How Can......

These two precious God loving kids test my patience?? I think that is why God has blessed me with these two kids. So that my patience will develop. Yesterday was one of those days that I was yet again tested. The kids are at the age where they are either playing peacefully together or trying to kill each other. There is usually no inbetween. Cary left Sunday for another business trip and before leaving talked with both kids about their behavior. And that worked for about 1/2 the day Sunday. Madison is trying extra hard because both kids were promised a surprise when Daddy returns if they have been good. Grant doesn't seem to remember or he's not mature enough to control his emotions. So yesterday when picking them up, Madison told me to call Shane when I got home. Shane, my brother, picks them up from school and drops them off at my Dad's. Somehow on this 10 min. drive Grant lost control and hit Madison. I asked Shane if Madison was provoking him by teasing him about a girl in his class. He said No. So Grant got punished when we got home. No TV and no Cokes for the night. This may not sound like punishment but to Grant it was everything. He literally cried for 2 hours and packed his clothes to leave. He also brought me the phone to call Pa so he could come and get him. OK .....like I'm going to call Pa to get him out of punishment. I took him with me to workout and made him sit in a chair for the entire hour. Of course he cried the whole hour but he sat there.

I didn't lose my patience with him once and he eventually got over being mad at me. I asked both of them this morning if they needed to be reminded on how to act and both assured me they didn't. We'll see how it goes this afternoon:)

I'm Back!!

It's been so long since I've blogged I almost forgot how to sign on. The last part of 2006 became such a whirlwind I just didn't find time to blog. 2006 was a very busy time for our family. We spent lots of time traveling. Some of the places I ventured to this year were Gatlinburg, TN, Chicago, Texas, South Carolina, Jackson, TN. I can't even remember all the places Cary has been to. Although his most recent trip was to China. My job seemed to get a little more demanding at the last of the year. For the past month my job has been less demanding but I feel that will be changing soon.

As you can see from the picture I also got the bright idea to remodel our house in October. This was the biggest remodel project that we have ever done. Before this I thought I would love to flip houses for a living. Now I'm not so sure. We tore up existing hardwood floors and put down new hardwood throughout the whole house. Then we had stone installed in the kitchen and sunroom. I also got new countertops, backsplash, stove, and sink. And all this remodel started over our Master Bath. Guess what?? We didn't even do the Master Bath. That project will happen hopefully sometime this year. But I totally love everything we did to the house. I will have to find the before pictures and post them, so stay tuned.

Grant lost 2 teeth in December. And I caught him last night wiggling another one. I told him to stop, the Tooth Fairy is broke. Madison was in the 3rd grade before she lost her 1st tooth so he is definitely ahead of her on that. School is still going great for both of them. Madison continues to be on the honor roll and Grant has + on everything except patience. He gets that from me I'm afraid. I have zero patience and the kids are somehow picking up that trait also.

Madison has somehow got hooked on Paula Dean, and I have to admit I enjoy watching her shows too. Madison loves to cook, so I let her make a B-day cake for Barbara. Barbara and I have been friends since our sophomore year in High School. Barbara and her family spent the weekend after x-mas with us and we had a great time catching up. Grant's favorite thing to do is to get into the hall closet with his DVD player and watch movies. I have no idea why he loves this small space but it keeps him entertained.

We finished up 2006 with a great party with lots of friends.

I want to go on a road trip.....

One of Oprah's latest shows was about a road trip she took with her best friend Gayle. I think it was for 11 days and across the US. It was hilarious watching them and the things they learned about each other. For instance Oprah doesn't like the radio on and Gayle does. I believe this is something I would "love" to do. I don't have any one friend in mind(anybody willing to go would be fine with me). I just don't know how/when I would fit it in. My life seems to just get busier and busier as the days go by. One detail has led to another detail to yet another detail. The details are just not stopping. It seems like every little "detail" that becomes available, I'm being asked to do it. I hate to turn them down, because I am trying for another office. So I'm kinda stuck between a rock and a hard place. I know that my boss knows how I feel about family and would understand if I had to turn something down. But I feel guilty.......and then if I take the detail and it takes me away from home....I feel guilty. I probably just need to take a couple of days off to relax but because of the "details" I can't even do that. Hopefully things will turn around soon.

I am currently in sticker shock from remodeling quotes on our Master Bath. For about a year & a half we have been contemplating redoing our Master Bath. It's part necessity and part just wants. We are currently not getting any use out of our tub or shower. Our shower is leaking and our tub is just "too BIG". Seriously it takes way too much water and time to clean it afterwards to be usable. So I just wanted to enlarge our shower by a wee bit with a glass enclosure with lots of jets spraying water at you in every direction, get a smaller jacuzzi type tub that would be more feasible to use, tile the floor, and probably replace vanities, lighting, faucets. Well today I received my 3rd quote and it's not any better than the last 2 quotes. I'm ready for my Master Bath. I've waited well over a year. I just hate to put that kind of money into a bath.

