Not so fantastic Friday

We have a busy weekend coming up and we aren't starting off on a good foot. Aaron is sick and Addie has continuing tummy troubles. Daddy's being a trooper and taking her to see the doctor today. It's gone on long enough and she needs checked out. Aaron's got a raging sinus infection and he's miserable. BUT, we have big plans this weekend so I need them both to get well!

The daddy daughter dance is this weekend! The girls are so excited! They each have fancy dresses and I'm doing their hair all up fancy! They are going to dinner then to the dance with the other little girls and their dads from our street. Should be a great time! The moms are going to have some girl time! Wahoo!

Sunday is the Frisco Rough Riders game. Those are always fun too.

We are also meeting our potential summer childcare help on Sunday. I'm hoping she's as great as her teacher says she is. We'll see.

I'm looking in to doing a project this weekend! The girls are growing seedlings of lettuce, cucumbers, sunflowers and marigolds inside right now. I need to get them moved outside before they die. Soooooo, I want to build a raised bed, BY MYSELF! Well, not totally by myself because I'm going to let Home Depot do the cuts for me. But after that it's all me! And I'm putting legs on it rather than the kind that sits on the ground because I don't want to destroy the grass. We'll see how it goes.

After that I have to finish tackling the laundry that almost got the best of me last weekend and do some straightening and sorting in Addie's closet.

So let's see how long I can keep up with this new blogging effort. With as much as I love keeping up with other blogs (Hi Michelle!) you would think I could do it consistently!

Hello, is this thing on???

Hello to all my long lost followers! (I think I have a total of 1!)  I've decided to revive the old blog!  Stay tuned!

Weekend Update

This was a pretty busy weekend at the Benzick house. We spent Saturday finishing up some odds and ends from the clean sweep project, which as of last night is officially finished. My house is officially, completely purged! Saturday Paige spent most of the day acting very tired. She even volunteered to go take a nap. Should have known then something was up! The kids played outside some as the weather was really pretty. Sunday's weather was even better so the kids got to stay outside all day. We had some friends over to watch the Super Bowl. We had way too much food, but we had a good time. That night Paige complained for the first time that her throat was really sore. Took her in Monday and we have our 3rd case of strep throat. Poor girl has had it every 6 weeks since school started. Pediatrician says they won't refer you to an ENT until they've had it 6 times in a year! Excuse me? That's a little excessive if you ask me. So I called the ENT that I saw when I was sick and he said they will take them out after the 4th time having strep. So, if Paige or I either one get strep again this year we have to have our tonsils taken out. I just feel so sorry for Paige having to be sick so much. Plus she picked up the stomach bug and has had tummy issues since last week. 6 kids were out of her class yesterday. So she's home playing with Jamie and Addie while mom works and daddy's got training. Poor guy is in child abuse class today. Says it's horribly sad and depressing. The things he does for his job amaze me.
So my SIL and MIL came over last night to officially finish up the clean sweep project and start planning for redecorating. We've got lists of things to buy. We rearranged the guest bedroom and it looks very nice! I think I'm starting with curtains in the living room as I've wanted those the longest. I think it will change that whole area. Empire flooring (sing it with me now....eight hundred five eight eight two three hundred, Empire!) is coming out tomorrow to give us an estimation on flooring. I'm kind of afraid of what they will say, but I must know! Commercial says they are having a 60% off sale, but I'm sure it won't be on what I pick out. We'll see, here's hoping.

Super Friday

Yesterday was insanely busy! Got up and ready, dropped Paige off at school, ran to Jamba juice for a small smoothie and oatmeal for me and a surprise smoothie for Aaron. Ran back home to grab forgotten cell phone, drop smoothie off on top of Aaron's car as surprise when he took Addie to school. Spent a few hours at Paige's school making 100th day t-shirts with the kids. Cannot get this paint off my hands!! Went to Benihana for lunch with Aaron. Oh my gosh was it good! Ran to walmart and finally found the laundry basket I've been in need of for the girls' bathroom. Picked up Addie from school, then Paige. Went straight to the doctor for Addie's 3 year well visit where she proceeded to act like a clown and run around the office in her panties with nurse Heather. We all laughed so hard. She performed in the 4-6 range on her performance chart of things she knows how to do (dress herself, jump on one foot, identify animals and their characteristics, copying print). Measured in at 50th for weight and 75th for height. She's started eating a lot more so she must be having a growth spurt. Then it was off to Best Buy to pick up a wireless something or other for the new printer and Party America for Superbowl plates. Then home to get ready for a church function at 6 with Aaron's sister that I was sorta not looking forward to. It wasn't painful at all, but I'm always a little leery of new churches. I had a good time for the most part. I was TIRED when I got home at 11:15 or so. Crashed hard. Missed the last part of Lost AGAIN!
More organizing today and small Super Bowl party tomorrow. Aaron's getting off work early tonight and off tomorrow! Wahoo!

