Week 32: When All Else Fails- Take A Nap

Now where did I leave off? I'm pretty sure it was two weekends ago, but there was nothing all that exciting going on then. Every couple of weekends you have to not do fun things, and instead do boring things- like mow the lawn, wash the dogs, and clean the house. It's lame, but it has to happen occasionally.

I did spend two weekends ago making all kinds of homemade concoctions: I made laundry detergent, body wash, fabric softener, dryer sheets, fabreeze, and hand soap. I was like a mad scientist in the kitchen cooking and mixing all these weird random things. But, it saves a ton of money. Especially on the laundry detergent. I spent $10 on supplies 6 months ago, and I'm still using them. Well, I occasionally have to buy a new bar of Fels Naptha, but that stuff is less than $1 a bar.

Last Monday the boys had their field trip to the caves. They both had to be at school by 8:30, so Hayden had to go to school by himself an hour later. He looked so sad and so little getting out of the car and going to class by himself. It was the first time he ever had to do that. I tried to ask the boys a lot about the caves when they got back. Calib mostly told me about having to pee in the woods, and Peyton went on and on about stalagmites. So, I think you can see who got more out of their $40 field trip. Calib took a camera, and when he got home, there were four pictures on it. Two of which were the bathroom tree. Lesson learned- next time Peyton gets the camera. Although, Peyton's teacher posted the pictures online, so I have a few of them from her- Thanks Ms. Peppin!

Wednesday Asa just had a partial work from home day (as he was working a partial day on Saturday too)- but his computer ended up being weird and he had to go into the office- The second part of the day though, we went to Costco. My mom had gotten a gift card for me when she was here in December- and I hadn't used it yet, I was pretty excited about it. We got the best dip ever- it was some sort of Lobster thing, and Asa and I ate the whole thing with crackers in like less than a week. I'm so sad I don't have a membership because I can't go back and get more. RIP Lobster Dip. (Now I'm sad all over again writing about it!)

Since we filled out our brackets on Wednesday too, lets take a moment to talk about how those are going. Peyton's is killing it, Calib's is dead on arrival, and Hayden picks all the upsets. Lehigh over Duke? He's got it. Asa and I are hanging in there- but barely. And, thats your bracket update for this week.

Last Thursday I was out running some errands, and heading over to Post Net to mail some quilts to my Aunt, when I thought I'd stop by our local pet store. It's not a Petsmart or Petco or any chain like that, so I like it a lot better. The staff really knows what they are talking about, and the prices are a lot cheaper. We'd been looking at getting a new rabbit for the boys for Easter, since it's been six months since Moose died, and the boys have started asking about getting a new rabbit. They only had one rabbit left: a floppy eared very cute little brown bunny. I pet her for a little, and then started to walk away. She stood up and put her paws on the glass, as if to say 'no wait- everyone pets me- but nobody takes me- PLEASE take me home!' So, I put in a text to Asa to see if I could get her. He agreed, and so I brought her home.

When I got home, I got her cage all set up in Peyton and Hayden's room, and Asa picked them up from school on his way home. The boys came home, and put their backpacks down, had a snack, and then Peyton casually went into his room. He noticed immediately. His face was pretty much the face he makes on Christmas morning when he sees all the presents. His gasp made the other two come running- and they were both equally as excited. We decided to name her Denali after the Moose we pet in Alaska. She's friendly, and likes being out of her hutch and running around. She's been adjusting nicely to life as a Waterstraut.

Friday Hayden took his Leprechaun trap to school. We had originally planned on making a hat with a ladder to the top, and a trap door in it. But when I was at the dollar store I saw a green hat, and a bird ladder. The total bill of $2.14 was worth not having to make that stuff. We cut a trap door in the top of the hat, and super glued a gold coin to the top of the hat so that when the leprechaun pulled on the coin, he'd fall into the hat and be trapped. I'm sad to report Hayden didn't catch anything, but as he said "Olivia spent way more time on her trap, and she didn't catch one either, so I'm ok with it." Apparently, Olivia was very upset about it- and Hayden had to console her.

Saturday we went out to the Fresh Market again. Every first and third Saturday, vendors fill the street of the outdoor mall. Veggies and Fruits are super cheap, and theres usually a salsa, or bread, or cheese, or random thing worth buying for some snacks for the week. I love the Fresh Market, because it's going to do something- and it's grocery budget for the week, so I don't really end up paying anything, well, except for the $3 massive tropical snow. I can't resist sharing one of those with the family. If only I could get them on board for the Pink Lemonade one. It sounds yummy. The sad thing is that March has 5 Saturdays- so I have to wait three weeks between fresh markets this time. I don't think my produce will last that long! I may have to find the closest farmers market to tide me over.

Saturday evening we had some friends over for a cookout, and some card games. The boys were happy because they had Angela to play with. They made smores, went down to the playground, and played video games, and eventually got into the Halloween costume box and started dressing up in all kinds of costumes. The cutest was Angela as Mario and Peyton as Luigi.

