Day 346

The reason my parents came up was to help Steve with some of the plumbing on his new house. They got alot done. I think the house is really coming together. I can now at least figure out what's where. Hmmm, I was thinking I was jealous of Kevin & Steve getting to building their own houses but Wayne & I had our houses built for us too. I guess mine was just done too long ago. LOL

Day 345

Spent the day icing & sprinkling sugar cookies. These are my all time favorite cookies!!! Oh the sugary goodness!!

Day 316

Day 285

The last regular season game. Becca started for the JV & played the whole game (Trish making it up to her that she forgot to play her AT ALL in the last 2 games!) JV still lost both games but they played better than they had all year. I'm sure that's 'cause Becca was in! LOL Varsity won both their games handily & Becca got to play in both too. I'm sure going to miss VB practices and games. NOT!!! Glad to have our evenings to ourselves. At least until BB starts the first week of November.

Day 256

The last of the tomatoes. The weather here has been so weird, we just ripped up the tomatoes. They were mostly rotting on the vine before they turned red. I hope we don't plant them again next year.

Day 224

My darling daughter. She's so pretty. And most of the time, nice. Although, she has her moments. Cooling off after volleyball practice. I am really proud of her for getting involved and trying. I always knew I was athletically gifted so I never even tried any sport. She is building up her confidence and getting ever so much better. Somehow, she doesn't seem to end up on my blog very often. So, here's to Becs!!

Day 194

Further proof the the cat is trying to kill ME!! He's been jumping up on the long shelf on the other side of the family room; knocking over pictures, digging in baskets & generally driving me nuts. So, today, he picked a new spot; the book shelf. He's NEVER jumped up there before (probably 'cause the shelves are too close together & he knew his fat behind wouldn't fit!) After he got up, he was afraid to jump down. Crazy cat!

Day 164

Today was stamp camp. That means I should have a pic of Elsah or the river but, I took a different (and a lot less fun route) to Sue's. But, I did pass by this kinda cool looking birdhouse. I had to stop in the middle of the road to take the pic. But, since it was out in rural Jersey county, it was not a problem.

day 133

Angie wanted to see how big my yard was. I think this view might give you an idea of what it looks like (try to ignore the COMPLETE lack of grass. It's all weeds & clover! Once the front lawn is good, I'll work on the back.) Anyway, you can see the slope of it & kinda see how big it is. It's pretty big compared to some of the new neighborhoods I see. Those houses look to be right on top of each other!! I wish I could get a shot of my neighbors back yard; theirs is GORGEOUS!!! Lots of privacy. You think they're trying to tell me something??

Day 103

Today was a day full of pictures of the day: Jack acting cute (or stupid depending on your POV) playing in my basket, home-made rolls, golden brown from the oven and yummy Choc Chip Cookies. But this ended up being the pic of the day!

Scott was at PT for his ankle, Nick was on the phone, Becca was in her room & Jack was on the dinning room table. I go to get Jack OFF the table, run into the laundry basket, lose my balance & slam down on the floor, bending my fingers all the way back & slamming my elbow into the corner of the wall. OUCH!!! I lay on the floor trying to decide if I was alive or dead while the kids argue over who's going to call 911. I get up & explain that NO ONE is calling 911. I continue making dinner (instructing Becca what spices to put in the sauce). When Scott gets home, I let him & the kids eat and THEN he takes me to the ER.

After 2 hours in an exam room, nothings broken, just strained. They wrap me in an ace bandage & I'm on my way home. It still hurts but, I can type w/o the bandage and I think I can still stamp. (Gotta have your priorities!)

Day 72

I thought this was going to be a simple pic. We went to Best Buy, bought a drum set or Nick's Wii & he's a happy boy. No such luck.

Backstory: Nick has been DYING for the drum set to go w/his Wii Guitar Hero. He has the money but, I told him he couldn't have it. He begged for it. I said no. I told him there was no room in his room for a drum set. He said we could get rid of his Lego tub. I said ok, but, he had to keep his room clean for 2 weeks. Week one goes off w/o a hitch. Friday, we're at his school & one of his teachers walks by. Casually asked her how Nick was doing; he didn't turn in a book report, flubbed a spelling test & never takes advantage of extra credit. As "punishment" he has to read the book (even tho he won't get any credit for it), do the extra credit (even tho he won't get any credit for it) and "the contest" as he calls it, starts all over again. He is NOT pleased but, by the end of the weekend he understands.

Fast forward 2 weeks. He gets his 3rd quarter report card and has brought all his 2nd semester grades up and has a GREAT report card! He has done well w/keeping his room clean & is now "qualified" to buy the drum set. We pick the kids up at school which is halfway to Edwardsville, the closet Best Buy. We explain that we're going to go ahead & drive to Best Buy & get him his drums. He's so excited I think he bounced all the way there. We get there & there is only one box & it's a little beat up. Nick says he's sure it's ok, he'll take it!! He wants to ride in the trunk w/it all the way home. He gets it home, sets it up & is happy as a clam!!

Saturday morning, I get back from my Stamp Camp and the drum set is apart & back in the box. Some piece of it is cracked. It works fine but Nick wants a "perfect" set. We go back to E'ville, there is not a set at any Best Buy w/in a 25 mile radius. We check 2 Targets, 2 Walmarts, 2 Game Stops and a Slackers, no drum set for Wii. Nick is truly bummed. Scott check's Walmart's website. They have it, in stock & $15 cheaper. We order, Nick pays $4 for fast delivery & it should be here on Wed. He's DYING for Wednesday now. Hope it all works out!!!! I hate when my kids are disappointed!

Day 44

Friday the 13th!! My dad's 69th birthday. My parents came up (over) from Bolivar, MO to celebrate dad's birthday. We went out to dinner (reservations for 13 on the 13th?!?!) and had a whole lotta fun! I could show you pics of my dad, pics of my kids, pics of my bros but no, this is what I show you to commemorate the evening: the garnish from my plate. It was pretty. The lighting is funky but I think you get the idea :P

Day 13

Scott decided I needed an iPod for Christmas. I made the mistake of asking if I could add 2GB of songs to his 7GB that he has on his 30GB iPod. I thought that way, when we are on vacation, I could listen to MY music. I might have just as well asked to use his spleen! I had a MP3 player but he had the car adaptor thingie and it seemed my MP3's battery was ALWAYS dead!

Anyway, I ended up w/an iPod, a car adaptor & a charging/playing "dock". It's cool but I was not overjoyed w/it. I wanted stamping stuff!! (which I did get but, as you know, you could always use more!)

After having it now for 3 weeks, I don't know that I could live with out it. I used to listen to the radio when I picked the kids up from school. Now, I listen to my iPod. I used to listen to the music on my computer while at home, now I listen to the iPod. I even downloaded games so I can play on my iPod when I'm waiting around. I think I like it!