My new obsession

I've been obsessed with Jamba Juice for years. I mean years, people! Way back before it was even called Jamba Juice. It started as Zuka Juice here in Dallas. Well, didn't they go and outdo themselves this time! I've tried nearly all their smoothies and short of the ones with peanut butter or chocolate (yuck!) they are all awesome. Today they entered into new awesomeness! Steel cut hot oatmeal with blueberries and blackberries! It was heavenly!!! I printed out a coupon to get one tomorrow for $1!! Wahoo!

Slow Day

Well we did actually have the ice storm and it was a doozy.  Luckily it warmed up by noon Wednesday and everything melted off.  But they did cancel schools for the day. We had about 1/2" of solid ice as it sleeted and rain heavily most of the night and was 23 degrees out.  Aaron was not a happy camper out in it.  So we didn't do much today.  Went to the dentist and had dinner with daddy, a real treat for us when he's working with a rookie.  Dickey's BBQ, yum!!

Tonight I'm organizing my photos.  I bought some nice looking boxes with smaller boxes inside and I'm going to light the fireplace, get all cozy and organize those pictures!  Tomorrow Aaron's suppose to finish up the computer closet and that should be the end of all the closet organizing.  My Lord is that boy slow at this!!  I have the kids school papers in there to organize if he'll ever get out of my way!  Still need to create better workflow for my desk too.  Next week probably. 

I swear my heater has run non-stop today.  Can't wait to see that bill!

Have a warm night everyone!!

Ice Storm

So, we're getting ready to have the worst ice storm we've had in 6 years. We'll see if it actually happens. By the time we pick up the kids from school it's suppose to be ugly and by the morning it should be a nightmare. 1/4" of ice accumulation doesn't sound like much, but we don't know how to drive in this stuff down here so the morning commute, if there is one should be nasty. That's if the storm gets here at all.....it was due 30 minutes ago.

I've noticed lately that I can get ready a lot faster now that I have an old fashioned wall clock in the bathroom. Something about the digital one in the bedroom never got me motivated, but seeing that big hand inch closer and closer to time to go gets me sped up. I'm probably just weird that way.

Last night at the dinner table Addie told me it was so cold in the house (the heat was on 73, don't think I was freezing my children) that she was going to catch moo-no-nya in the house. To which Paige corrected her, "it's pnumonia, Addie. To which she yelled back, "that's what I said, mo-noon-ya!" Cracked me up!

Paige is still hanging on to that snaggle tooth. It looks so goofy now just hanging there and she talks funny because of it. Come on pillow!!

Addie informed me last night in the form of a dramatic display that Arial kisses Eric like this mommy! And she tilts her head to the side like a big movie star kiss. I'm in so much trouble with this one in 10 years or so.

Paige is starting soccer next month. I'm so happy she's getting into team sports. I was a team sports nut by her age and I hope she enjoys it as much as I did. I didn't play soccer however so this will be a new one for both of us.

My wonderful cleaning lady, Miss M, is at the house today. Love coming home after she's been there! Gymnastics for both girls on Wednesday. Both girls are going to the dentist on Wednesday after school. Wait, now that I typed that, they can't do gynastics on Wednesday if they have dentist appointments. Must rearrange gymnastics. I also have a police wive's meeting Wednesday. Thursday is bring your teddy bear to school day. They are having a teddy bear sleep over at school. Fun! Friday Addie has a doctor's appointment for her 3 year well visit. I'm also going to a church function with my sister in law on Friday called girl talk. Should be fun. This is a busy week!