The grown ups sat outside enjoying the nice Florida air, hoping we weren't too loud for the neighbors, but our neighbors are all pretty great (so far- cross your fingers). At one point, our dog, Gracie walked right through the screen door. And while Asa didn't find this as hilarious as the rest of us (mostly because he's the one that has to fix the door), we were all laughing pretty hard. Gracie is fine, by the way. The door has seen better days.

We also played the bean game, and it got pretty intense. There was adult language, near filings for divorce, and threats against people's lives. All over some coco beans. It even got super intense of the coffee beans, and coffee beans are worth next to nothing. There were some cushy deals, and insider trading.

Anyway, it was a good time- Justin even brought over his little tripod, so we got a group picture, which was more difficult than you might think to get a good picture of 11 people. Oh, hey, and I wanna thank Noah and Ann for thinking of us with the housewarming gift of an ice cream maker. Can't wait to use it! It's going on my Spring Break list.

Sunday was our 6 year Florida Anniversary. We try and celebrate every year by going somewhere very Floridian in March. While, I can't rub it in to everyone up north about how nice our weather has been- because it's equally as nice up there- I usually like to do something to enjoy our wonderful March weather in comparison.

This year was no exception: We made our first trip to Adventure Island (Busch Garden's water park) of the year. It just opened the weekend before, but we hadn't made it there yet. (You know, boring house stuff prevented that from happening). The water was pretty warm for this time of year- since the temperatures haven't even been cold at night. Hayden is now tall enough to not need a life jacket on the lazy river, and Calib still won't go on the very frightening Water Moccasin. (But Peyton will). Justin came along with us, which was a nice added addition. Plus, we had someone to take a nice family picture.

We came home and cooked out on the grill- and ate on the patio. The neighbors even brought over some beer, complete with a lime and a salted rim (told you we have cool neighbors). Speaking of which- the ones on the other side of us have provided us with lots of fruit from their yard- including a Papaya (which was fresh off the tree and super yummy), and the invitation to pick as many loquats of their tree in their front yard as we want. Later we had ice cream sundays, played a Sattler family classic of Spoons, and watched the USF Game (while they lost- it was nice to see them making it that far in the tournament.) A nice Florida Anniversary.

This week is Asa's work from home week- but Monday the boys didn't have school for a teacher planning day. I have nothing all that exciting to report from Monday because I spent most of the day shooshing them, and getting Denali out from under the bunk beds. (She really likes it back there). I wanted to take the boys out again, but I was slightly (or mostly) sun burnt from our afternoon at Adventure Island the day before, so we ended up staying home.

This Wednesday Hayden stayed home from school, sick. I had planned on blogging Wednesday, but with him home it threw a big wrench in the plans. He did seem to get miraculously better around lunch time. But, I mean, it's kindergarten- how much did he really miss? We spent the afternoon doing his homework for the week, so that's done and he still learned things. So, it's fine. Although, I did tell him I'd have to write his excuse note saying: "Please Excuse Hayden from school on Wednesday. He was at home faking being sick". He was not pleased with that.

Then Thursday I planned on blogging, but I had gotten an email from my brother, Clint, saying he was going to be in town. When I called him, he said he wasn't feeling all that well- but that if he felt better him and Jessica would come over for dinner. I didn't tell the boys about it, because I didn't want them to get all excited, and then be disappointed. Shortly after they got home, Clint called to say he would come- but Jessica was staying at the hotel to sleep. So, we told the boys "Uncle Clint is coming to visit" they replied with "When", so we told them "Right Now!" and all hell broke loose. They were very excited to see him.

We cooked out again, because really, it's the best time of year for it- and we still had side dish leftovers from Saturdays cookout. He played some games with the boys, and we all played a card game together out on the patio. Then there was some wrestling, and loud noises coming from the living room, and before we knew it- it was bedtime. Glad he stopped by though- the boys were so happy to see him, and Clint is small doses is always pretty great. We tried to skype mom to surprise her, but she was off with her 'garden club'- which given her description has turned more into a 'drinking club'. You know those garden club ladies- they know how to party.

I guess Friday is my new blog day? Because my birthday is 20 weeks from today. Oh geez, is that all?

Most Useful Project Completed:

Homemade Belly Bands for the dogs. Phenoms got one with little wiener dog's on it!

Best Come from behind win:

USF Men's Basketball team, who shot just 11 % the first half. Awesome to watch the second half, not so much the first.

Best Banana Bread add in:

Pineapple!

Worst City to Live in for Reality Television:

Tampa. Both our Survivor and American Idol Representatives got voted off last week.

Best Use of Old Planters:

Me- Check it out:

Finally Finished Project:

Calib's $11 Dresser, And FINALLY Framed our invitation and program from our wedding ( I've had the frame ready to do it forever)- Check it out:

Worst Use of Dog Beds:

That would be Porkchop on the big dog bed, and Gracie, trying to squeeze into the small one.

