It's a Sign

I think someone decided to sell our house.  Where are we going to live?  I don't know (and he doesn't know either!).  Why are we selling?  He wants friends to come over (to look at the house?).

This morning, Ethan made a sign (all on his own!) (he's learned that writing conveys messages!) (and that he can write!) (and that people read his messages!).  He brought Ches a long 5-foot section of clear packing tape, and asked him to straighten it out (ha!), and that he needed some tape to put up a sign.  We asked where, gave him some tape, and he posted this in the front door window for all to see.  We are really lucky that no one knows what it says!  When we got back from our school tour (tell you more later!), I stopped in the driveway and told him that I saw a sign on the door that said our House was For Sale!  He giggled, laughed and said now we'd have a Sign Party!

It says, "bump-something-zig-zag-4-zig-zag"

Umm..I don't know where this came from, and after asking the kids we still don't know.  ..Maybe it's from the realtors' signs around our area with balloons attached to them on open house days?  ..Maybe I watched too much HGTV yesterday, and he saw all the people come to the house with the sign?  Either way, we have a Sign.

So, Ethan is not attending his old school at our church anymore.  It's a long story, but he's lost his second teacher this year (and I totally support her), so we pulled him out.  He's been in Sonshine School, a Mother's Day Out program (he was in it the two years before preschool).  He likes his teacher (she has red hair and her favorite color is green..really, it's a dream!), and he has fun.  I've already committed to the rest of the year (well, two short months), so I wanted somewhere for him to finish the year, school-wise.

We toured the Montessori school today, and he liked it.  I filled out all the paperwork while the bigger kids were at the dentist (no cavities!) this afternoon.  There was a lot!  You have to have it notorized (!), and pay the first and last month's tuition (umm..April and May?), a registration fee, a volunteer fee (?), and have current immunization records, etc.  I had no idea.  We even signed two releases for Ethan to be in pictures, videos, or advertising.  I thought the old school was extensive at 9 pages!

We did like that the school had so much light (windows all along three walls!), live plants, live animals, a garden out back along with a chicken coop (chickens to come..), and it was oh-so-neat with all its shelves of manipulatives.  I know that's a Montessori trait, but love it.  Ethan liked it too, so we'll jump through hoops, I guess.  Lots of paper hoops.  Notorized paper hoops.

Don't Blink!

Ethan had Mother's Day Out-his last one this year.  I was sad to end an era.  He goes to preschool this fall, so he is now officially a big boy.  His teachers were so sweet and made him a laminated scrapbook with pictures from the year.  Ches picked him up, which was good and bad.  I missed out on the good-byes-I would've been a mess, so it's probably better.  I am just emotional period!
Today was supposed to be Mary Claire's orthodontist appointment, but I forgot!  I called an hour after the appointment (when I finally looked at my calendar), and made her a make up appointment next Tuesday.  I felt bad, but they didn't seem to mind.  It's only a 15 minute appointment to get her spacers, so it will probably be fine.
I shopped and kept decorating..more candles, rocks, shells, glass, a picture frame.  And...guess what I made this afternoon?  I have been wanting a huge chalkboard, and I decided I needed one (to try) over the fireplace.  Maybe with a poem, a recipe..something!  So..I painted a huge canvas!  Take a look:

Ok..so disregard all the other stuff laying around.  It is exciting!  I haven't tried to write on it yet, but I'll let you know how it goes tomorrow.  I used regular paint, but I can always wipe it with a wet paper towel.  The paint bottle says it's permanent after it's dry, so *fingers crossed*!
I was trying to get ready for a trip to Little Rock tomorrow to take Mary Claire, but she cried after school since she was going to miss the Fairy Tale Ball at 1:30.  We got out the Halloween dress I got her for this fall (got it last November first-on sale!)..it's a longgg princess dress.  And that's the problem (well, besides that she was going to be gone).  I have now dried it for about 30 minutes-and it won't shrink!  It's too long!  She said she doesn't care.  I just know she'll rip it, but she insists.  And she has at least 6 other dress-up dresses, but she wants the new one, of course.  So..I rescheduled her appointment for July 7th, so we'll be in town tomorrow.  It works better anyway-I'm always in the mood to wait to go to Little Rock!  and she gets to go to school and the Ball. : )
Ok, so on to our evening!  The kids swam for a tiny bit, and we had a great dinner-I've learned that grilling can be faster than :cooking:.  I got fresh corn on the cob yesterday, and today I learned how to cook it!  I just peeled the husks off, brushed it with olive oil, and wrapped the cobs in foil.  I grilled them at about 350 degrees for 15 minutes-oh, so good!  and pork chops and french bread.  Easy, and fast!  Clay wanted more corn, so I'll have to make more next time.
Then we had Clay's baseball game.  We prayed before dinner that Clay would have a good game, and get a hit.  I felt like I needed to be there, especially tonight.  He was playing a good team, and he needed support.  Ches went early, since he had to be there by five.  We went a little later, and Mary Claire was giving me SO much grief.  She didn't want to go, wanted to know why we had to go, etc.  But, ha!  She got to play with a couple girls, climb all over the bleachers, have a ring pop:

And then..Ethan had to have a Pacifier (that's what it looks like!):

A

It was actually a good game!  His team lost, but they put up a good fight!  Clay did indeed get a hit, got tagged out on the way to second, but we were still proud of him.  He was happy, and that counts.  I was so glad that I went.  I met a new mom (it's a small world!), and got to see his hit.  I hung around for the after party (coach's talk):

These kiddos are growing up fast!  I sure hope I don't miss it.

What a Crock! Pot.

Mary Claire is home from school.  Her ear hurts. : (  She went upstairs to take a nap, and I hope she feels better soon!  I don't know if she'll feel like going to gymnastics today.  I made a roast beef in the crock pot, since I'm usually not home till 5:40 with her, and we are usually starving by then!
I had Mother's Day Out today, and did really well!  I was in and out of the grocery store in almost 30 minutes!  (my record?)  Then, home to brown some beef, cut up carrots and onion for the crock pot, put away groceries, and back out the door.  I had this great coupon for Banana Republic (30% off, only good today!), but when I got there, I realized it was only good from 5-9pm.  Who on Earth gets to shop between those hours?  Talk about limited.  I picked out some stuff that can "grow" with me, and they did a PreSell (took my card info, and will ring it up after 5pm).  I liked one sweater, but they didn't have the color in the right size, so they found it in Fayetteville, which means now I have to go back to both stores!  Maybe since we MiGhT miss gymnastics, I could go there??
Ethan did fine at MDO.  He's been screaming a lot lately for me and Ches.  I think it's a small attachment thing/phase.  I kinda got his mind onto other things (delivering girl scout cookies to the teachers!) so his attention was diverted.  It worked, and I picked him up a little early at the end.  Maybe if he sees I'm the first to be there, he'll be less nervous?  There is no perfect answer, but I need the time alone, and he needs time away from me.

Ps-punctuation matters, don't you think??

Please pray for all ladies you know that are pregnant.  It is not an easy time.  There are all kinds of things to worry about, and anything can happen.  Every day is an accomplishment.  I can understand that it's hard to just enjoy it.  I have friends that need your prayers, so if you have extra time..offer up some prayer! : )  Thank you~

Cookies are Here!

Today was long. I went in this morning to help unload the truck full of girl scout cookies. We worked fast and hard. I was sweating, and had to take my coat off, it was sweaty on the neck, and by then my shirt was wet. Gross. I stayed till we got all the boxes counted, divided by troop, and started loading them up. I checked out our troops' (responsible for paying for them) and brought them home.

Mom was here so the carpet cleaners could come to clean the hearth room carpet and a couple of other spots in the kids' rooms. They were fast, and very good! All the stained places are gone. The real test is to see if they come back up in the next month or so. I am hoping they won't. It just looks so nice right now! In fact, we hesitated to put the furniture back since they'd left such neat straight vacuum lines. But, we did, and all is restored.

Then Paul came back to repair the sheetrock seam crack in Mary Claire's room for the painters. He was so fast! When he left, Mom and Dad did too, and I put Ethan to bed. It was almost 2 when he went to sleep. I went in my room and debated on reading, working, cleaning, or taking a nap. I decided to spend 30 minutes resting/reading then cleaning from 2:30 on since Kelly and Kiersten were coming over to sort cookies and give them out. Well, that went bust when I fell asleep reading! I woke up about 3:15, ran to see if the kids had come home yet (they were walking across the yard), and realized I had to hurry to straighten up (I'd have lots of people coming to get their cookies!).

