Week 34: Let's Pack Our Bags and Settle Down Where Palm Tree's Grow

Whooooo- yeaaaaa.. We've got Waterstraut Spring Break in full swing, and it's crazy up in here!

Ok, well, not really- but we sure are having a whole lot of fun. I know this because I've been told what an awesome mom I am for planning such a sweet spring break by my kids repeatedly this week. And not just the usual overly grateful kid of Calib, but in a huge turn of events, Peyton has joined in as well. I even had the boys friend telling me what a good cook I was (and all I did was make quesadillas!). He's requested I call him when Peyton is refusing to eat whatever it is that I cooked.

However, Despite how awesome my week has been, I'm just going to give you the short version of the week, and a week in pictures. This is because of two reasons. 1. I went to the beach without Asa today which meant nobody to sunscreen my back (and it is ON FIRE, people). And 2. I've been asked to sit and watch transformers while I type this. Transformers on a 1080p TV with four boys in the room = SUPER LOUD. (Making it slightly difficult.t to keep my train of thought)

Friday started out with a Welcome Reception. Like, the boys were on a conference or something. They came home to a sign they got to run through (a la high school football), koolade slushies, and a colorful lei to get in the spirit. I then presented them with our Spring Break Itinerary and the rules for the week. It went over well.

Later we went to Grand Prix to spend our groupons I've been holding onto for a good six months. Funny Putt Putt story: Calib wanted to keep score, nobody else did. I told him he could keep score if he wanted to. By hole six he'd asked me to take over. By hole 11 I was bored and started filling in numbers for the rest of the game. I could only keep the secret until hole 13 when I had to spill to Asa. Nobody even asked to see the score card till the next day, when they added it up and found out I won (I swear I had no idea). It wasn't till the next night at dinner that I caved and told everyone what I had done. I can't believe I got away with it, even recording several hole's in one- which nobody got.

We also went go-karting, and the boys got to jump on one of those funny trampoline bungee things. Note to self: Pick up that groupon if it comes around again. For $25 it was a GREAT deal.

Saturday we had to dodge the rain, we went out to pick strawberries, and had I been in Ohio I would have been certain the tornado sirens were about to go off. Fortunately there were still tons of strawberries, so we quickly picked 12 quarts, and got out of there just as a huge gust of cold air made it's way through the field.

Then it poured- but we figured it's Florida, and it almost never rains for long. So we headed over to Adventure Island. Good news: the rain had cleared out most of the crowd. Bad News: slides were closed, so there were a lot of people in the pools. At the exact moment Asa was stating "I don't think they're going to re-open the slides anytime...." he was cut off my an announcement that the slides were opening. It was a mass exodus of the pools, so we enjoyed that for awhile and headed home.

Everyone picked a bored game, and we turned in to see the final four playing in the NCAA tournament. Asa had long ago predicted Kansas vs. Kentucky, however, he had picked Kansas to win. (fast forward to Monday)- I did not pick Kansas to even be there, but I did pick Kentucky to win it all. Which made me the Waterstraut family winner. Ah-ha!

Sunday was April Fools Day. Justin had come over late Saturday night to play Munchkin and collect some strawberries, so he helped with the shenanigans. We TPed Calibs room, put clothespins on Hayden's pajama pants, papered Peyton and Hayden's bedroom door, switched the cereal around in the cereal boxes, safety pinned all Calib's boxers together, stacked Hayden's toys up, and changed Hayden's passwords to ridiculous mumbo jumbo. Needless to say they were not amused. But we sure were. Hayden's response in the morning after he opened his door: "How can this be? Peyton wake up. I have clips all over me!'

I even told them they were having mashed potatoes for lunch. (Thats actually a cupcake, caramel syrup and a starburst though)

That afternoon, we took a trip up to Weeki Wachee State Park. The Springs there have some water slides, and a lazy river. Pretty awesome way to spend a Sunday if you ask me.

The rest of the week we've gone on outings, had tutorials (learning how to do laundry, cook various things, tie shoes, spell Waterstraut, learn our new address and cell phone numbers- I guess most of them were Hayden tutorials, but I'm still pretty happy with the results )

We've also made various arts and crafts. We can now attack a tiny world with our Q-tip Bow and Arrows.