I had a totally blond moment last night. After church I pulled up to a gas station to get gas. There was a guy also pumping gas. Well for some reason when I walked around to put the hose in I didn't see my gas tank opening, so I just thought I pulled up to the wrong side. So I get in and pull around to the other side (the whole time this guy is watching me). Again I get out and the gas tank is on the other side. No way was I going to pull back around. I just get in and pull out. Grant asked me what I was doing. I told him I couldn't get pulled in right. So at the next gas station he tries to guide me on how to pull up to the gas pump. I couldn't help but laugh at myself and tell Cary what I had done. Note to AMY: ( I consider going to Sonic for a drink and never pushing the button and then wondering why they aren't bringing your drink a blonde moment too!!!!)

This week was report card week. Both kids are doing great, Madison is again on the honor roll and Grant had all + except for 2 things. One was self control, which I know he needs to work on and the other was his b-day. I am so proud of both of them. Madison has never struggled with school and Grant has totally surprised me with his enthusiasm and progress.

Grant is still struggling with Migraines. Since medicating him daily(at least I try to remember daily), he has had fewer and far between but he is still experiencing them. After having his 3rd one since school started I decided that I want to seek another opinion. So far he has only been seen by his Pediatrician and no test have been run. But I talked with his Pediatrician and requested a referral to a neurologist. I will feel better after he sees someone that specializes in Migraines. He will be seeing a neurologist in Nov. So please pray for him that if we can't eliminate them completely we will be able to make them more bearable.

A potato in a cup......

Grant has been wearing glasses for a little over 2 years now. I have always wondered what he saw when he isn't wearing his glasses because he seems to see fine without them. So last night I was helping him with his homework. He was suppose to look through magazines and find things that started with "h". So I went through magazines and tore out pages that had pictures of things that started with "h" to speed the process along. I let him look at the pages I tore out and let him pick out the picture that needed to be cut. On one page there was a picture of the back of a girls head. It was an ad for hair growth. So it just showed the back of her head from the shoulders up. So I point at the picture and I say "Grant what is that?" He looks at it and his eyes cross slightly because he doesn't have his glasses on (they were still at the trampoline) and he says "A potato in a cup". It cracked me up. Because when you do look at it with slightly crossed eyes it does look like a potato in a cup. He is hilarious but doesn't try to be. It is so funny the things that comes out of his mouth.

Sunday at church the kids were given jars to save money for kids to buy vitamins & medicine with in foreign countries. Which was great since Cary & I had decided that the kids were going to have to start putting a quarter in a jar everytime they talked back or didn't do as they were told. Now their quarter would go for a good cause and hopefully teach a lesson. So last night Grant brings his jar to me and he has money in it. He was so proud of the money in his jar. I told him I was so proud of him for putting money in his jar that would buy vitamins and medicine for sick kids. He immediately said "no, this is my money." I said but "Grant there are sick kids that don't have any money to buy the medicine and vitamins that they need" he quickly replied "send them my medicine but I'm not giving them my money!"

I'M BACK......

It's been almost a month since I blogged, so I don't know if I can remember everything that has happened. I've been on a "Detail" assignment in Nashville for the past 3 weeks. I kinda dreaded going but knew it was something I needed to do. In my line of work it's all about the 991(job application to regular people). For some reason the Government has to have a # for EVERYTHING and they expect us to know them too!!! The more "details/job experience" you can put on your 991 (plus knowing the right people) the better off you are. So that's what I've been doing--getting some good 991 material. Actually, I really loved it there. Since being in my office where I am alone 6 hours of the day, I never thought I would enjoy working with alot of people. But I did. The only down side was the hours. I am usually home by 3:45 and when working in Nashville I wouldn't get home until 5. Loosing that hour and driving an extra 40 miles a day kinda wore me out. The good side was when Cary worked in Mt. Juliet we could go to lunch together.

I got another "detail" assignment today. Only this one will only take an hour a day and I will be in my office the rest of the time.

Cary is still traveling off and on. Texas, Michigan and maybe even CHINA. He hasn't been on a "long" trip yet so everything is good.

KDG is going GREAT for Grant. He loves homework and seems so proud of himself. He's doing so good. I'm so glad I held him out an extra year. He's learning sounds and I love watching him sound out words. This week we are doing "Hh" so for hat he goes Hu Hu Hat and for car he will go Hu Hu Car. I'm trying to explain to him you don't say Hu Hu in front of every word.