Snaggle Tooth

Yes, I'm aware that this is a goofy picture of Paige, but I had to take it quickly tonight trying to show how crooked her front tooth is because it's so loose!  I ordered her a tooth fairy pillow and it should be here Tuesday or Wednesday, but I doubt it will make it in time for the first visit from the tooth fairy.  It was only slightly loose last week, but it's barely hanging on tonight.  She's beyond excited for it to fall out.  I'm purposely not telling her that if she would just give it a few good wiggles it would fall right out.  Her friends will probably let the cat out of the bag tomorrow.  The school nurse, whom Paige is in love with, gives out special treats for lost teeth and Paige just can't wait to get hers for this tooth.  

In house cleaning news I spent the entire day today cleaning out the mess of a closet that belongs to Aaron.  Well, actually I helped him get started on it and tear it apart this morning, then I spent the rest of the day filing, purging old files, shredding (oh my gosh all the shredding!), and throwing away crap we didn't need in the filing system.  Remind me exactly why it was that I still needed every Explanation of Benefits from my pregnancy in 2003??  Yeah, that bad.  But not anymore.  What was a stuffed full 4 drawer file cabinet, plus a huge rubbermaid tote full of old files is now 3 drawers loosely filed of active files, one drawer of legal size house closing papers, and one small drawer with old files that I don't want to chunk (ie old jobs, cars, continuation of coverage papers).  I'm giddy at how organized they are!!  Then I got the wills out, which had never been filed properly, put a sticky note on them listing who provides both our life insurance policies and who our investments are with, and filed it all in the safe where they should have been 9 months ago.  It's freeing, it really is.  Now I can get hit by that bus.  (You have to know me for that not to sound sick). 

Tomorrow it's off to Goodwill and getting started on the office.  For as clean as the other spaces in the house are, my desk is a disaster......but not for long.  The clean sweep team is headed it's way.  

Hope everyone has a great week!

Kinfolks said Jed move away from there!

Minus one closet that I've been threatened with bodily harm if I touch, I'm completely through minimizing and purging and organizing in my house.  With the AWESOME help of my mother in law and sister in law, we've organized and minimized in literally every nook and cranny in my entire house.  From nightstands to junk drawers, from the laundry room to under the kitchen sink, from Paige & Addie's room to my closets, it's all been done.  We've filled up the SUV twice from front to back, floor to ceiling and my Tahoe's back end is completely full of Goodwill donations.  I'm still going to get in the attic and give it a good purging, but it was too cold today (shut up, Michelle!).  I did get the little attic cleaned out.  Oh and I have to go back and do a big organizing of ALL my printed out pictures (Container Store, here I come again, I'll try to contain myself).  And I do have to finish the filing projects I haven't looked at in forever, but that's part of that closet I'm not allowed in without Aaron.  So maybe I'll get there tomorrow.  I've taken to singing, ahhhhhhhhhhh, every time I open a closet door now.  My closets sing, even if it's only me that can here it.  I know my junk drawer looks great because little Addie opened it today and goes "wow, who did this?"  I had to laugh.  Paige flipped over her newly organized closet and her's wasn't even that bad before.  Everything has a place.  Martha Stewart would be so proud!  

So, once the next closet and office are all done, it's on to decorating.  Paige and Addie's rooms aren't getting too much of a makeover, but somewhat.  Paige is getting a new desk and chair and a new chest of drawers and getting rid of her wardrobe.  It's just not functioning like we need it to.  My SIL found nicely priced ones of each so those will be ordered shortly.  They are both getting new wall paint and curtains.  Oh and Paige will get a bulletin board like thing.  A few lamps and accessories and they are done.  

The guest bath is getting new paint, new shower curtain, paint treatment on the cabinets and a few pictures and rugs.  Nothing major, but I bet it will be a huge change.  

