Brain Declutter: Because random is the best I can do right now....

Yes, we have been busy.  Yes, I do have pictures to prove it.  No, I am not going to post them because I just don't feel like it. I have been slightly anti-blogging as of late.  Not sure why but I am just not feeling it.  It could be because Aaron is home more (only 4 more days of 3rd shift!!!!) and I would rather hang out with him (....or maybe because I love the mindlessness of Pinterest.  I think it is a little of both).  Two weeks from yesterday we are going on a date.  We don't have any money so it may just be a throw back to our courting days-Taco Bell; but that works for me.  Aaron will be home past 9:00pm and not have to sleep during the day...I think I remember what that used to be like...

Jake has been sick this week so there has been a LOT of TV watching and video gaming.  I know that sounds really pitiful but I think if you are really sick (not just faking) than you should be allowed to do things that cheer you up since you are all pitiful otherwise.  Jake was coughing up a lung and asked me to give him and hug and to say: "Oh my poor baby!" which apparently I used to do when he was little much more frequently than I do know.  It makes him feel better he says.  So I have been saying it a lot.  A few coughing fits he had to say "say it Mommy..." to remind me.  What can I say?  He is growing up and I am kind of okay with it (I don't really have a choice). I have learned when bigger kids are sick it okay to treat them like they are little.  I am making that note to self so I won't forget it next time.

On a similar topic, I just realized the other day that I don't have to cut the crust off Jake's bread anymore...I don't even know when that happened!  What kind of mother am I to not notice these changes?!  Just kidding.  I have beat myself up enough over not really remembering what his first word was (I am pretty sure it was Mama...) so I don't feel so guilty about the whole crust thing.  Am I the only one who isn't really the mother I thought I would be and it took me several years to realize that is okay?  I am a good mom.  Good enough that Jake tells me I am the best mom and that I am his best friend.  That is something right?   He has others too (best friends...not mom's) of course but he doesn't "hate" me.  I have seen some kids "hate" their parents by this age....so sad they don't rock as much as me.  I am humble too... :) Good enough that having a slumber party with me is still fun...even if we are pretending to be Ninjago (if you don't know what that is than you don't have a Lego lover in your house...) characters and in the middle of a battle (not acting it out jumping around-just doing the voices) I hear him say "okay it is time to go to sleep" because I am already dozing off...I don't remember what his first word was!  So shot me.  I do remember he said it to me and he still says a lot of things to me that parents don't hear from their kids at his age.  I am good with that. :)  I am trying to remember that he won't care if I didn't write in a journal every day of his life (that was my plan...that never happened) to make of a record everything thing he did.  The only person that puts that amount of stress on me is me.  In 2012 I will not do that to myself any more.

In my head, I have the paint color picked out in every room in "my/our house" in SC  Have I mentioned that here yet?  I blog in my brain so sometimes I can't remember if I really posted it our have it stored in my brain...Please tell me you do that too my blogging buddies?  I have looked at a house that is for sale 3 times now.  It is 2 houses down from Nana and Papa.  It is walking distance from the Martin's (the Martin's=cousins that are awesome, and sister/brother/in-laws that are...well they are redonk!). And it is in the town that Aaron was born and raised in. It is a big yard that backs up to the woods we go "4 wheelin!" (picture Aaron saying this in a really crazy voice while we are going insanely fast on the 4 wheelers and having a blast).  It is a great deal (the potential to be very cheap....) and it is a dream right now that I am slightly obsessed with.  What can I say it is fun to decorate a house in your mind whether you are actually going to live there or not, right?  We shall see if it is in the cards to be there in "my house".  If not there will always be other "my houses" but they will all be in Aaron's home town because that is where we want to be and where we know the Lord wants us to be.  We will just have to see if His timing is the same as ours and "our house".  And no that isn't #9 for anyone who is still wondering what that is...Keep wondering because I am still not quite ready to tell yet. :)

And on last bit of randomness that just popped into my head like all the rest of this has:  I have actually seen a movie that was better than the book.  There is a first time for everything!!!  The movie is "The Help".  I read the book and liked it.  I loved parts of it and hated other parts, so that averages out to liking it.  The movie I heard was amazing.  I didn't see it in the theater and I have waited since it came out on DVD for a little while. I finally decided to rent it and LOVED it!  Which never happens to me.  I usually wait too long and build up how great it is going to be in my head and them I am disappointed.  A great example of that would be: "The Blind Side".  Great movie-don't get me wrong!  But I was bummed because I was told by so many people I was going to cry & I knew too much about it...so it was a let down...even though it was good.  Please tell me you know what I mean....The Help was not a let down because it was way better than the book!  My apologies to the author....