Madison is not as crazy about 4th grade as I would like her to be. I don't think she likes the homework. But she is really smart. When checking her homework there are times that I have to ask Cary for the answer and she always has it right. She is really into reading right now. I have never really pushed her to read and she has seemed to pick up the habit on her own. After putting her to bed I would notice that she would take a little lamp that only has a nightlight bulb in it and read at night. So I bought her a light that we could clamp on the side of her bed and she could turn it off w/out getting out of bed. She usually is in bed by 8:30 but I know she reads till probably 9:30 every night.

That's all I can think of right now....

A Glimpse Into Our World.....

**Thursday night as I was cleaning Madison's closet, the power went out. Apparently there was a bad storm going on and neither me or the kids even noticed. We went to Mom & Dad's to sit on the porch until it came back on. Then it was a mad rush to get everything done since it was already the kids bath time.

**Friday Cary returned from Wisconsin, but not before having to throw away all of his deodorant, hair gel, cologne and toothpaste. He was in a rush to catch the plane and with the new restrictions he just threw everything away and carried his bag on instead of checking it. He was in such a rush that he paid $80 to the rental car place just for gas, because he wasn't going to have time to fill it up before returning it. AND then he misses his plane. He was put on standby for the next plane. Which delayed him getting home by about 2 hours.

**Saturday was our usual lazy day. Breakfast at Waffle House with both kids. Then off to the store for some groceries. We went by his Mom's & visited with them for a while. Then back home to swim w/h his Mom & our S-I-L and nephews.

**Sunday was Life Group and then we came home for naps. The kids decided they wanted us to play softball with them. So we ended the night with a game.

**Monday--the kids loved softball so much they wanted to play again tonight. So they invited the neighbors over & we had a little game. All was going well until Grant threw the ball and hit Cary right in the eye. Cary never saw it coming. Cary fell to his knees and scared the kids half to death. Madison thought I done it since Grant & I was standing together. She was soooo MAD at me. I hated to throw Grant under the bus but I made sure her & Cary knew that I didn't do it. After we made sure he was alright--Madison & I had a little chuckle. Just replaying it in my head makes me giggle.

**Tuesday Cary finally got around to making the rabbit cage. Never ask an Engineer to make a simple rabbit cage. Something that I thought would take maybe 1 hour at the most took like 6. This rabbit has a top of the line cage that is two stories with a little hutch to get in when it's cold. It's so big I have no idea how Cary is going to get it moved to where it needs to be.

KDG has been going GREAT for Grant. He seems to really love school and I'm so glad!! Last night he had homework and he was so excited that he finally gets to do homework. We'll see how long that last. They are already learning to read some words. And I never realized it until last night that he can't say "the" or "th" he puts a "f" or a "v".

For the 1st time I had to enforce the cleaning rule

Yesterday when I picked up the kids, Dad was on the porch and proceeded to tell me Grant had been smart with him. So when Grant got in the car, I calmly told him that when he got home he needed to get a rag and start cleaning baseboards. Madison asked why he had to clean and I told her because he was in trouble for his smart mouth. I asked her had she been smart mouthing too?? She said "No", but Grant said she done it too. I said well Pa didn't tell on her so I am going to assume she didn't.

So we go into the house and I give Grant his wet rag and tell him to start wiping. Madison comes up and says "Can I do that too?". Now usually she loves it when he gets into trouble & she doesn't but not this time. I just wonder if maybe she was a little guilty of the smart mouth too. So I had both kids wiping walls & baseboards.

Then my Dad calls & I told him Grant was cleaning for the way he talked to him. I could tell my Dad didn't want Grant to be in trouble. He said, "Kelli, don't be mean to him." I said, "I'm not being mean, I'm just making him wipe baseboards." You would have thought I was torturing him from my Dad's voice. So then he ask, "Is he mad at me?" I said, "I don't know, do you want to talk to him?" Grant got on the phone and told him politely that yes he was mad because he got him into trouble and then Grant started crying (he is very soft hearted). Well this tore my Daddy all to pieces and again he begged me not to be mean to him. I said I'm not being mean he's just wiping baseboards. So I'm sure my Dad will NEVER tell me again if my kids are being unruly.

When Cary Is Away (Again)

Kelli will play....NOT!! Actually I cleaned. Not the usual everyday cleaning but the hardly ever gets done cleaning. I love a clean house. And I love to clean my house. BUT for some reason I don't keep closets or drawers very clean. I'm sure this is some kind of syndrome. So last night I decided to clean places that very rarely get cleaned. I started in the living room. There is only a couple of places in the living room where things can be stored but in those 2 places I collected half a garbage bag full. This inspired me to the end table in the dining room, again a drawer full of needless things. So then I head off to Madison's closet. Since she was outside entertaining the neighbors in the pool I felt like this would be the perfect time to clear out "clutter". I collected another half bag full of "stuff".

