5 Things....

5 Things that have kept me busy this week (other than work and kids).

1. Our front porch has been bugging me since winter. As you can see in the 2nd picture, we had a railing with spindles. This winter, one of the kids was snowboarding down the hill on the side of our house and ran into the porch snapping one of the spindles so it's looked really classy over the past 7 months. Apparently on Sunday I had had enough and grabbed Mike's tool box and some tool and started wrenching on the mile long screws that held it into place and after about an hour of sweat and a few choice words, I got all the pieces off.


Here's what it looked like before. Don't be distracted by the band Naked Bacon that was performing in our front yard.

It's still in need of some work. I'll be borrowing my father-in-law's pressure washer and applying a nice fresh coat of paint. I was very happy when I called the city to see at what height railings are required and mine is low enough to not need them ~ yeah!

2. Still in the "clean this place up" topic, I gutted out Colton's room. I threw away so much stuff and reorganized everything else. It took me 2.5 hours, but it.looks.awesome! Luckily for me, Colton wasn't around to say, "no, don't throw that, I play with it all the time" with the million and six things he hasn't touched in years.

3. We are taking a little vacation to the Dells soon and the kids are excited! We are staying in a cabin that provides a whole lot of nothing, so I've been busy making a list of all the things we need to pack including meal plans for each day. I love doing this kind of stuff. I've got a great spreadsheet started with multiple categories. I'm so type A!

4. I'm helping again this year with Vacation Bible School. I've been busy attending prep meetings over the past few weeks. I think this is my 4th year helping out. I've been upgraded from leading kids from station to station to heading up the crafts station. Nothing like young kids, glitter and glue!

5. Words with Friends. Need I say more? I'm loving this game. Currently I've got 10 games going and two of those are with random people that the game hooked me up with.

What's keeping you busy this week?

Photo Printing...

I'm overwhelmed. I have a bazillion pictures on my computer. I download them off my cameras, might do a little editing and then they sit. I haven't printed pictures since early 2010. Ugh.
I had a notebook of all the folders that I printed pictures from in an effort to not duplicate print orders (which I may have done a time or two). Not sure where that notebook is. Great.
Do you print your pictures regularly? If so, where do you do it - online, at home, bring your card to Target?
I have no idea where to start. I'm thinking I'm going to start with the most recent and work my way back. I think I'll start tomorrow.

Back To Blogging.....

I used to blog regularly. Looking back, I would post a few times a week. Now I'm lucky if I get one post done in a month. I blame that on a few things - working full time, raising 2 busy boys, summer and Facebook. Yes, Facebook. That lovely vortex that sucks away my time. It's much easier to post a sentence than to compose a paragraph or two.
However, I'm coming back. I am going to make a commitment to myself to blog at least twice a week. It might not be a lengthy post and it may not include pictures, but my intent from the beginning is to capture moments of life to look back on down the road.
You in?

Happy 5th Birthday!

My sweet boy. We are so lucky to have you in our lives. This past year, your personality and preferences have really shined through. You are incredibly witty ~ especially for a 5 year old! There isn't a day that goes by where you don't make us belly laugh. I adore that about you.

You can hold your own with your brother. The two of you can't be so angry with each other and then in the next blink of an eye you are snuggled up on the couch watching a movie.

You love lasagna, yogurt and french toast sticks with my special dip.
You are very polite.
You are such a boy. You love to get dirty, catch bugs and torment the dog.

Thank you for being an amazing boy and thank you for still wanting me to tuck you in at night. Happy Birthday buddy!

4 Wheels to 2 Wheels....

Brett has been asking to take his training wheels off for a couple of weeks. The day finally came and he was so excited. At first. For being a little daredevil, he was extremely cautious when it came to trying to ride his bike. He wouldn't keep going fast enough to keep the bike up no matter how good Mike's pep talk was.

He mastered the "lean" and was trying really hard. See the tongue hanging out? That's when you know he's really concentrating.

He'd make it a few feet and then just stop pedaling. We all know what happens when you stop pedaling and don't put your feet down.

You got it. Wipe out. A handle bar to the ribs.

And he's done. He wouldn't get on the bike again after that. He wanted his scooter.

Guess we'll try again another day.

Daredevil...

Let's Play Ball.....

This is what we've been up to every Monday and Wednesday evening since the end of April. Colton is loving baseball this year. It's more competitive and the kids are pitching.

Here's Colton warming up. Right after I took this picture, he looked at me, shook his head and said, "geez Mom, really?!"
Here he is playing first base. One of his favorite positions.

Here he is pitching. His favorite position and my most stressful position. I get so nervous that he's going to hit somebody (which he has) and more afraid that he's going to get drilled by the batter (which thankfully he has not).

Playoffs start next week. Go Blue Jays!