We sorted, Ches left for night class, and slowly the parents came. Only about 1 family an hour. Our last parent didn't come until after 8, so it was a long night! We did fine, fed the kids pizza, cookies for snack, had night-night stories, so we made it. Ethan did get to bed late: 8:20, but of course went right to sleep! The kids too. They were exhausted from running around and playing with all the different kids as they came and went! It was quite a night! : )

Now they are settled in, and I'm settling down. I'm sure there's more to do (get laundry out of dryer, load washer clothes into dryer, clean kitchen, make lunches, check Monday folders..) but I can't go any longer! I'm so tired. And I just know I'll be sore tomorrow! I worked, and twisted, and pushed, and loaded. I'll have muscles hurting tomorrow that I don't even realize I have! And then. There's tomorrow.

With Ethan sick (snotty), there'll be no MDO. So, about that ticket to pay... I'll be home with him, which makes more time to clean the kids' closets out of wintery and too-small clothes, but not so much time to run my errands. I think I have a list of about 7 things to do out. But they can wait. Maybe I could run do the drive-thru things with him. Then Mary Claire has gymnastics, and I have Bunko. I'm feeling really bad about the amount of pizza we've eaten lately (although Ethan has eaten well), so I need to make dinner tomorrow. I don't know how with me being at gymnastics, but maybe I'll make soup in the morning. They're eating tons of fresh fruit and veggies, but I just feel bad. It seems like if I put no real work into, I'm failing them (as I consider cooking part of my job description). I will work on it.

Oh, yeah! If you ordered cookies, they are ready for pickup or delivery! : ) Yum, yum! Thin Mints, Samoas, Do-si-dos, Trefoil, Dulce de Leche, Sugar Free Chocolate Chip, Lemon Chalet Cremes, and Tagalongs! If you want more, or didn't get to order, we have some left over, and can order more! Woohoo!

Recall spurns me to create!

I always want to write, "What a day". It's just what comes to mind.

Today, I took Ethan to Mother's Day Out. He was so excited! As soon as we pulled up, he wanted OuT of the van! : ) It makes me feel better that he really likes it. He was an angel when I dropped him off, and he never looked back.
I ran tons of errands: Christian Book Outlet (Valentines and thank you cards and a cross for Clay), Westwood Gardens (pansies for me and Mom), Gymboree (clothes for Sis-long story, maybe I'll tell later..), Wal-Mart (return, party supplies, Tide, post-its, panini grill, meat and cheese), JCPenneys (Mary Claire 2 dresses to try, sweater, me shirt), Yankee Candle (Cottage Breeze), Brighton (took in watch for repair-3rd time it's broken!), then back to get Ethan. Whew.
He was ready to go, and just hugged me! He picked a root beer dum-dum, and off we went! He watched a Strawberry Shortcake video on the way home, and didn't fall asleep, thank goodness. When we got there, he kept saying, "drink". He climbed in my front seat, took my drink, and started drinking. I started unloading the van, and he spilled the drink all over his clothes, my seat, and all over the van. Ick. I cleaned him up and just put him in comfy jammies, and got him ready for nap.

As he slept, I got stuff put away, read a magazine article, then got to work sewing! I made Mary Claire a new pair of capris to match a shirt I got at Gymboree that didn't have pants to match in her size. (I'm choosing not to tell the Long Story about the adorable plaid pants with butterflies sewn on to the bottom sides that have been recalled and couldn't be sold to me after I'd matched a shirt and socks to it and the outfits I got all matched: sweater, socks, leggings, skirt, shorts, shirts, hair ponies, etc.) Anyway, for this one shirt, I made the pants (modified Clay's old jeans...) and made matching bows tonight for her hair (assuming maybe she'll wear braids or pigtails?). It only took me ALL afternoon! Anyway, very cute. I'll try to post pix.

Tonight, more busy. Kids' conferences, paninis for dinner-yum!, Clay's first confession, baths, more jammies, bow making-3 total, little phone time, travel planning-more of the cheap flights to Orlando ($29 each way, but $11 to choose your seat, $30 for a checked bag, etc.) We are deciding...maybe in May? Mary Claire can go to the park free on her birthday!