Next Up: The 300th Taco, Kindergarten Musicals, and Asa's 29th Annual Birthday Extravaganza!

Week 31.5: Life Is Better In Flip Flops

Ah, flip flops. The single best thing about living in Florida. Can I just take a second to comment on our weather, which is surely going to anger many of my northern readers? It has been a GORGEOUS winter here. I would say we've had less than 2 weeks of cold weather (by cold I mean the high not reaching 60- and yes, I know, I grew up in Ohio). For the most part it's been upper 70s, to low 80s (some days even high 80s) and sunshiney. The humidity has been low, which my hair is grateful for. I never had to buy any winter clothes for the boys, and 95 percent of the time they were able to wear shorts to school. It's just been so warm and lovely. Although, I feel like if the winter has been this warm, the summer is going to be brutal. Just, brutal. And, I'm not spending the usual month out of the state that I have the last two summers. No big trips, no weddings. Whatever will I do with myself?

So, lets pick up where my last blog left off: Leap Day, and Disney's 'One More Disney Day'. In case you missed it, on Leap Day Disney was open for 24 hours. 6 am Leap Day morning, until 6 am on March 1. I wasn't about to spend all 24 hours there. Once, when I was in high school I went to Disney with Cort, Holly, and Clint. We had three park hopper tickets- and one regular ticket. And so, I spent 18 hours in the Magic Kingdom. It's really just much more a Kingdom- and a lot less Magic- after about hour 14. But, we did want the kids to have this special day, since it only comes around once every four years, and figured we'd go in the evening and stay as late as we could make it.

We took off for the park after dinner, around 7:30. We were all sporting our pajama's, though Calib was not thrilled with this prospect- he's getting all 'teenager' on us lately *sigh*. When we got to the Disney exit it was CRAZY. There were tons of cars leaving, but just as many heading in. I noticed at the toll booth though, that it was just passholder after passholder. People were just sticking their passes out the window, and the guys were frantically waving everyone through. When it was our turn, he hardly looked at the pass and instead screamed 'Can you handle the magic?!?!' I wonder 1. How long his shift had been. And, 2. How much longer he still had to work. The parking lot was horrible. Though, the employees were doing the best they could. It was so much volume in and out, it had to be a nightmare for them. There was no big open space to just corral all the cars into- and instead they had to let cars down rows where people had left. Once we parked, we noticed how many people were leaving and thought that had to be good for how busy it was- but, for every full tram of people leaving, there was a full tram coming.

When we stepped on the monorail there were some families, but mostly just couples- some complete with glow sticks and energy drinks declaring their intent on staying until 6 am (when the park officially closed) It took awhile to get into the park, at that point it seemed WAY more people heading in, then out. It was near Christmas levels of crowds- and the boys were not super pleased- But, we were committed to being part of this day. When we got into the park, they were directing the in traffic through one tunnel- and the out traffic through the other. Stepping onto Main Street, it was FULL of people- at least 10 people deep- more in spots- waiting for the parade to start. They had opened up the back gates for the in traffic to go around the parade route. I had never, in all my trips to Disney- been 'behind the scenes' due to crowds- not even on Christmas. It's a little less magical that way, because you get to see where everyone calls their boyfriend to complain about working in an amusement park, and gathers round some cheese fries to whine about their boss. (I worked in an amusement park, I know these things- I had flashbacks watching employees going to clock in with their badges and backpacks)

They were feeding all the traffic into tomorrowland- so we quickly turned back onto Main Street to avoid the crowds the best we could. We crossed over in the circle just in front of the castle and heard the music start for the electrical light parade. Now, there was at least a dozen people deep where we were, but they were all sitting, and the pavement there is on a bit of an incline, so we decided to sit down and watch the parade. Considering people had been sitting there for at least an hour for a good view, I was pretty impressed with the spot we got right at the start of the parade.

Theres something about the Electrical Light Parade that's just awesome. After the parade we headed over to Adventureland for some Jungle Cruise. Asa then sent me text messages to keep track of what was going on. Here are his messages in it's entirety, along with pictures he sent, and some that I took.

10:15 Pm: We accidentally stumbled on a whole light parade. Already yawning, and no Tinkerbell. Also, a mad hatter coffee mug would be sweet.

10:22 Pm: Currently Happening.

11:03 Pm: Just got off the Jungle Cruise. Everybody zoned out. Terrible Jokes, and I think the boat might just be on a track.

11:28 Pm: About to get on Pirates of the Caribbean. Heard the dead mans chess joke, and discussed game rarity of price to ratio concerning game cube library.

11:59 pm: Almost midnight. Kids are getting whiney in line for Peter Pan

12:05 am: Peter Pan line is moving, but everyone is too tired to talk about it. Nobody here in Pajamas, just old dad's with pink shirts and fanny packs.