The office will be getting a makeover, but I don't know any details on that yet.  Definitely some curtains being added, but that's as far as I've gotten.  The biggest changes are going to come to the kitchen and living room.  Depending on tax returns, I'm hoping to get new countertops and appliances.  And I'm in desperate need of drapes on the HUGE wall of windows on the back of the house in the kitchen/living room....will change that room completely.  Our kitchen is not bad, don't get me wrong, it's just very builders grade and nothing I'm in love with.  Very basic.  We're staying here for a long time (have you seen interest rates??? you need to check them out!) and I want to love my home, not just like it.  And eventually the master bath is getting gutted.  Ripping out the bathtub and shower and replacing it with a HUGE walk in shower.  Tile in place of the busted up linoleum.  New countertops and maybe cabinets, but we'll have to see.  So in the beginning it's curtains, curtains and more curtains.  I've been here over 4 years and have exactly 3 sets of curtains in the whole house....one cheap Ikea set in my bedroom that I don't love, one black set in each of Addie and Paige's rooms, mostly to block out light, but they do match.  

So, as long as I manage to stay employed over the next 6 months, big changes are coming to my house!!  

Nothing else is new here.  I'm insanely behind at work from being sick for so long so tomorrow I'm going to continue crawling out of that hole.  Was hoping for a lazy Sunday afternoon, but not looking good right now.  

Catching up with me

I know it’s been ages (oh my gosh, Nov 10!) since I updated my blog. So, to completely copy my friend Michelle, here’s my Thursday version of her ten on Tuesday, only it will be about 149 or so.

So, since I last posted, life has been completely crazy.

1. Enjoyed a nice relaxing Christmas with all the family. Of course that doesn't mean we didn't have our fair share of drama, but it was lovely. We spent the weekend before Christmas in Wichita Falls and Oklahoma. Addie was up all night on that Friday screaming her head off....so not like her. Took her into the clinic care the next morning and she's got an "ear fession" as she calls them. Poor baby. Luckily the clinic in town is contracted with our insurance company so it only cost us a copay. I hate dealing with that crap! Her medicine was outrageous, but it fixed her right up, well, after she puked all the way from Burk to Oklahoma due to medicine on an empty stomach. And the funny thing is, the same doctor that treated me there when I was little treated her that morning. Nice to know some things don't change. On the same trip, Aaron was miserable with pneumonia. We cut the trip a little short to get the sick family home. On Christmas day my dad and family came to our house and we had our traditional dinner out at Japon Hibachi steak house. We've had the same dinner with the same chef for the last 5 years. So much fun! Then we came home and all the kids made cut out sugar cookies.

Oh, and that tree I posted about....I did finally get it fixed. 5 hours later I finally got both trees fixed and put it away. Wanted to chunk it but saved the money and fixed it. What.a.beating!!!

2. Let the kids stay up till midnight New Years Eve and they actually made it. Had a couple friends over after Aaron got off work and had a nice evening.

3. Took the Christmas decor down after the new year and ordered a "Stacy" closet from Easyclosets.com. Got the ENTIRE walk in closet unloaded into the 4 corners of our house. Stripped the floors and stained the concrete which took over a week. Bedroom so crowded that I had to crawl over Aaron to get in and out all week. So, my house is a COMPLETE disaster and.....

4. I get a peritonsillar abscess and have to be admitted to the hospital. But not before suffering with what I thought was the worst case of the flu imaginable for 4 days, then letting a doctor torture me with 6 iv's and blowing out countless veins. Then, they finally put me in the hospital and fix me 3 days later. Never before then had I really thought I was going to die of an illness. Even told Aaron where to find the wills. It was miserably horrible. Took another week to get back on my feet. But we have the best friends ever and they got our house all put back together while I was out and helped Aaron take care of the kids. Amazing!
Oh, and I missed Addie's birthday completely. It made me cry. Never even saw her that day. I hope I've made up for it since then.

5. So I'm back normal health now and I'm in major purging mode. It started with my desire to redecorate some rooms in my house to feel more like a model home. To say that I can't decorate to save my life would be an understatement. I don't think creativly AT ALL! I suck at that sort of thing. So, my sister in law agreed to help me, but only if I agreed to minimize everything in our house. So we tore into both girls rooms, the laundry room and the kids bathroom on Tuesday. Oh and mine and Aaron's drawers and closet. We got rid of so much stuff, junk, trash, clothes, toys, towels, cleaning stuff that we literally filled up an SUV from front windshield to back windshield, floor to ceiling with stuff to get rid of. Totally rearranged the laundry room inlcuding un-stacking the washer/dryer and moving all the shelving around. And we're not done yet. Can't wait to finish! I'm going to be so organized! It's so much easier to do it with someone else's help and outside set of eyes. Then we can start re-decorating. The kids rooms and bathroom are all getting painted again. Addie still has the paint from when she was in a crib and Paige has pink from 4 years ago and it's looking like pepto bismol so it has to go.