The birds outside Peyton and Hayden's window have been pleased with the peanut butter toilet paper roll bird feeders.

And everyone is sporting their own original designs with their bleach pen t-shirts.

We've made the best use of the lovely weather outdoors with chalk squares (Peyton was the winner)

Donut Eating Contests

Sponge Bombs (that got caught in the strangest places)

And the biggest hit of them all- excavating dollar store bugs out of giants blocks of ice!

We had some interesting meals and snacks this week. One day was 'cloudy with a chance of meatballs' day- and it 'rained' food (aka Asa throws food over the wall in the dining room)

Plus we made campfire cones (way easier than smores), jello aquariums, and watermelon popsicles (in shape of what else? A moose!)

And my very first go around with the ice cream maker (we had strawberry of course)

We've made a lot of trips outside out and about as well. My favorite? The awesome playground in Lakeland (after another stop to pick some more strawberries). Best Playground I've ever been to.

Another stop at Aquatica was in order.

Plus a trip to Busch Gardens with Kevin, Katie, and Angela meeting us. Hayden was so brave and finally got on the Grover coaster, too!

We had our very first trip to our new pool.

Today we went out to the beach at Honeymoon Island, and the boys had a good time playing in the sand.

Except for this part, they avoided the water due to the 'purple flag' which was up to signify 'dangerous marine life'

Then a quick stop at the sprayground to get all that salt water off of us.

Things I learned this week:

Hayden has watched the Lion King too much: he's now convinced when we die we become the grass (thanks a lot Mufasa)

Asa makes water balloon tosses a little too intense.

The boys think letting them sleep on the floor in sleeping bags is the best thing ever.

Funny story:

Me to Asa: (while the boys are out of the room) We could just let them sleep in their sleeping bags again.

Calib: (from the other room) Can we sleep in our sleeping bags again?

Asa to Me: I got this.

Asa to Calib: Depends what are you going to do for us?

Calib: We'll each do an extra two chores tomorrow.

Asa: Deal.

Also in case you were wondering, just what to do with 22 quarts of strawberries:

Jam, Syrup, Strawberry Shortcake, Strawberry Ice Cream, Strawberry Banana Bread, and handing some out to all your neighbors.

Interesting fact: To let you know you can hard boil eggs in the slow cooker. Works pretty well when you want to do 3 dozen at a time.

Oh, and as an added bonus: Peyton's fish had babies AGAIN!

Next Up: Easter Mania! The fresh market, and Lutz's very first food truck rally. I can taste the deviled crab now!

Week 33: I Found the Vodka. It Was Hiding in the Orange Juice.

Look at me! It's a blog in a timely manner. So, how was your week? What have you been up to? Sounds awesome. Us? Well, we've had birthday parties, puke bowls, and a continuous penguin cam running. It's been quite a week, and we're gearing up for Spring Break- so I've been busy planning, planning, planning. We've got an itinerary. A bit larger than an 'index card o fun' but the same idea, a shopping list in hand, groupons printed out, and passes on hand to all our favorite parks.

Here in Florida, at the Waterstraut household, our birthdays are kind of a big deal. We don't do birthdays- we do Birthday Extrava-freakin-ganza's! Since Sunday was the big 2-9 for my favorite grown up in the whole wide world, we started the celebration Friday night with 'movie' night, which turned out not so much to be a movie- as we introduced the boys to Modern Family. It's a pretty great sitcom, and they loved it. So it was one hulu plus episode after another, until late into the evening. We even drug all the mattresses out to the front room and had a sleepover. *Sigh* 'The front room'.. I tried so hard to label our two living spaces the living room and the family room- but they've ended up as the 'front room' and the 'playroom'. I've given in, and accepted the terms and conditions.

Saturday we went to Aquatica for the very first time. This time Seaworld and Aquatica are included in our passes - for a great deal/value! I am still partial to the Disney waterparks- you cannot beat a ride on the toboggan racers, an ice cream bucket, and a walk across the ice burgs at Blizzard Beach- but Aquatica is SO super cool. My mom is going to have to make a trip with us next time she comes. Somehow I sense she'll be brave and go on the slide that takes you THROUGH the dolphin habitat. Yes, as cool as it sounds. Combine that with an over the top bucket/waterslide/jungle gym area, the huge fish tank you float by on the lazy river, and the river that takes you on a massive ride with a strong current- and you have yourself a really fun day.