12:25 am: Peter Pan Rules! You can fly, You can fly, You can fly, You can fly, You can fly, You can fly, You can fly, You can fly, You can fly!!!!!!!!!!!

12:34 am: Waiting in the big room of Philharmagic. Peyton is in no mood. Minnie just gave the 5 minute warning. Yawwwn.

12:56 am: Oh the things you see

1:03 am: Calling it. We are so done. We = Peyton and Hayden. Phone and morale both low on energy.

Now keep in mind, that's all from Asa's perspective. You know, Asa who had been up since 5:55 am at work, and had to be up at 5:55 that very morning for work. We did both agree it was a whole different crowd. People were cheering in line, there were squeals of joy from adults on the carousel, the whole audience was singing a long with the songs in Philharmagic: Asa and myself included. It was just a whole different crowd, but I think you had to be hardcore Disney to want to be there, with a bazillion other people into the wee hours of the morning. This was just training, 4 years from now- I want to be one of the crazies staying until 6 am. As we were leaving, there were very few people stepping on the monorail to head in. We both decided the requirement to arrive that late was that you had to be a college kid. We did actually let one of the sneak peekers- or whatever they are called there- take our picture, and I may have to buy it. It was a great time, and I think we'd all do it again. Plus, I let the boys stay home from school the next day to recuperate, which they were happy about.

Friday after dinner we headed out to Dade City. They have a drive-in up there, that I can't believe we didn't know about when we lived there. The boys REALLY wanted to go see the Lorax, but it's so expensive to go to the movies, so I thought this would be a good alternative. We brought our own popcorn I popped at home, our own candy and drinks- and it was only $1 for kids and $4 for adults. Plus, thats for two movies- not only did we get to see the Lorax, which was very cute- they were also showing Big Miracle, a movie about Whales getting stuck in the ice in Alaska. We put down the back in the Fit, and cozied up. Hayden fell asleep part way through the second movie, but we all had a good time- and for the price, if they were showing two movies we were interested in, we'd surely go again.

Last Saturday we went out to the Wiregrass Fresh Market to get some fresh fruits, and veggies. Asa got coffee, which is nice- the place he had wanted to go down to in Ybor was there so it saved him the trip, and we all split a very yummy, and reasonably priced $3 snow cone. The boys loaded up on free stuff from the Busch Garden's tent including sunglasses, and Cheetah Hunt bracelets. We tried all kinds of other things, olive salad, bread- but it wasn't in my grocery budget. I'm still waiting on our tax return! We did get some money from another tax return this week- but it wasn't nearly as much as it had been in the past. I did go to the grocery store and buy that 17 double roll package of toilet paper I'd been eyeing. We will never run out of toilet paper again! I also bought a new brush- apparently those little black balls on the end of the bristles have a purpose. Best $4.99 I ever spent.

After the fresh market we headed down to Brandon to go to Angela's birthday party. We were late and missed the cake, but made it in time for the bounce house and pinata. It was at this point, I realized my children had never done a pinata before. I also requested a penguin shaped one for my birthday. The kids had a nice time, and it was really nice of Katie and Kevin to invite us.

Sunday was painting day. I painted Calib's dresser, and night stand Steelers colors. I wanted to post a picture of it- but I still don't have the drawer pulls for it- so look for that next week. We also discovered Sunday about the big fat cheating going on with the Saints. Monday they re-aired the NFC Championship on NFL network- Way to rip my heart out again, NFL network. Oh, the pain.

The rest of the week has just been getting things done, nothing too exciting. My sewing machine has pooped out, when I'm nearly done with quilting- but I do have a good Joann's coupon, so I may have to look into another one. Hopefully, I can get one and finish that stuff up next week. We've been getting packages non-stop of Madden games. I'm going to do a super cool project with them once they are all here- and most of them were less than a dollar. I finally sorted through all the papers, mementos, and pictures I had in boxes, bags, and laundry baskets. All thats left now is making my Alaska scrap book. As a bonus, I finally got our wedding pictures into albums! Yay- only took a year and nine months. Not to mention, Hayden and I discovered a great spot for his puppet show theather in the new house. He put on a great show for me, complete with the humming of 'It's a small world' for travelling music.

Peyton went into mourning with Peyton Manning no longer being a Colt- he even wore his jersey to school and then said 'We can always say this picture was taken the last day Peyton Manning was ever a Colt; and Gwen's girl scout cookies arrived. The boys came home and were fighting with Asa over a box, not realizing there were three more in the pantry. We also got Hayden's birthday present from Cort and Holly- a 255 piece lego set. Calib was more than happy to help put this together- but I still am not a fan of all the pieces. He can expect nothing less than 256 in Gwen's birthday present next month.

I leave you with a funny story that just occured. I was in the bedroom blogging, and Asa was in the livingroom playing video games. Hayden finished his lunch, and went out to the garage to throw away his strawberry tops. Apparently, the door shut behind him, and his hands were too slippery to open the door. He called to us, but nobody heard him. So, because the garage door was open- he had to come around the house, to the front door. Asa was sitting in the front room and saw the door fling open. He went to see what happened, and there was Hayden- standing in the doorway, angry in his pajamas- and thanks to the sprinklers, soaked. Needless to say, Hayden didn't think this was as funny as the rest of us.