Enough for now...I am heading to bed.  As a friend of ours father likes to say: "Church comes early in the morning!"   I chuckled a little when I typed that because I hear it in the voice of mocking from a couple people who will remain nameless...Don't feel bad if you are wondering why I think it is funny...Or if you are wondering why I am typing that at all...because I am starting to wonder that my self.  Anywho!  The longer I declutter my noggin of randomness, the greater the chance I have of dozing off at Church like I did while playing Ninjago with Jake at our slumber party. :) Goodnight!

A Reluctant Pumpkin on Halloween?

True story...This is our attempt to put Sadie in a Halloween costume my sister made for Daisy (our 1st dog-a sweet and crazy basset hound...That I miss dearly...).  After bribing her with what to be half a box of treats and struggling to get her in it, this is the best shot I got of her...Stinker.  Sadie is definitely a reluctant pumpkin.  Daisy LOVED her costume.  She would get excited when we got out the Halloween rubber maid box and pulled it out! This is the best picture I could find of her in it-I guess we hadn't put the hat on yet.  I went back as far as I could on my computer digitally.  I actually have years I didn't take a picture of her in it!!!!  What was I thinking?  Don't let her pitiful Basset Hound face fool you-she was having a ball!  The only time she got more excited was Christmas.  You think I am joking?  She knew which stocking was hers (and she didn't even begrudge Emily too much when she had to share it with her.  Emily was our second sweet dog, a black lab who was arguably the most obedient dog to walk the earth,  we had to put to sleep at the age of 5 1/2 because she had cancer.)  Dogs are so much smarter than people give them credit...Or at least that is what I thought until we got Sadie...JUST KIDDING! sort of...She is only 10 months old so she has time to grow up and make us proud. 

 Here we are dressed up for our Halloween Family Home Evening Party.  Jake didn't want to wear his Renaissance costume so he dug in the Halloween box and wore his Harry Potter robe backwards with my old "Spider Queen" cape (every year I say I am not dressing up and at the last minute Jake talks me into it.  I found the cape for $3 at Walmart on year and we have used it over and over again!) and large spider he put on his walking stick.  He was a Spider Wizard or something like that.  Aaron took the picture because his "costume" was too warm so he had to change out of it.                                     

 He had on one (yes he has more than one...WAY more than one) Star Wars t-shirts on and his flannel Star Wars PJ pants (that wast he part that was too warm). He was "dressed up" as a Star Wars fan.  And he didn't want to let down his title of our resident PTPP, so he wouldn't pose for any pictures.  He claimed he did this so that I could be in the pictures since I never am.  I am the official picture taker-he should know this by now...
Dad dressed up as a Pilot.  He had on his old flight suit and Jacket from when he did airshows in his Pitts Special plane.  You didn't know my dad was a famous stunt pilot on the side of being a corporate pilot did you?  I will save that for another post and sadly it was well before the days of You Tube so you can't go look him up or anything.  I will fill you all in later, I promise....Along with the post about what I carry in my big purses that I carry that Melissa asked me to blog about over a year ago...I will add it to the list...I am a slacker I know.