Highlight of the trip, however, was Hayden being a brave big boy! He's been terrified to go on- well, lets put it this way- the Grover coaster at Busch Garden's is too wild for him. He decided he would go on the big family slide, and despite my skepticism, he totally went through with it. THEN, he went on the even more frightening 'family' slide, that even I didn't want to do. He was feeling pretty brave, brave enough to walk all the way up the stairs to the Aquatica version of the toboggan racers- but, not brave enough to actually go down. Thats ok, it's a work in progress.

I had packed us some uncrustables, and snacks, so we ate those in the car and then headed over to Epcot in the afternoon. It's currently the Flower and Garden festival, so I took some pictures to entice my mom to come visit for it next year..

See, isn't it pretty? I LOVE the Flower and Garden festival, but it isn't quite the Food and Wine Festival. Oh, Epcot- I love you- possibly even more than the Magic Kingdom. (Although the new section is open, so we're going to have to go check that out).

Anyway, we made our usual stop by at Club Cool, where sadly they were out of all the free Chinese Coke, which is Asa's favorite. He's even been known to fill up our water bottle with the stuff. (He's also been known not to screw on the top on said water bottle, and end up with pop all over himself) We made a trip through the butterfly house- and over to the playground where Hayden continued his 'I can do this' mantra, and climbed through all the circles all by himself.

Since it was Asa's birthday, we had to make a stop in Germany for a brat. He claims it's because him and my dad always used to get one whenever they went through there together. I suspect that might be his way of getting me to be ok with a $7 brat- either way, he probably needed something to wash down the saki he had in japan. Because someone was feeling pretty happy at that point. So much alcohol in that little saki cup. We wandered around the world, and made sure to stop at spaceship earth, because Hayden is convinced that spaceship earth is called 'Epcot'- and when we say 'we're going to epcot' he expects a stop here.

Sunday was Asa's actual birthday, and I had been collecting groupons for the event. We got up, had breakfast, and went out to airheads. It's a trampoline gym- and Calib and Asa, especially, LOVE it. For me, I tend to get motion sickness almost immediately. Since the groupon was only for 4 people, I sat this one out. But, I did manage to take some fun pictures. That's Peyton there in the yellow shirt- he was getting some serious air. But boy- at the end of the hour- are those boys ever sweaty!

Afterwards we went over to Burger 21 for lunch. They have ny favorite- sweet potato fries! Plus all kinds of yummy burgers. The weather all weekend had been so wonderful (in Florida this time of year that means little to no humidity), so we ate outside and enjoyed our burgers, shakes and fries.

We had been busy most of the weekend, and Asa loves some good lazy time, so he wanted to go home and get in some video games and relaxation. On the way home we stopped by the market and used our groupons to get some steak for dinner. Then we had a nice night at home, having a cookout, cake (complete with 29 candles), and ice cream.

By Monday the busy weekend had taken it's toll on 2/3 of the kids. Asa had scheduled the day off, and we were going to go to use another groupon and have a date day. Unfortunately, Peyton's stomach, and Hayden's throat had other ideas. In all honesty, Peyton's best friend at school went home throwing up on Friday- so I had pretty much seen this coming. I was just hoping it wouldn't happen over the birthday weekend. The sad part about it, Hayden missed his kindergarten concert at school that I was SO looking forward to. No performance of freight train, sadly, was in the cards for us.

Tuesday Hayden seemed to be doing better- but Peyton still appeared under the weather. I took Calib and Hayden to school, and Peyton slept until about 11. After that we did the usual sick kid home from school thing- and watched the Price is Right and ate soup for lunch. Peyton seemed all better after that, and pretty much confessed that he wasn't feeling awesome, but probably could have gone to school. He had to switch teachers mid-way through, because his teacher had to go on medical leave. His new teacher is not fabulous. Case and point: Peyton got a strike for not having his planner signed- on the days he was ABSENT. It didn't even cross my mind I'd have to sign it, he wasn't even there. But sure enough, the teacher said we had to sign it anyway for good 'teacher=parent communication', despite the fact that if Peyton is good theres nothing in his planner- like there is for Calib and Hayden- but I still sign it then. My kids have been going to the same school for four years now, and I've never heard of this before. Yea, I'm definitely not happy with her. Couple that with the poems he's being forced to write, his class as a whole being punished for a few bad apples, and his best friend announcing she's moving to California- and his desire to go to school is near an all-time low. He seems to be snapping out of it now though.