Well, off to bed. I'm listening to the wind, storming, and bad news about the 600 people laid off from WM home office, and the 3 people already killed and 50-60 injured in Oklahoma from the storms headed this way. I might need to rest up in case we're up with scared kids later.
Good night, sleep tight. Don't let the bed bugs bite. : )

Long Post, Long Day

8am: I have started laundry, half-cleaned two bathrooms (Clorox tabs!), am working on sending photos to WM to pick up to go with thank-you notes (already written-we rock!), but I can't find my password, so they are emailing it in 5-10 minutes (eternity when you're waiting!). I'm also on my way into the school to reload Mary Claire's snack box and drawers with waters, Propel mixes (both for highs), and applesauces, fruit snacks, juice boxes (14g and 24g) for lows. And other carb-y snacks (some with pb) for after she's back up, and has a while till she eats. The pb helps keep her from crashing again right away. It's a slower carb, so it slows down the juice-fast carb. Enough info! I posted a pix of one of the bags of labeled snacks that are headed to school. And, noooo, I don't do that at home. : )
Anyway, still waiting on that email from Wal-Mart...
Got it! -Commercial Break while I upload cute pix of my babes!-

Tomorrow we are scrapping again! I'll see how much I can get done. I don't know how long I can stay though.

9:50pm: I'm just now getting back! See how busy I can get? I got the floors mopped FinaLLy! after the kids went to bed. Ethan dumped the pencil sharpener, so I felt it was a great "opportunity" (silver lining and all).

The other HUGE thing I've been doing (most of the day!) is putting my receipt amounts onto my Quicken software. I also have balanced two months' worth of income/expenses-umm..October thru December! So, I'm a little behind... We had a busy Christmas season, and who wants to bog down the fun with checkbook balancing?? NOt me! : ) So, in the melée, I had to put on the charges for going to France. Okay, ya'll-if you've been, you get it, if not-aaahhhhh! For every charge at a restaurant, grocery, etc. there are TWO charges that you have to locate (usually 5-8 transactions away from each other!) and add together to get the real charge. (This is why I put it off for so long. I've already taken two stabs at that first statement, and failed miserably. Today, I was ready!! I have a new pink Pilot Precise V5-from my stocking!-and it was awesome!) (They come in a three pack of Turquoise, Hot Pink, and Purple. I use up the first two super-fast, and the purple gets relegated to the kitchen drawer...I have more favorite-er colors than thee, oh-no-so-pretty-one!)

So, Wii Fit got ditched today in honor of Bank-Ish-Reconciliation Day. I worked out enough on my floors! My back was really starting to hurt! Feel sorry for me... : ) I even left the chairs out so that when Ches got home after class he'd ooh and ahh. Well, maybe in hopes that he'd wipe his shoes and Respect the Work.

Last bit of news-Patty. Yes, she really had a heart attack! She was getting a stint/heart catheter put in this am, but I got an email update this evening that she didn't have to have it! Prayers Worked (thank you!). She was released, and is resting at home. Take your 81mg aspirin tonight! And thank God for the medical knowledge He reveals! : )

New background again, you like? I do it for you. : )

Ok, maybe last thing! I'm going to be taking a month (February) to host a catalog Stampin' Up! party if you would like to faux-come to my house, and order. Or you can really come over for chips and (Sam's awesome) salsa and we can chit chat. There's a new catalog -gasp!- and I'm so excited! They have the most adorable stuff! Do you remember my crafty book with cutest tabs? I used the tab punch? Have you seen my cutest tags? I use the corner punch and oval punch, then tie in ribbon on ANY gift, or make a tag, attach it to cardstock and make a card (need pix of that one?) or I type my scrapbook journaling, then make a tag of it, tie ribbon, and mount it in my 'book! So cute! Okay, and they have stamps! I have 19 sets. I have to admit, I don't use them ALL the time, but the ones I use, I LoVE! : ) I'll make it a goal to add a pix tomorrow.

I must go to bed, for tomorrow, I get a MOTHER'S DAY OUT!!! I haven't been able to take Ethan to MDO since Thanksgiving-well, the week before. He's been sick, have I mentioned that?? Anyway, mom is coming (Yippee!) and I'm headed out into the world, sans kids! Woo-hoo! What shall I do? First, is scrapbooking! Tiny bit of shopping (for I'm going to Branson on Friday-tell ya tomorrow), nails done possibly? Lunch out? If I call you, please say yes! : ) And we shall order dessert!