Next stop was Grant's closet. I went through his toy box and collected a whole bag full of unused toys. Anyone need boy toy's?? He came in while I was pulling the toys out and asked what I was doing. I told him I was making his "keeping his closet clean job" a whole lot easier. He didn't fall for it. He knew what I was doing. But even after pulling out all these toys his toy box still runneth over and I dare to say most of these toys don't ever get touched.

Next stop was downstairs play room. My main objective down there was to clear out the coloring books that had been on the shelves forever and never get used. I figured I could donate them to church. Well to my surprise I came up with a whole garbage bag full of nothing but coloring books. I found a couple of other books and threw them in the bag. Other things that I "discovered" while cleaning: at least 10 boxes of crayons(new & old), 50+ pencils & ink pens, notebooks, folders, glue, markers, film for a 35mm (which I haven't had in forever), pictures that I had forgotten about that I was wanting to get framed, 2 old phones, sunglasses, the key thingy to my truck(still in the plastic bag), lots of playing cards all mixed together, and lots of other things not worth mentioning.

When Madison saw what I was doing in Grant's closet she knew what was next. I told her one night this week I would be doing the same with her toy box(she has no idea I already got half a bag of other things out). She said she had already went through all of her toys and there was nothing else to get rid of. I told her I beg to differ. Half of her toys are coming out also and hopefully donated to some needy child. Anyone need girl toys??

It's kind of embarrassing to see all that they have and have to give away good stuff because they never play with it. But to mine & Cary's defense we DON'T buy 98% of this stuff. It comes from grandparents, aunts & uncles, or especially a very generous great grandmother(Gran-Gran) or given to us for the exact same reason we are giving it away.

And to be fair I worked on my closet also. I still have more work to do in there. Thurs I will finish my closet, finish Madison's closet, clean under Madison's bed, work on kitchen drawers and if I'm still in the mood head down stairs to the toy closet. Hopefully when Cary comes home Friday there will be a clean house with no clutter hiding in drawers or closets. And all he will have to do, besides cleaning out his night stand drawer, is haul the many bags to the dump.

Grant's bunny is gone..

First let me explain how we got the bunny. A couple of weeks ago my niece called & wanted to know if we wanted a bunny. A friend of a friend had one to give away. I immediately said "NO". She kept calling & begging me to take this bunny. It had it's own cage & everything. After thinking about how much joy it would bring Madison, and the fact that it was free, I agreed to take it. So the bunny was suppose to be delivered Sunday. Sunday came & went & no bunny. So then they were going to bring it Monday. Monday same thing. Finally the friend of a friend let my niece know that she couldn't part with the bunny. It could have been because I made it perfectly clear that no way no how the bunny wasn't coming inside the house. I didn't care if it was 10 below outside the bunny would just have to take care of itself.

So end of story, right?? No--Madison had her heart set on a bunny. So she spends every waking hour on the internet searching & reading about bunnies. Before I could even get to work she was calling me to tell me about a bunny she found. Only the bunnies she found were like $175. I told her I almost didn't take the free bunny, no way was I going to pay $175 for one. This lasted a couple of days, and by this time I was so sick of hearing about bunnies. I told her if she had to talk about bunnies to save it until she was with my Dad and tell him about them. She said he told her he was tired of hearing about it too!!

Well of course my Dad can't stand for her to want for anything(that is within reason), so he gets my Mom to find her a bunny. Someone my Mom works with has bunnies and they are $5 so my Dad gets 2 of them and brings them to my house a little over a week ago. Since Cary is out of town and can't build a cage all we have to keep the bunnies in is a large pet carrier inside a dog pen. At first we only let the rabbits out when Madison was with them. Then little by little we left them out longer. Well Sunday night Madison forgot to put them up. I told her it should be OK since they have been fine. Plus I hate to know they are in that pet carrier all day long.

So yesterday when Madison comes home, she comes running to the house and says that Grant's bunny is gone. Our first thought was it got out of the pen & the dogs(that have sat by the pen non-stop just waiting) got it. But we didn't see any fur or remains. My Mom thought a hawk got it. Last night as the kids were swimming & playing outside Madison went up to the pen and what did she see?? The rabbit. She tried to catch it but it just ran from her. It ran into some heavy grown up weeds and brush. Cary tried to find it but couldn't. We left the gate open to the pen hoping it would go back in there at night time. At 10:00 Cary & I went back out with the flashlight looking for it, but didn't find it. When I told my Mom this story she said just go into the brush & get it. I told her I wasn't getting snake bit for a $5 rabbit.