 I kind of love this picture.  I stole that camera from Aaron because he just wasn't getting the shots I was looking for...I am picky about my memories, so sue me!  I was doing the classic one handed shot of Jake and I when Aaron crept up behind us to recreate one of our all time favorite pictures....That I will have to add to my list of posts to do in the future because I cant' find the picture at the moment.  I have too many pictures to figure out where it could possibly be.  I will have to hunt for it because it cracks me up!!! 
Since we missed the Ward Trunk-or-Treat and even though our lights were out the doorbell was still ringing (it wasn't quit dark enough for lights out to ward people off yet) we went out side to unload some of our candy before it got dark and so Jake could run across the street and next door to our neighbors that would miss him if he didn't stop by.  He was happy with the ring pop and chocolate and we headed inside for our party. 
Aaron frosted the cupcakes so I knew he couldn't protest or put his hand up to stop me.  Have you ever heard of the new Betty Crocker cupcake mix called "Fun-da-middles"?  They were on sale and I had a coupon that doubled so I got the box for around $0.50.  We decided that Halloween was a good excuse to try them, especially since this was our first year without a big bag of candy to dig through. 
I admit that carving a pumpkin on Halloween may be a little late but come on it is still fun, right?  None of the party poopers in my house wanted to do it so the tradition is now 2 years in the past...We have decorated cupcakes the past 2 years so I guess that is our new tradition...I really wanted to carve this pumpkin and I even go the pumpkins to do it.  I think I will just do this instead.  And then make some of this.  I am not going to tell you what it is because I have already told you about my friends awesome new blog and I want you to go check it out...If you are interested enough to see what I am going to do you will have to go see her blog. :)  Aren't I tricky?  You will love the idea I promise!  It will be worth your 5 minutes to check it out!!!  Don't you love the spider cape?  Jake was working hard on his pumpkin cupcake in this picture. :)  (I am a chronic "linker"...I know it's sad...)

 The Fun-da-middles got a thumbs up from all of us.  I am sure you could easily make this with a regular cake mix and pudding but you couldn't have gotten both of those for $0.50! I love a good deal.  I am not a huge chocolate fan but I liked them.  We all so go the vanilla cream filled ones.  We will have to try to those next because those would be right up my alley! 










Papa decided to decorate his to give to Jake.  Jake didnt' mind that at all!
After that we played a fun game.  We all wrote down what we thought would be a good Halloween costume.  Then you stick a paper on your forehead without being able to see who you are.  You then ask yes or no questions to figure out who you are.  I probably didn't have to go through that whole explanation because you have probably heard about it before...At least in 20 years we will be able to remember what the heck we were doing. :)

 Aaron was thrilled to play this game you can tell. :)  Poor guy.  We are all counting down the days until working 3rd shift is OVER!!!!  He is such a good sport to play a silly game when all he really wanted to do was relax and go to bed early on one of his 2 nights at home.  You rock Aaron!  Even with puffy, tired eyes you are adorable. 

  I know I could have retaken this so his eyes would have been open but I kind of love this picture.  Jake was so excited to play this game and see who he was.  It took him a long time to figure out he was himself.  Gotta love the leftover cupcake on this face.  



 Jake and I had the same idea as you can see.  Only I didn't spell Vader right...Not sure what I was thinking.  I guess I am just not
 the Star Wars fan that the guys in my house are.
 ***Temporary subject change:  Can I just tell you after starting to blog in 2008 (...I know that doesn't show up on my blog anymore...Long story...) and I just now figured out how to get the pictures and words to go together and not take up so much space.  I am computer illiterate.  I'm okay with that.  The real problem is that it is probably a fluke that I will never be able to accomplish again...I will keep my fingers crossed.***



Jake did my good idea for a costume tag.  I finally figured it out when he told me that I had been it before...Since it is a made up character it was very helpful to get that information.  :)

All in all our first Halloween without trick-or-treating was pretty darn fun!  I did realize as we were playing our game and laughing...that I was really getting tired of having to take my inhaler after just laughing.  I have been having to take it 3 to 5 times a day for the past few weeks even though I am taking the miracle drug for asthmatics: Advair.  I bit the bullet and headed to the doctor the next day and had my first breathing treatment (double dose...) in something like 17 years.  It turns out that although the antibiotics did get rid of my walking pneumonia, I didn't do what my doctor said and take it easy...I ended up weakening my lungs and my fall allergies kicked in before my lungs were ready for it.  I am on some heavy duty steroids (not that muscle building illegal ones don't worry. :) ) and I have to go back to see her on Friday. I can't tell you how awesome it is to be able to breath again.  I am taking it easy this time because I don't want to get permanent damage and I was threatened that I must do so all the way from the Ukraine, by my mom...so I am being good.  Papa has been a life saver with Aaron's crazy schedule and took Jake to the Kid's Advisory Board he is apart of at the Library and to cub scouts tonight.  Thanks Dad!

I take it all back about figuring out how to line the picture and text up to take up less space.  It worked for the first half...not so much for the second half.  I jinxed myself yet again.  Maybe next time!

 

Day 3 and 4: An air cast, and a Dr.'s note to his professors

I didn't get a chance to post day 3 pic's of Aaron's ankle...I didn't even ask him if I could take one today. He is a P.T.P.P (I guess there is no need to do that if I am still going to tell anyone who doesn't know, that that stands for picture taking party pooper....) so I was glad he let me take as many as he did!