I did get a ton of projects done on Tuesday even though Peyton was home with me. I finally made Asa's Madden Desks (I covered our computer desks in instructions and covers from even single Madden game ever made). It's pretty awesome the way it turned out, actually. It was his birthday present, so I wanted to get it done asap. I had to wait awhile to find Madden '92. Not so hard to find the game- but pretty difficult to find one with the original artwork.

I also finally got up passwords for Hayden. They are his sight words, and he has to say them as passwords to get into rooms/things. I laminated some cute scrapbooking paper I had so they are dry erase, and much cuter than notebook paper taped to the wall. Not only did I put them on doors to everywhere- he also has them on the fridge, freezer, and pantry. It's pretty funny when he's looking for a snack and you hear him mumbling random words.

And, I made a cute new thing for our weekly menu- dry erase and all.

By Wednesday everyone was back at school, and Asa was working from home. He's been swapping out half days on the weekend for working the other half at home. It helps them out- and he's saving money on gas, and getting to work from home. It's a win win for everyone. (Especially next week, he's going to be able to do most of my Spring Break Index Card O Fun with us!) Justin has also been privy to this little arrangement, so he came over for lunch on Wednesday and visited while the kids were at school. It was a very low key day. I spent most of it in Asa's comfy thrift store find leather chair we got when we first moved in, reading my kindle while listening to the boys play rock band.

This morning I went to get the kids up, and couldn't find Hayden anywhere, after starting to get panicked, I found him under a blanket under Denali's cage- laughing hysterically. I don't know at what point he got up and went under there to wait to freak me out, but he thought his little plan was SO funny. I wasn't so amused. Then I told Asa about it. Lets just say, that laughing hysterically thing is hereditary.

Tonight we had the Book Fair and Art Show at the boys school. Usually the book fair is a mess with kids wandering around not really knowing what they want to get, but it went surprisingly smooth. Peyton has really been into learning about the Titanic, so he picked up a book about that and was set to go. Hayden found the much anticipated Pout Pout Fish in the Big Big Dark, and Calib got the first in a series written by the same guy that did the Percy Jackson novels. Afterwards we walked the courtyard to see their artwork. Hayden saw Olivia and Riley from his class, and they were just all about him. In Asa's words 'Whoa, I didn't think a kindergartner could flirt'. We also found out Olivia is actually a twin. Peyton told Hayden "That's awesome, Hayden. Hang on to that one." When leaving we ran into Ciara, and she went out of her way to say hello to Peyton. Those two are ladies men, I tell you. I'm going to have some heartbreakers on my hands. Calib on the other hand, I can't get two words out of him about what girl he likes. But I know theres someone. He'll crack one of these days.

Best Discovery of the Week:

The Seaworld Penguin Cam- Running through April! I think one penguin just discovered the camera, he's all close up staring into it. awesome.

Best Song:

Hayden's quacking rendition of 'It's a Small World' to the ducks at Epcot

Biggest Accomplishment:

Asa completing his quest to eat 300 tacos in one year. This is taco #300

And that's Phenom joining in on the festivities with his doggie taco treat. He LOVED it.

Funny Quotes of the week:

Peyton: "My teacher says you have to be responsible for other people"

Asa: "Thats crap. That's called being a parent"

(While Playing the Kung-Fu Card Game)

Hayden: (looking at Asa's cards) 'We should use Invincible"

Asa: "How do you know what that says"

Hayden: "I sounded it out"

Asa: "Good Job"

Hayden: (looks around at all of us) "Not that we have an Invincible card'

(In response to a turtle crossing the street)

Hayden: *gasp* "That is so dangerous! What is he doing? That's so unsafe!'

(After Calib killed a bug)

Peyton: "Rest in Peace"

Calib: "More like, rest in peices!"

Next Up: It's Spring Break, Baby! We're going to party like it's 1997 ad we're on MTV! Well, I mean, not really, but it's going to be a blast!

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!