This morning still no rabbit. But when Cary was leaving for work he saw it. He said he took off running after it, I hope the neighbors didn't see him!!! But again it ran into the brush(that looks like snake heaven). So tonight I guess we'll have to keep watch for the hiding rabbit and hopefully my dogs haven't got a hold of it today.

Why does the weekend fly by??

Friday afternoon after work I headed to my parent's house to pick up the kids. We went home fed the animals(3 dogs & 2 rabbits) and headed to Mt. Juliet to go shopping. This weekend was tax free shopping on most things, so I was definitely going to take advantage of it. I was trying to keep that we were going shopping as quite as I could because my kids & especially Madison HATES to shop. I needed Madison to go with me because she desperately needed new shoes. When she found out where we were going she never did complain. I think she really wanted new shoes & was willing to endure shopping with me to get them. Plus we were meeting Daddy in Mt. Juliet. He was coming home from Texas where he has been for the past 10 days.

It came a downpour on us on the way there, which was terrible to drive in. But it did lessen the crowds. We had no trouble finding parking & getting in & out of stores. Cary even got some much needed things he needed. Once we got home my brother came & got the kids to let them spend the night with him. And then we literally both crashed.

We didn't wake up until 10:00 the next morning & probably wouldn't have gotten up then if my Mom hadn't called. We checked on the kids to see if they wanted to go with us to the Waffle House ( this has become our Sat tradition). No takers they didn't want to go. So Cary & I went. Once we got home our kids were already there and my S-I-L left my nephew with us so she could go shopping. I took a nap while Cary watched the kids. When I got up they were in the pool so I joined them. We stayed in the pool the rest of the afternoon.

Yesterday it was so hot we stayed in the pool all day. Cary's family came over to swim with us. Then after everyone left we took the kids to my parents and Cary & I headed out on the motorcycle. This was the first time I've rode this year. So I was saying lots of prayers. Motorcycles really scare me, I mean REALLY scare me. But I try to ride with Cary some because he enjoys it and I do trust Cary. I would probably NEVER ride with anyone else. We grabbed a quick bite to eat at a restaurant we rarely eat at and then picked up a couple of things at Target I had forgotten to get Fri night. This would be a great way to shop for someone on a budget because there is only so much you can fit into those saddle bags. Then we headed home and since we were going 80mph(hence the praying) we made it home in no time. We sat out on the porch and watched the clouds. It is amazing to see objects in clouds. We spotted a sea horse(although I thought it looked like a unicorn with wings), goofy, rooster, top hat and a dog. And then little by little poof they would disappear. We sat and watched the clouds slowly go away.

We bathed the kids and tucked them in and tried to watch Anchorman. I got through the first the 30 minutes and couldn't hold my eyes open. Cary said he would turn it off & we would watch it again tonight. He seemed a little upset that we were going to sleep at 9:30. But I needed it. After 10 days of being the sole parent I was worn out.

I'm addicted to blogs.

There I said it. Isn't that the first step to recovery?? I spend hours, I'm ashamed to admit how many, reading blogs. And if that's not bad enough, most of the bloggers I don't even know. I will probably never know them but I am entertained by reading about their life. So the other day I am reading some unknown blog and there is a "Tour of homes" blog. This lady started on her blog a tour of homes and invited everyone to participate. There is like 249 homes on there. So all week long I have been "looking" into strangers homes. And you know what I love it. I love looking at houses anyhow and this is perfect. Since I'm on dial up I can only view about 20 houses a day. And that takes almost my entire working day!! My husband thinks I'm crazy.

These last couple of days I am beginning to feel the effect of Cary being out of town. Ten days is a LONG time. I miss him, the kids miss him and I know he misses us. I have spent lots of late nights talking to him because I think he is a combination of bored/homesick. His plane can't land fast enough for me tomorrow. And of course there is stuff we need to do. I plan on taking advantage of the no sales tax and going shopping. So I will be meeting him in Nashville and dragging him along. Cary is the best shopping buddy I have ever had. He just follows me around in and out of stores around and around stores and never complains.

The kids started school this week and so far 4th grade seems to be a lot better than 3rd. I know your thinking it's only the first week but so far there has been NO homework and that wasn't the case last year. We had homework every night and even weekends. When I got Madison's TCAP results back she had tested advanced. And no wonder between school all day and homework that took anywhere from 1-3 hours every night she should have been advanced. Grant's 1st day will be tomorrow. I would have posted a picture of their registration day but I can't download pictures on the computer so I'm waiting for Cary to come home to do that.