Day 3: Sadie was very interested in what I was doing and evidently thought there might be some food on the bottom of Aaron's foot while I was taking this picture...
The doctor was convinced it was broken, even though Aaron told her he didn't think it was. Aaron was right, no broken bones. Just a VERY sprained ankle. He got an air cast and a note to his professors to tell them why he missed classes today. He did decide to stay home from work one more night and he is wondering after 4 nights off in a row how he is ever going to get back in the 3rd shift routine! It is less swollen today thanks to the prescription for swelling from the doc. I think he enjoyed his days off (besides the pain) because he has gotten to play an awful lot of Lego Star Wars III. :) Did I mention the cute pillow Aaron's foot is laying on is newish? I got two of them after Valentine's day, at Target, for $5!...I feel the need to buy a canvas and paint a picture to match for the wall. Another project to add to the list...but that one wouldn't take long-those are my favorite kind! Did you know I like to paint? I haven't done it for a while...Gotta go. American Idol is one and Aaron is home to night to watch it. That kind of counts as a date night right?

Last week...

...Was pretty much like other weeks. Work, school, clean, sleep, church, Cub scouts...You know the routine you fall into, that was our week. I of course like to take pictures of very random things and since it seems no on really reads my blog any more any ways, I can post as many as I want!

First of all I am a big fan of "Real Simple" products. Not so much the magazine-I do like it but it has way to many ads in it. I bought this grocery list pad a couple of years ago and it hangs on our fridge. Sometimes I use it, sometimes I don't...but recently I felt the need to give it a try again-to make errands and shopping "real simple". It is one of those pads were through out the week, when you run out of something, you just go check the box so you won't forget you need it when you are at the store. Well, we were running low on toilet paper so I went to check the little box for it, only to find there wasn't one!!! Correct me if I am wrong, but doesn't EVERYONE use toilet paper? Sponges, batteries, and light bulbs made the list, but toilet paper didn't!?! I wrote it in, no big deal, but to me toilet paper is much more of a priority than sponges are...



Although the weather is still not chilly, the house is. Aaron gave Jake a great idea on how to stay warm at night, and here it is:


He said he felt like a new man when he woke up the first night after sleeping in his sleeping bag. And yes that is a beach towel hanging over his window. It keeps the draft off him a little. And yes, the tent is down. Jake decided he wanted to go back to his double bed. Aaron commented we should have kept the tent up because it would have kept him warmer...

I just have to document this awesome game of Othello, in which I totally kicked Jake's butt. I need to document this because, ever since I taught him my tricks to win, he has totally kicked my butt! So, just for the record Jake, you may bet me 99% of the time now but I KICKED YOUR BUTT this time...The last 2 plays I made may not have been legal...You see, he couldn't go anywhere so I just took his game pieces and flipped even more of his over. :) But, before that I still had kicked his butt.
And last, but not least: the Conference Ensign finally showed up in our mail box on Thursday! The first thing I do when I get it is look at all the pictures. I LOVE THE PICTURES!!! Of course I love all the talks too, but the pictures are always so beautiful...I love that we have the subscription that sends 2 copies of the Conference editions-that way I can have one all to myself...I am actually going to read the whole thing this time and I have already started. I always say I am going to but then life happens and I find my copy buried under mail, pictures colored for me by my sweet boy, and that form I was supposed to have sent back to school weeks ago...Please tell me I am not the only one with that kind of pile...


One more thing...actually two more things... #1-I needed some lip gloss, eye liner and eye shadow and the budget for that was non-existent. Target has this AWESOME AND CHEAP line called ELF (eyes, lips, and face) and I got all three of these products for $1 each. The eyeliner even came with a sharpener. I LOVE THEM! Especially the lip gloss and I am picky about my "lip products".

#2-SHHHH! Don't tell Jake...I can't keep it in any longer!!! Jake and I are going to visit my parents on their mission 12/3-12/13. Aaron can't go because of exams and work :(, but my parents found cheap tickets and that is our Christmas gift!!!!! It is kind of a gift for Aaron too because he will be able to sleep in a quiet house and study in silence. :) DON'T TELL JAKE!!! Oh, I forgot no one is really going to see this any way.... :)