6. Kids are starting a new chores program at home. They each have a chart and can earn stickers for their chores daily. At the end of the week they get a nickel for every sticker they have earned. I think it totals to about $2.50 a week per child so I don't think it's too bad. They are enjoying it and my house is staying cleaner.

7. Aaron started one of his last college classes, only this time he has to go into the campus to take it. It's killing him. It's a stupid speech class so everyone is like 18. Not only is he so much older, but these kids remind him too much of the brats he deals with working all the time. It's only till May, so he's got to hang in there. I do feel for him though!

8. Addie told Paige today "this is rediculous, you can't tell me what to do!" Aaron had told her to go change her pullup so she did just that, she put on a new pullup. He meant for her to put panties on so she got all frustrated and told him that. Who knew she knew the word rediculous!

9. Paige is so close to being night time potty trained! The doctors have told us for a year not to stress about it, it would just happen one day and it's looking like it's finally happening. Ouf of the last 7 nights she been dry 5 of them and only slightly wet on one of those. She's so proud of herself and I'm so proud for her!!

10. Must go this weekend and get both kids new school shoes. Paige has grown so much since school started, feet included. She's worn those shoes out at school. She's working on learning to tie her shoes, but it's slow going. She's lost ALL her baby fat and she's so long and skinny. Her little hip bones stick out and her face has thinned out so much. My baby is gone, now I have a big girl.

11. Speaking of big girl, she is so funny lately. She has just picked up all these funny faces and expressions since she's been in school and they just crack me up. Her latest is "what in the heck!" Says it 10 times a day.

12. Paige and Aaron are learning to play the guitar. I just smile nicely as they practice together. It's very cute. Addie strums along on her hannah montanna pretend guitar. Paige belts Taylor Swift out while they all strum along, completely oblivious to any chords or keys.

13. Both girls started gymnastics yesterday. Both had a fit not to leave because it was too fun. Hopefully that doesn't happen weekly. They are both in the same class because due to lack of attendence they combined the two age groups. They are hilarious together. I heard Paige yell at one point yesterday during class, "Addie, don't lick me!" The teacher told the kids to be kitty cats across the balance beam so that's exactly what Addie did!

14. While I was sick, Lady (the dog) cut her leg wide open, down to the tendon on something or other. We think she did it wrestling with Molly. Vet said no stitches though since it was a couple days old when we found it. Antibiotics and watch it. Then, 2 days later she got out the gate and must have had a tussel with a neighbor dog because when Aaron caught up with her she had a bloody scratched up nose. She looks like a mess!

15. Still haven't picked my my quilts from the lady in Oklahoma. I did call her to check on them and they aren't ready yet.

16. So my MIL bought me a sewing machine LAST Christmas. I didn't open it because let's face it, I was scared, until September. And only opened it then so she could use it to make something for Paige. Well, the first time she used it she broke it. So now she's working on getting me another one so I can learn to sew and make myself some curtain panels. Think I'll actually do it? Think I'm actually smart enough and brave enough to overcome my fear of a sewing machine and sew something? We'll see! I sure do want to.

17. My friend in Wisconsin (did I spell that right?) made a post that she NEEDED a 30 degree day so she could get her car cleaned out. I had the best laugh over that!! If it's 30 degrees where I live I'm not going anywhere unnecessary. I'm staying inside with the fireplace on and the heater on. Preferably in my pj's with fuzzy socks on. I wouldn't last 1 day north of Kansas. You guys are either my heroes or straight crazy!

18. Planning a HUGE surprise for Aaron's birthday. Can't say anymore than that. Very excited though. Hope I can keep it a secret from his nosy self that long.

19. Oil prices still suck! Gasoline prices are going back up, which makes no sense!! I really need oil to settle back out to close to normal. Can't remodel my house until I feel stable. I know of many people out of jobs and I pray I'm not one of them soon.