Today is election day and my brother is running for the School Board. I told him if he wanted my vote he was going to have to give me a free ride to the polls. So he will be picking me up at 4:00. Other than him I have no idea who to vote for. I'm not really into politics because I never know who is trustworthy. I don't even know for sure if I'm Republican or Democrat. I claim to be a Republican but my Dad insist that I'm not that I'm a Democrat. He says Republican's are just rich people and I said yeah that's what I want to be so I'm Republican.

45 minutes until time to go home....I can probably get a couple more houses looked at.

I'm loosing my mind!!

Let me explain. Yesterday I had a "little" swimming party with some friends from church. It was a last minute kind of thing. But there was 19 people at my house, 15 kids & 4 adults. I had taken the day off work to register the kids for school. And since I haven't taken off all summer to just be at home & invite friends over to swim, I decided yesterday would be perfect. It did rain on our party so we all ended up inside for about 45 mins. But other than that we had a great time ( or at least I did).

Now here comes the part about me loosing my mind. When every body was leaving and gathering their stuff I noticed 4 "very nice" looking towels laying in the middle of the floor. I tried my best to find who they belonged to because I KNEW they weren't mine. My towels are not that nice. They looked familiar even though I KNEW they weren't mine. They would even match my decor I thought. Nobody claimed them so we just assumed they were Amy's since she had already left. So Andrea graciously said she would take them to her.

So....Last night when I'm trying to go to sleep at 11:00P.M. What pops into my head??? Those are my towels. I went downstairs where I knew there were some towels on a bakers rack thingy and sure enough my towels were gone. Well now I couldn't go to sleep. I thought Andrea is going to think I'm crazy because I assured her they were not my towels.

Well long story short Andrea & I had a great laugh about it this morning. She said she called Amy on the way home to let her know she had her towels & Amy said they weren't hers. So they thought they were the neighbors. I should have let them think that and never told them any different. If I ever get robbed it would take me days to figure out what was missing and chances are I might not even miss it!!!!!

I'm going to have the cleanest house

And I'm not going to have to do anything. Let me explain. I have had it up to here with the kids arguing. They argue for the fun of it. I really think they enjoy it. I don't. I have had it. After picking up the kids yesterday at my Dad's and listening to them argue over some kind of trophy that they both wanted, there was no way the trophy was coming to my house. I don't even know what kind of trophy it was. But it's not just a trophy or even just yesterday it is everyday over something. SO I called a family meeting last night. We all sat down and I calmly explained that I was tired of the CONSTANT arguing. So this is my plan the next time they are caught arguing they have to clean. I'm going to start them off on the walls and baseboards and if it continues who knows what will be next. So far there has been no arguing at my house. But this is Day 2, so we will see.

Cary left this morning for Texas....again. This is a long trip-10 days- so I'm not looking forward to it. I never look forward to it but I can handle the shorter trips a lot better than the 10 day ones. School starts Monday so I will have to try to start getting the kids back on a schedule later this week. Grant will be starting KDG Monday. I keep telling him Monday you will be going to school. He doesn't seem to mind. I really think he is ready. He is already 6. I held him back just to make sure he would be ready. I am so glad that I did. The only thing is he looks so much bigger than the other kids. Usually other kids think he is in like 2nd grade. It is so funny when he tells them he is not in school. They usually don't believe him.

We had a great night last night. When Cary is going out of town we try to spend extra quality time with the kids. So last night Cary cooked dinner for us. Then after dinner we went to the back of our lot where Cary mowed a track for the go-cart. Madison rode the go-cart and Grant rode his dirt bike. Cary & I walked along the track trying to stay out of their way. They even took turns riding. NO arguments...maybe my new rule will work!!

100 Things About Me...

I've seen this done on other blogs and I am going to attempt it. Surely I can come up with 100 things but if I can't I will just make it up. You be the judge!!!