Thats it, I know I was wayyyyy behind on posting my weekly blog. But, I've counted- so I know to stay on pace, I just had to post by this coming Wednesday to be on pace with 31 weeks.

Funny Misunderstanding Time!

Me: 'Or else you'd want to be one of those people who stay at work longer.'

Asa: 'What? You want to be an ant farmer?'

Up Next: Leprechaun Traps, Cave Field Trips, Board Game Night, and Our Florida Anniversay. And, hopefully our tax return!

Week 30: Leaping Lizards!

This weeks title is appropriate for two reasons.

1. Happy Leap Day, everyone. How this is not a national holiday, I just don't understand. It only happens once every four years. It's bigger than the Olympics! And you know how crazy I am about curling.

2. I am frightened every time I leave our new house. Why? Because we have these itty bitty bushes lining our front walk- and when you leave, all you hear is all kinds of lizards running for cover, and some narrowly missing your feet. Your feet that are wide open, because really why wear anything but flip flops when its 80 degrees everyday (yay for the warmest winter EVER)? Anyway, the paranoia has really set in that a lizard is going to run right over my foot. And really, its only a matter of time before one gets in the house and I have to call upon Peyton, a spatula and a large cup.

I just blogged Thursday- which I guess was almost a week ago now, time sure does fly. We got the keys to this house a month ago. Hard to believe.

Friday Asa got to work from home, and then after school the older boys went over to Casey's house, and Hayden occupied himself pretty well in the family room, so Asa and I got to have a nice quiet night at home. We're still catching up on tv from the moving process and not having the time to watch anything for a few weeks. So, Friday night was a Supernatural Marathon. After the boys got home we had American Idol catch up night and made some popcorn. FYI, I'm so over making microwave popcorn. I had no idea how easy it was to do on the stove, AND how much better it tastes.

Saturday Asa had to work from home since he switched and had Wednesday off. It's REALLY nice to have the livingroom and family room, so that Asa can easily switch days like that and still have a place to work when we're all home. Although, I've noticed at the end of his shift it looks like he's been camping in the front room for a month. I expect him to have a full grown in beard, and smell bad enough even I could smell him.

We did discover that we have a new addition to the family. Peytons fish apparently have procreated. Today I learned: I have no knowledge of how fish make babies. We're not really sure which fish had the babies, or laid the eggs- or whatever it is that they do. But, we do know we have a couple of TINY fish on our hands. Heres hoping the other fish don't eat them.

It was decided pretty early on Saturday afternoon that we would be playing hide n go seek in the dark- or really a variation of flashlight tag (where one person counts, once they find someone- by shining the light on them- that someone and the original someone go off to find the next person, and so on and so on). Anyway, I had carved out a couple of spots for myself about three hours prior to the game. I cleaned out a spot in the closet, behind some things I still had to hang up, and a spot behind the only last few boxes/suitcases I had to unpack. After dinner Justin showed up to show us he had gotten a bike (and we live close enough he rode it over here!), and stayed to watch Puss n Boots with all of us.

After the movie, we started in on flashlight tag. Asa was it first, and I ran to my hiding spot, but Calib was on his way into the closet. Against my better judgement, I figured I'd still hide in my spot. I had to tell Calib several times to be quite. After Asa found Calib, Calib got up, shined the flashlight on me- and declared I had been found. I can't believe he turned me in like that. We had to make the 'Calib Rule' after that- that you couldn't find anyone who was in the same room where you were found. The second time around, the dogs gave me up first by sniffing and scratching and whining at the stuff I was hiding behind. I was so disappointed- after all that preparation, both my spots were busts thanks to other living things. After the next couple rounds, I was hiding on my chair in the living room under a blanket. At one point I heard Peyton and Hayden come in the room, and I just heard Hayden smacking the couch really hard to see if anyone was under those blankets. I was terrified I was going to get smacked too, because I heard Peyton say 'Hayden, come here. I have something to show you'. He went on to show him the baby fish, to which Hayden responded 'There's no time for this Peyton!' and they ran out of the room again.

Hayden had some good hiding spots. He's so small, he could fit just about anywhere. He hid behind his toy buckets under the tv at one point, and behind the blinds that go out to the patio. Calib amazingly enough fit into the bathroom cabinet under the sink, and Peyton fit pretty well behind the couch on the windowsill (it's a really low window). We played for about an hour, then put the kids to bed- and tried to figure out how we should go about finding Justin a girlfriend. We know some women he might like- but they all live at least 1000 miles away, so thats not working out so well. But, we have plans. Plans that involve quests of help desk employees, and we all know how they like a good quest.

