why his motherland makes women submit and wear burkas.) Where was I? Oh, yes. So, my Granny passed on, and we headed straight on to the hotel. Over the course of the last couple of days, the kids and I were able to see new faces, old faces, and faces in between. We ate at our family restaurant that was founded by my mama's aunt Pearl (the world famous, Underwood's, in Brownwood. Divine. I ate myself stupid. Sam thought he was in food Heaven, and PDaddy wept because he wasn't there. I'm sure many of you have eaten there,) saw a portion of my (atleast*) 27 first cousins and their "host" of children, showed my children the teensy house where I grew up--as well as our farm, etc. It's an absolute blur, but one thing I can't believe is how amazingly similar all my Granny's grandchildren are--even though some we haven't seen in 10-12 years, and how quickly all of the first cousins' children fell in line with each and started plotting a plan for world domination. Birds of a feather, and all that. Yeah. Sam and his cousin, Seth, need NEVER...N.E.V.E.R. spend any amount of time together. Oh my. World altering would be the words that best describe those two together.
It's so very weird to go "home" and be in Walmart and see your second cousin. To go eat at a restaurant of your second cousin. To be at the mall in town and see a man who graduated from a teensy, west Texas high school with and used to steal watermelons, most likely, with your daddy. Even stranger, are the people there. I live in Texas, but this part of the world is different. Somehow, I ended up in town with only a checkbook and a credit card that had been demagnetized. The darned thing wouldn't work anywhere. Everywhere we went, it seemed that I needed to buy something that we had forgotten, or gas, or shampoo, or dinner, or dress pants for the vistation, etc. At every turn, I was amazed at how many people/business owners, not knowing me from Adam, would know that we were in the area for a funeral (not even knowing my family) and would say, "Don't worry about it. Write a check." Strangers would find out we were in town for a funeral and inquire about who, when, where and hug you, say they were sorry, and "tell your family we said hello." As we drove in the funeral procession (in Texas all traffic stops until the procession has passed...well, at least they still do in west Texas,) we went past a tiny shack where a man was push mowing the weeds in his yard. As we pass him, I saw him standing there--lawnmower turned off--hat over his heart. As we passed a gas station, men pumping gas into their trucks---hats off of their heads and over their hearts. If that don't make you cry, nothing will. Anyway. Like I said. A different world.
So, my Granny is now safe in Heaven with the 4 children and husband she lost so very long ago--which is about as happy as you can be, I'm sure--and we'll forever smile at her last hours, and how she stayed herself right up until the very end--fighting like a tiger, physically (oy) and mentally....and verbally. You know you have a priceless grandmother, when the eulogy is given at her service and the following statement is made, "As many of you know, you either loved Mama or you didn't. On the same hand, you also know that Mama either liked you. Or she didn't. Can I get an AMEN?" to which those in attendance (a large family crowd) emphatically and enthusiastically responded in unison, "AMEN!"
God bless my Granny.

A few things

(Edited to say: Check out my new Flip! This time I sprung for the underwater case, so we'll be able to record Jack's swimming to play back and allow him to see what he can change underwater!)
1. We're all packed to head out in the morning. I maybe should've gone to school today, but if things with my Granny prolong, our visit may stretch into the weekend. I used today to get things done that HAVE to be done in order for next week to function properly. No rest for the weary. Oh, and on top of getting things in order to be gone for a few days, I also got the closets all rotated out from cold weather clothes to warm. Nice, clean closets. For like a day, I'm sure. But they're so pretty and clean.
2. Not sure when my countertops will be here. I think I get to pick out a new sink too! Hehee. Ahhh, a sink! I'm very excited to see what it will all look like when it's pulled together. I sort of wing a lot of this and make gut decisions....then I hold my breath and hope I like it. No going back now!
3. I think I'm going to use the Book Club excuse to get a Kindle! My brother has had one for a year, and I was convinced that after a time it would burst into flames and make me glad I had never bought one of the cute little things. Alas, no flames. Perhaps???
4. About Book Club, I have finished 2 chapters of the MONSTROUS book we're reading. I'm enjoying it thus far, and that is good news! Wouldn't it be horrible to be strapped to a giant, horrible book for the next 4 weeks? With any luck, it won't take me half that long to read it. But it is huge, so I can't promise anything.
5. I'm looking forward to our annual Tea Party next weekend. My SIL will be here, and we have much to discuss. Not to mention, we're past due on a day to leave the kids behind and go do fun SIL stuff together! Lets see...Toes, Tea, etc. Fun, fun!
6. Speaking of next weekend, it's the 3 day kind! Hooray!
7. I'll be out of pocket for a few. Try to control your sadness, okay?