1. My birthday is July 18, 1972.
2. My middle name is Leann
3. I have 2 brothers
4. I am the middle child
5. Both my brothers go by their middle name; I go by my first
6. My first job was at Sonic
7. I have had 8 jobs including my current one
8. I have been at my current job 10yrs this Sept
9. I have 2 kids
10. I have been married for 12 years
11. I have the best husband in the world
12. I live within 5 miles of my parents, brothers, grandparents, and aunt & uncle, cousins
13. Both sets of my grandparents are living
14. I have a phobia regarding cats
15. I don't like to get dirty
16. I love to clean
17. Vacuuming is my favorite past time
18. I love to nap
19. I love to be pampered
20. I'm spoiled
21. I love my job
22. I will be debt free June of 2007
23. I have been to Smoky Mtns, Chicago, Texas, & South Carolina so far this year
24. I love to fly
25. I hate to drive long distance w/h kids
26. The girl that highlights my hair went to school with me from KDG-High School
27. I still keep in touch with 2 friends from High School
28. I drive a SUV
29. I have a pool but hardly ever swim in it
30. I love to watch Reality TV
31. I have 4 sister-n-laws
32. I have 1 brother-n-law
33. I have 4 nephews and 2 nieces
34. My inlaws live within 15 minutes from me
35. I love junk food
36. I have never eaten a salad
37. I prefer chicken over steak
38. I love to shop
39. I try to be frugal
40. I don't have a gall bladder
41. I don't like to exercise but wish I did
42. I love to walk
43. 2 things I hate to clean: refrigerator and toilets
44. I have lived in my house for 9 years
45. I was 21 when I got married (I turned 22 exactly 1 month later)
46. My kids go to the same school I went to
47. They have some of the same teachers
48. I think I was a good kid
49. I don't like being told what to do
50. Sometimes I rebel
51. I love to talk
52. I can water ski
53. I played basketball in elementary school
54. I'm not very athletic
55. I can't run to save my life
56. I think my lungs are deformed
57. I like to be silly
58. I love to laugh
59. I like being with a group of people
60. I don't like being the center of attention
61. I have passed these traits on to Madison
62. I am not an animal lover
63. My job is not stressful at all
64. I plan on working for at least 25 more years
65. I very rarely cry
66. I am not an emotional person
67. I am very independent
68. I have great friends
69. I love having people over
70. I want to build another house
71. I drive 20 minutes to work
72. I love to take pictures
73. I am not really blonde
74. I love to go out to eat
75. I am not a morning person
76. I love sleeping in
77. I could stay up all night
78. Snoring gets on my nerves
79. Lots of things get on my nerves
80. I don't always think about other people first
81. I am impatient
82. I don't give my kids everything just because I can
83. I want my kids to have a great childhood
84. I want my kids to be able to confide in me
85. I use Crest white strips
86. I don't take vitamins but should
87. I usually forget to match my pocketbook to my outfit
88. My closet is a mess
89. I want to redo the floors in my house
90. I want to redo the master bath
91. I need patio furniture
92. I sleep on my side
93. I have to have a sleep machine
94. I make the kids clean up after themselves
95. I usually only eat 2 meals a day
96. I love babies
97. I love weekends
98. Up until 2 yrs ago I worked every Sat since I was 17
99. I'm craving Mexican
100. I miss my hubby, he's on his way home right now from Chicago!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

That wasn't too bad and I didn't even have to make anything up.

Your candles are melting the cake...

Is not something you say to a girl on her birthday. You couldn't even see the cake for the candles. I think he had way too many candles but I failed to count them. Maybe the cake was just really really small. The kids acted like it was their birthday. Grant helped blow out the candles and they both helped open the gifts. I got a new study bible. I really needed one since I haven't had a new bible since I was like 13. I have gotten out of the habit of carrying my bible to church. I use to never go to church w/out my bible, but since having kids and having to carry a diaper bag and now their bibles, I am sorry to say I got out of the habit of carrying mine. I just found it easier to share with Cary. But now I have my very own. And I also got a case too!!!

The kids had a blast at Chuck E Cheese's. I promised to try to do this more often. We took 3 extra kids with us, so we had 5 kids total. We gave each kid 40 tokens apiece and everything just takes 1 token so they got plenty of play time. Although I am sure they would have loved 40 more tokens.

I still haven't had a piece of cake so I think I will go have a piece!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY.........TO ME!!!!!

Today's my birthday!!!!!!! And guess what I will be doing tonight?? For my birthday I plan on taking the kids to ChuckECheese's. Actually I have been planning on taking them for a while and why not on my b-day!!

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I had another day of training in Nashville yesterday and all went well. I didn't sleep very well last night because of all the information going through my head. I worked until 9P.M. so I didn't have a lot of downtime before going to bed. I also was offered a job in Nashville yesterday. I was kind flattered since this was just my 2nd day there, but it definitely was not a job I am interested in full-time. Today I will be in Murfreesboro for yet another training session. Thankfully this one will only last 2 hours and then I will be on my way home.

Right now it seems like both of our careers (Cary & mine) are in full steam. So hopefully we will be able to keep things in perspective and not over burden ourselves. I try to support Cary 100% in his job and I feel like he supports me 100%. I came home last night to a clean house, clean dishes, clean clothes and clean kids and a warm bath. What more could I ask for?? I know I take Cary for granted MANY times, but he really is the best husband!!!

Note to self...