Sunday afternoon we went out to the Tampa Times Forum to see the University of South Florida Men's Basketball Team take on Cincinnati. I had gotten tickets for me and Asa for $10 (for both) on livingsocial, and kids are always free, so I figured we'd give it a go and see how much fun it was. It was so reasonably priced to go- even parking was only $5. Plus there was no bag check so you could bring in your own food and drinks. The previous night Peyton was complaining about going, but who do you think was up yelling, screaming and clapping during the last five minutes when it was a total nail biter. Hayden didn't really have the best time, but he wasn't disruptive or anything. After all, the game was only about 2 hours in total. USF ended up beating Cinci by one in the last few seconds. It was really exciting, and totally something we'd do again. I'm really hoping to see USF in the tournament- bring on the March Madness. We'll have to fill out our brackets again. Last years winner: Hayden, all thanks to what was dubbed as 'a crazy pick' of Butler to go all the way. Hayden picked it because 'it sounds like butt'. Ah, living with boys.

I spent the last two days unpacking the last few boxes of things and organizing the garage. It's a pretty usable space now. We have the foos ball table out there, and Hayden's train table. We also have a whole nice area full of all the pets stuff, and cleaning supplies. I'm so organized I love it. Last Night Calib was all 'Do we have a ruler for my homework', and I replied 'Yes, back of the closet, black drawers, second drawer down, right hand side'. He checked and was amazed at my description, as if I would be lying while being that specific.

Today I hung up the stuff in Peyton and Hayden's room and the last few things that hadn't gotten put up yet. They both have their shelves with all their little nick knacks on it, their night lights, and their hats on hooks. It's like each of their bunks are their own little space.

Calib's room got it's finishing touches this week as well. His closet has become the game closet, and I hung up all his shelves and jerseys.

Asa loves to save boxes from all the computer and video electrics and when we were moving, I tried to get him to part with them because they take up so much space- we came up with a pretty good compromise. I cut out the front of the boxes and framed them, so he can look at them, and they don't take up space- works out pretty well.

Monday night we needed some things from the store- and after much reluctance on my part, only Asa, Peyton and I went. This left Calib home alone to babysit Hayden. Granted, we were going to Target, which is like 5 minutes away, but I still was not happy about going. Hayden was in his room after not eating his dinner, so I figured Calib could just leave him there. We were in the store about half an hour when Calib called and asked if we were on our way back, because he had gotten Hayden to eat his dinner, showered him, gotten him in his pjs, fed the dogs, changed over a load of laundry and gotten everyone's pajamas out for them (including me and Asa). I don't know how he managed to get it all done that quickly. Asa spent the rest of the evening gloating. We did uncover the truth about Hayden's dinner though: Calib ate his green beans for him. So, see, everything didn't go off without a hitch!

Tuesday after school, Hayden decided he was going to make all of us 'centers' to work on. He put different stations in every room, and we all worked on our assignments. He got mad at me though, because when I finished my coloring pages- I started drawing love doodles all over it. His response: 'how irresponsible. zero love notes mom. I threw your paper away, and you're boats getting moved'. After that we watched American Idol- and the boys voted- Calib for Colton and Peyton for Eben, we'll see how they do tomorrow.

Which brings us to today which is leap day! Asa is working from home this week, so I have a lunch buddy, which is nice. He even got a full hour lunch today, so we watched price is right and had pizza and salad for lunch. When the boys got home from school, we started in on our backwards dinner. The after school snack today was desert, a strawberry icebox cake (which was AWESOME and so easy to make) then we'll be having dinner, and then we'll have our appetizer (peanut butter ball and cheese and crackers).

We also made a leap year time capsule. I don't want to say whats in it, because I kind of want to forget and then see it all again when we open it in four years. But, we did fill out our favorite tv shows, books, and games plus what we think we'll be doing in four years- who the boys best friends are, who they have crushes on, and what they want to be when they grow up. It's some pretty great stuff. We wrapped it all up and put it in the closet- with plans to bury it when we buy a house.

I leave you with some fun stuff before I depart:

Hayden's favorite new saying when his brothers ask him to do something "I'm not your maid"

Calib: "So Hayden, it's noon. Are you getting dressed today?"

Hayden: "I hadn't planned on it"

Peyton: "Hayden are you going to watch the movie?"

Hayden: "I'll see if I can make it"

Best discovery of the week: If I plug the vacuum into the end of the bar I can sweep the whole house without unplugging it once!

Props out to Peyton for doing a good job on his FCAT writes this week, though we don't have the results back yet- he has a really good feeling about it.

Next Up: The Most Magical All Nighter Ever, Drive-Ins, and Birthday Parties!

Week 29: What'd You Want Me To Do? Dress In Drag And Do The Hula?

Oh the Lion King. Hayden has become OBSESSED. It started about a week and a half ago, and he hasn't let up. I'm pretty impressed that without having seen it for years, I can still recite most of the movie by heart. This impresses Hayden to no end. I'm suddenly the coolest mom ever. I'm pretty sure he thinks I created/wrote/produced the Lion King. Clearly, theres no explanation. He came home from school every day and asked to watch it. It's like me and Mary Poppins all over again.