20. Tax time is coming. For some strange reason I like tax time. I spend all year keeping things organized so that when the time comes in February when we get ours done, I'm all set to go. It's rewarding to me. Oh, and I love the return we always get. However, having worked contract for the last 9 months and paying my own estimated taxes, we'll see where that puts us this year. I'm hoping we've overpaid big time!!

So I guess that about sums it up for us. After all the craziness and excitement of the last month I'm ready to be nice and boring at least for a while. Boring is good. If you've made it this far, thanks for checking in on us!

Our Formal Tree

Don't look at the dark section at the top....it's getting fixed in 3-7 days!

Thanksgiving Week

We had a WONDERFUL Thanksgiving week at our house.  Aaron was off Wednesday through Sunday and we enjoyed spending so much time as a family together.   We didn't plan a whole lot, but we had fun.  I worked half a day on Wednesday then came home so the girls and I could have our baking day.  We made two loaves of banana bread  and really enjoyed our time.  My girls love baking with mama!  Thursday we got up bright and early and headed to Oklahoma.  We managed to only stop one time on the way there.  We had lunch at my dad's sister's house.  After lunch my aunt had the cutest activity planned for the little kids.  They made concrete stepping stones with all kinds of bobbles in them and their hand prints.  We played football, went on walks in the woods and enjoyed my favorite foods all year long.  I live for Thanksgiving and Christmas food!!  The girls had such a good time in the country.  They are both country girls at heart.  For dinner we went to my grandparents house about 45 minutes away from the first stop.  Again, enjoyed the best food!!  I was able to breath fine after the first meal and dessert, but I was a goner after the second feast.  The girls love playing with all my cousins kids and they were so well behaved.  They make me so proud.  We drove home late Thursday night and got to spend the night in our warm comfy beds.  It made for a long day, but at least we were back home.  We didn't get to go to Aaron's parents' house this year as we have to skip someone every other year.  Next year we won't miss them.  

Friday we had Razzoo's for lunch then took the kids, along with Jamie, to see Bolt.  Cute movie!!  Now I've got to track down Bolt and Penny stuffed animals.  Poor Paige got all emotional during the movie.  She has such a tender little heart!  After the movie Aaron kept the kids and Jamie and I spent the afternoon clothes shopping.  We were so disappointed in the sales at the mall.  Kohls had a few cute things on sale though.  Then we hit the motherload at Macy's.  They had lots of cute sweaters and shirts on sale.  I was in desperate need of some winter clothes.  Check that off my list!  I will say that was probably the most relaxing and fun day I've had in a long time.  We got to enjoy the hustle and bustle of the mall on Black Friday, but the crowds weren't bad since it was later in the day.  The kids weren't there whining and I got to go in any store the suited my fancy.  It was so much fun!!  (Note: not that my kids are whiny all the time, but shopping with them is not on my list of fun things to do!)  I picked up a Christmas gift for Aaron and got some much needed play clothes for Paige at Kohl's half price!!  I also ordered Aaron's other Christmas gift from Amazon, which they promptly shipped to me the next day!  Check that off too!!  I'm done Christmas shopping now with the exception of a few gift cards and my photo books.  

Daddy buried Paige in the leaves in Oklahoma!  This girl LOVES the country!

Here's Paige and Addie riding Rio with Papa:

Saturday night we came home and finished decorating our formal tree.  Bonehead Laurie finally found a 1-800 number to call to get replacement lights for the silly tree.  The company was actually open when I called and my replacement lights should be here in 3-7 days.  So we went ahead and finished decorating it.  My girls just love Christmas decorating!  Then we got the wild hair idea to go to Garden Ridge at 9pm.  They had been open round the clock since Wednesday with great deals on Christmas decor so we went and bought our yard decorations!  The girls came alive when they saw all the Christmas stuff to be had.  We walked out with reindeer, porch trees, blow up Santa and giant ball ornaments.  We made a haul!! 

Sunday we lounged.  I'm still not out of my pj's.  We've having family moving night in a few hours, eating popcorn and watching Enchanted I think.  