Those cute little braids that have been in Madison's hair since vacation were torture to get out. I don't know if I will do that again. I helped my niece take hers out right after we came back. I had to wash & rewash & condition her hair and it still was tangled. I have been putting off taking Madison's out for that exact reason. I didn't think Madison's would be as bad as Haley's because Haley's hair is really dry and Madison's isn't. I'm working on a detail assignment so I had to work 12-9 last night. So I told Cary to get the braids out. When I walked in around 9:30 he was washing & conditioning & conditioning & conditioning Madison's hair. Her hair was coming out in chunks. She wasn't whining & took it pretty good. So now I have to go back to fixing her hair again!!!

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Grant has been going to VBS with the neighbors all week. He really seems to enjoy it and even got to see one of his favorite friends from pre-school there. Madison was invited too, but decided she would rather be home with us. She really enjoys getting all the attention!!

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Like I said before I'm working a detail assignment. I'm going to be a backup so hopefully I won't have to put in much time because the hours are 12-9. I'm working out of the district office so this gives me lots of recognition. The cons are the hours. The pros is who knows where this will lead me. I am extremely happy with where I'm at but there is another office I have my eyes on that will be opening at the first of next year so hopefully this will help me and my family with what's best for us.

Our Neighbors

A little over a year and a half ago, we had the most wonderful neighbors. They had 2 kids boy age 13 & girl age 11. They got along perfect with my kids. They would come down every afternoon as soon as we got home and play/entertain my kids until bed time. I absolutely enjoyed every minute of having them as neighbors. Not only did my kids have someone to play with but they got along. But they would also play. They hardly ever would come inside so they would do everything imaginable outside. Then their parents decided this wasn't their dream house and decided to sell. I secretly prayed their house wouldn't sale. (I'm joking!!)

Then when they couldn't find land in our area they decided to track off part of their 10 acres and build on it after selling the house. Well finally after over a year of building they are back. They moved in the week we were on vacation. We came home on Sunday night and on Monday night they spent the night at our house along with my niece. Needless to say my house was destroyed. But there was not one single argument. They came back July 4th to swim and this Saturday the kids spent all afternoon and evening together.

The kids usually are at my house because my kids are younger & I want to make sure my kids are behaving. A couple of hours after they had played Madison wanted to go home with Chasity. I told her it would be OK but Grant couldn't go. Grant is the type if he sees them outside he just goes over. Grant was devestated when he couldn't go. Nevermind that Josh stayed at our house to play with him, he wanted to go to their house. So he sat on the porch steps & cried & cried & cried.

Then Chasity walked back over to tell Josh it was dinner time and invited Grant to dinner. He wanted to go so bad and since I didn't want to cook I let him go. He still had on his shirt & shorts that he had been swimming in and they were still wet and he was going to go like that. I told him he had to change his clothes first. While I was helping him change I reminded him of his manners and how to act. One of the things he loves to do is pass gas and yell safety, I don't know where this comes from but both my kids have started doing that. So I specifically told him not to do the safety thing in their house. He said "Can I do it outside?" I said if you must just don't do it in their house. Then he said "What if Madison does it?" I said she knows better.

The rest of the evening they went back and forth between the houses playing and making home movies. They just don't realize they have it made.

A day on the farm....

Sunday on our way home, my brother called to let us know one of the cows had twins. The cow didn't have enough milk for both so this one stays in the barn and gets bottle fed twice a day. Guess who is loving every minute of this??? Yesterday Godilocks had her baby colt. And there is also some "wild" baby kittens. Madison makes it her mission to try and catch the kittens everyday. She puts on that big black glove and chases them down. Last night she actually got scratched and bitten. She is braver than me, I'm not going no where near those wild evil things!!!

We're Back!!!

We enjoyed a great 8 day vacation in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina with lots of family. It was approximately a 9 hour drive for us, but other than that it was great. The kids were fairly good with occasional melt downs. Madison was ready to come home after about 3 days. She missed her dog. It was HOT all week with occasional showers. Cary & the kids parasailed. We went on a dolphin sight seeing cruise, putt putt golfing, amusement parks, crab hunting, shopping and of course eating. We went to the beach every morning and then to the pool for the afternoon. We would go out around 12 every night and hunt for crabs on the beach. Some nights they would stay out until 4 looking for them. Grant & I would never last that long. We usually went back to the condo around 2, after I had carried him for an hour. Of course we missed the excitement of finding the big one. It actually clamped down on my brother's finger and wouldn't let go. I would have given anything to seen that!! He still has a cut on his finger from that and he said it was pretty sore. I tried to take lots of family pictures and of course that was a nightmare. It never failed one kid would be happy and the other ill. And as you can see they love to make faces in pictures.(Madison is crossing her eyes) I told her these pictures were going to be our x-mas cards this year and everyone was going to see her "funny" picture. We came home with 2 new family members (2 Hermit Crabs). They've already been dropped twice so we'll see how long they last. Now we're trying to adjust back to the real world. Going to bed at a decent time and getting up early!!