The only real fun thing we got to do this week, was a trip to IKEA and Home Depot on Saturday to get some things for the house, and a trip to the Florida State Fair on Monday. Yes, we have our state fair in February. It's really not that awesome though. When I think fair I think lots of animals to pet, incredibly amateur flower arrangements (sans those kids who have their moms do them), dish pan towns, random teddy bear collections, lego wanna-be models, 4-H Milkshakes, and the 'Beef it's what's for dinner' tent with $1.25 lemon shake ups. This fair has none of that. It's mostly rides and food, but we always skip the rides, because it's ridiculously expensive- something like $30 for an all you can ride wrist band. So, we have food and a couple of random animals. We went the last day of the fair- because I was still sick this weekend- and because it was free admission after 4. The downside was that things were really winding down, and most of the animals were already on their way home.

We did get to go in the tent that has a sampling of all kinds of different animals- and some nice people on their way out handed us a cup of free food. By day 16 of the fair though, the goats, sheep and chickens are about as fat and happy as they can be. We could only get one or two goats not to turn their noses up at the food. We skipped most the food, but Asa couldn't resist the bacon dipped in chocolate, and we all got an order of fried cookie dough and split it. Hayden spent a little birthday money and got a balloon, and we bought a slice of fudge to bring home. Overall, it was a fun trip to the fair.

The boys were off school Monday- thanks to Presidents Day, and the younger two are in dire need of new tennis shoes- so we headed off to Kohls. I'm not sure about the Kohls here though, they hardly ever have anything in the boys sizes. Yet, theres like 18 rows of girls shoes. I get it, little girls like shoe shopping- but you gotta give me something! This time there were zero shoes in Haydens size, and only 1 in Peyton's, and he didn't like the bright orange (and I didn't blame him), so were still on the hunt- maybe hitting the outlet mall this weekend. I did notice though, all the inventory slips taped to the aisles, and all I could think about was how happy I didn't have to do that crap anymore. Ugh, retail.

Wednesday Asa had the day off- he switched out a regular work day for a work from home day on Saturday. He got up and let me sleep and took the boys to school. After lunch we went thrift store shopping. I have never had so much fun. We went to the Salvation Army looking for a dresser, and possibly some bar stools. We didn't find any, but clothing was half off so we headed over to the polo shirt section and discovered people turn in the funniest shirts. Asa decided he was going to get random logos, wear them to work and make up stories about where they came from.

Heres the rundown: (as contributed by Asa)

Spark: Yea, I worked here for a couple of months. After the first year of Baker but before Corinne and I were a 'thing'. They make mostly transistors that are outside the standard specifications that any major manufacturers use for CPU and on-die motherboard development. Not sure why the name 'Spark' but it's a general electronic term, plus to be fair - there was a lot of sparks in the factory. Both in the physical manufacturing and between this dude Rick and a chick in the front office, turns out they had like EVERYTHING in common, pretty sure they're still together. Beat the odds, Rick.

Intel: Had a summer internship here just after my first year of college. They had a little party at the end of the summer, around the time everybody's summer contracts were ending. One of the bosses made really good chili and they had all this Intel swag, I used to have a coffee mug and water bottle with the logos on it too.

Balboa Yacht Club of Panama: I actually worked here for a couple months, the summer before my one at Cedar Point because I couldn't afford to live at college after my first year there. It's like how Cedar Point has a bunch of foreign people come work there for the summer, except I'm in Panama so I'm playing the role of a culturally uneducated young woman from Yugoslavia. Anyways, you're basically a waiter on the deck of a boat. Pros: plenty of sunshine, tips, and scenery when you have a minute to look around. Cons: you're somehow less respected than your standard foreign Cedar Point employee.

U.S Space and Rocket Center: The summer before I moved down to Florida, before Corinne and I were together, I ended up getting a job here. Nothing fancy or professional, just running a gift shop, I didn't even have a degree yet with only 1 year of college under my belt. Occasionally someone would walk through surrounded by dudes in suits, and I was also pretty sure that 'someone' was an astronaut. Always kept a lookout for Men in Black, fairly certain I saw them multiple times but always got my memory flashed immediately afterwords.

He relayed all these stories to me in the aisles of the Salvation Army. I nearly peed my pants from laughter.

On the way home we stopped by a local thrift store and had better luck. We picked up a dresser for $11. It's currently white with purple drawers, and missing knobs. Plus it has some dragon flies glued to it. When Calib got home from school, we told him we got him a new dresser. He didn't want to look ungrateful, so he just told me thanks- before I even told him I had big makeover plans for it. I'm hoping to get it done this week and show you the before and after pictures in the next blog- so stay tuned!