I couldn't have planned a more fun week with my family if I had tried.  And the best thing about it is that I didn't try.  It just all happened how it happened and worked out great.  Tomorrow is back to business as usual, except the house is all Christmas.  Can't wait till Aaron's off a week for Christmas!! 

Now we start wrapping all those gifts and getting ready for party central next weekend!

Oh Freaking Christmas Tree!

The holidays are suppose to be filled with joy, right?  I'm one giant bah-humbug right now!!  This dang tree is going to be the death of me.  After going to 3 stores including the original one I purchased the tree from, Sears, I thought I had finally found the right replacement bulb for my tree.  Took every single burned out bulb off the tree, ripped a nail down to the quick doing it, and what do you know.......the new lights don't fit!!!  I'm walking away from this project for tonight before I take hostages.  Aaron will have to help me when calmer  heads prevail tomorrow or after Thanksgiving.  So much for getting it all done.   Our time constraints are over now anyway.  

I guess my options are to cut the strand off the tree and try and string another set up just like the tree making company did or buy a new tree?  Man, my redneck, lights clipped on self-prelit tree has stood up a lot better than this one has.  And I didn't pay that much for it either!!

Oh Christmas Tree

Due to some uncertain timing we went ahead and put up our Christmas decor this weekend. We have finished our family tree and are working on our formal tree. The kids had such a good time putting everything on. Addie kept clapping her hands saying "I LOVE Christmas, momma!" It was precious and so much fun. Paige loved seeing each of her personal ornaments. I felt bad for Addie because we went nuts the first year we had Paige having a new baby and everyone got her an ornament. Baby number 2 didn't get that Christmas excitement because she was nearly a year old by the time Christmas came around so she only has 1 "my first christmas" ornament. And I was bad and didn't buy dated ornaments last year so now Addie is severely short changed so I will have to do better from here on out.

Now, my second tree isn't decorated yet because we are having a lights problem. It's a 3 year old pre-lit tree and one set of lights blew out last year. There must have been a short because every light is burned out with black inside the bulb. We changed the fuses and tried to replace a few bulbs, but I dont' have the right size bulbs. So, I will make a trip to Hobby Lobby today to try and find replacement bulbs then replace EACH bulb in that strand. I don't know what else to do. The lights are literally wrapped around each branch so taking the strand off is out of the question. Who knew a pre-lit tree would be so difficult.

Here's why I'm not crazy....

Here's an article that outlines what I've been saying about dropping prices.  Something to think about.....

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/27823694/

This is bad

Again, your eyes aren't deceiving you....that really is gas for $1.68.  I know, I know, everyone loves these low prices.  But let me give you one thought to ponder on.....how much were you worth say 9 months ago when gas was $3.50 and crude was over $100/bbl.  Yes, we were paying a few hundred dollars a month more for gasoline, but I know my investments were worth at least $15k higher than they are today, with no bottom in site.  I try not to even look at the statements anymore.   It's bad.  And it's not like these gas prices are going to spark consumer spending.  People still aren't stable enough for that.  We're all being ginger with our spending right now.   I just never thought prices would be this low again.

Do you know what this is???

Possibly my single most favorite food!

The pomegranate!

Gas prices

No, you aren't reading that wrong...gas really is $1.72 and if you click on the next picture it's $1.71. I cannot believe it. I will leave it at that.

Melt a momma's heart

At dinner tonight Paige says to Aaron:

P: Daddy, what are you thankful for?

A: Well, I'm thankful for my beautiful wife and my two sweet girls, Paige and Addie.

P: Mom, what are you thankful for?

L: I'm thankful for my family and my house and....(interrupted)

P: Mom, you have to pick one thing and it can't be something someone else has said.

L: Ok, I'm thankful for my job.

P: Addie what are you thankful for?

Ad: My daddy and my mommy.

A: Paige, what are you thankful for?

P: I'm thankful for all the people who love me.

Yeah, we both had tears after that one.

Later this evening Paige and Addie are playing their usual kitty and mommy game.  Paige crawling around on her knees as the kitty and Addie leading her telling her where to go and what to do.  Paige starts meowing away like she's hurt and Addie says to her "Awwww, are you stuck in a muddle pud."  I just cracked up.