Other than that, this week was just more unpacking, and more unpacking, and even more unpacking. Later, we unpacked some things. When we were done with that we started unpacking, and followed up with some unpacking. Then, we finished all that up with some unpacking. Yes, I know. But, I felt that was best to get my point across.

In an effort to tell you about the rest of the time I've spent this week, I took some pictures. I got a lot of these ideas from pinterest, some from reddit, and some I just adapted with stuff I had around the house.

So, this is my very cute laundry room. If this wasn't a quick stop rental house I would have probably wall papered either the back wall, or the ceiling something awesome. Instead, it's staying white. But, here we have the kids backpacks, hanging off of some IKEA S hooks (awesome and SUPER cheap at 99 cents for 10), I also got the blue top case for all the nails, screws, hooks, and random wrenches, and the other little tubs you see that house things like batteries. I took an old pot and put all our screwdrivers and hammers in it, and found the adorable little whale guy on clearance from target at a whopping $3.25. I guess he's somehow Valentines related- so I got him 75% off. He eats all the change I find in the laundry. I used an old lysol wipes container for plastic bags (although I'm going to eventually cover it in some cute paper), and and old jar to collect pocket finds. The basket up top holds the old towels and cloths and such for washing the dogs, or cleaning up messes.

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This is the wall next to the washer- those bars are $1.99 at Ikea, though I already had those on hand- along with the 'cups' that hang off of them. I do have a lot of spray bottles that contain my homemade concoctions- FYI, a combination of vinegar, baking soda, hydrogen peroxide and a tiny bit of dishsoap cleans ANYTHING. Plus, these nifty little bars are great for hanging scrub brushes, lint brushes- or anything else you need to store without taking up precious drawer space. (Oh, and I have since tackled that giant pile of laundry you see at the bottom)

So, here's part of my kitchen. We got the chair pads at Ikea for $3 a piece. I had the paint, but in order to make it a chalk board wall I had to get some unsanded tile grout. You can only get that in rather large doses though, and you only need one tablespoon per cup of paint, so I have quite a bit left. It is relatively inexpensive though, $4 a tub or so. I then took another one of those VERY handing Ikea bars and cups for chalk, and hanging a bottle of water and a towel for cleaning off the wall. Hayden LOVES this wall, he draws on it every day, fills up the whole thing and tells me about the 'story' he drew. The only problem is we're currently using sidewalk chalk because normal old chalk is way harder to find now than back in the olden days when I was a kid.

We also made this neat little wall hangings to hang up the boys good grades and art work. I had chalkboard paint left over, so I quickly rolled some on to these fence boards we picked up at home depot for around $1 a piece. I already had the clothespins to glue to them, so this project also cost next to nothing. I like that it's chalk board paint too- so we can write on those as well. I also hung one vertically in the laundry room for cards and reminders and things- I try to keep things off the fridge, as they tend to just end up on the floor with something spilled on them. I live with a lot of messy boys, you know.

And finally, here we have the playroom. We previously had ALMOST everything you see here. The blue and red shelves on the angle were separated in the boys rooms- but since they matched the buckets we had so well, I pulled them out. The big bucket of Dinosaurs in the corner we also had, but I spruced it up with a bit of the remaining chalk board paint. I purchased the basket on top of the shelf for video games and controllers at Walmart on the clearance rack for $2.50. Also purchased were the gutters. Yes, gutters- that is what the books are displayed on. Gutters are SO inexpensive- about $6 each. We bought two 10 foot long sections (they don't come any shorter so be prepared to cut them in the parking lot or get creative on the way home- Asa chose the latter) The fourth section is in the kitchen, above the cabinets with my cookbooks in it.

This is our office area. It's technically a diningroom, but we have our only table in the kitchen- so we thought this would make a good space for our desktop, and Asa's work from home computer. The ikea cups at the bottom hold pencils, pens, markers, and crayons, with some cute little reminder clothespins clipped to the bar. The next shelf up has a basket full of electronic chargers, our Hershey's bucket with glue and scissors, mason jars full of my sewing buttons from my grandma, and a mason jar full of my thread (I even got so OCD I spray painted the lids black to match everything), plus all our paper, and the boys school stuff sorted in the magazine holders. The next shelf up has random office items like rubber bands, erasers, thumb tacks separated into glass votives I had from the wedding, and some cute decorative items. The last self finishes up with our wedding date picture frame, the fraggles, and my framed mini gold pro certificate. I even made one of those 'I love you because.." dry erase frames and hung it up. And, if your wondering where all the cords are- I put them all up neatly in this cute little $3 wire rack from Ikea and some screw hooks from target. Keeps them off the floor- no more dogs laying on the power strip turning off the computers- yay!

Also worth noting: Asa set a mozzarella cheese bag on fire while making us salads for dinner. And yes, you read that correctly.

I have all kinds of other projects in the works, so I'll share those with you next week.

Up Next: More crafty/organization/unpacking to do- and more excitingly, USF vs. Cincinnati men's basketball game!