Today I worked on the back deck a bit and planted some new flowers. Preston and I also planted lettuce and spinach leaves. (click on picture to enlarge)

Funk......

Funk...ever been in a funk and you have no idea why or what caused it and you cant seem to get rid of it. Thats me lately...in a funk. I cant seem to shake it and its getting annoying. Go away funk I have no time for you.

Green, greener, really green

This spring I did some more work in the flowerbed out front along the walkway. I also made a few projects such as the house # sign and the initial star. The front walkway looks great right now with all of the rain we had last week. I really love working outside in the yard. Next project is buying flowers for all of the flower pots on the back deck. (click on picture to enlarge)

Mother's Day is approaching and I cant tell you just how much I love being a mom. Most days atleast, there are those days that I would like to change my name from mom to anything else that isnt being yelled at the time. Preston is going through a stage lately that as soon as I leave the room he starts yelling for me. Which isnt such a bad thing except that we live in a 3 story house cause our basement is finished and thats where the playroom, my sewing room, craft room and laundry room is located so at any time during the day I could be downstairs in the basement, on the main floor or upstairs where the bedrooms are located. It isnt just a "mom you here" yell its a Mom where are you and even if I hear your voice I wont be satisfied till I see you and since Im going to yell from the couch then you must bring yourself to me so that I can physically see you kind of yell. I hope this stage ends soon! This mothers day I would like to not hear my name yelled for atleast 2 hours (Im pretty sure that hubby misses his name being yelled while he is at work so to be fair I think his name should be the one yelled), sleep in, have coffee in bed and watch re-runs of the old 90210, yeah you read right 90210. Happy Mothers Day!

Burlap Garden Flag

Today I made this flag.....out of burlap. It will hang on a planter that my father in law made and sits on our back deck. Now I just need to actually put some flowers in the planter.

$1 project

I love the dollar tree store where everything is you guessed it $1.00. Lately I have been visiting it and coming up with cheap but cute craft projects. Here is one that I made with $1 photo frames. I spraypainted the one for Preston red cause white was girly. I already had scrapbook paper so I put that in the background and cut out the initials, attached ribbon that I already had as well although the frames actually came with white ribbon so really you wouldnt even have to change that out unless you so desired....which I did. I think it would be super cute and cheap if you got 3 of these and put different colors of scrapbook paper and hung in a girls room.

My "I" lists

I am.....thankful
I think....my sons laugh is the best thing in the world
I should...be cleaning the house
I dream....of the beach
I want...to spend more time with my sister
I know...very litttle
I don't like....mornings
I smell...the rain
I hear....the sound of Star Wars in my house either with toys or movies
I fear....scary movies
I usually...eat 1 piece of chocolate every 2 days (ok everyday)
I search...for decorating blogs and thrift store finds
I miss....my best friend who was killed a few years ago.
I always...have my morning coffee and beware when I dont
I regret....my sins and wasting time with the wrong men.
I wonder....why my son and husband cant hit the toilet.
I crave....chocolate
I remember...how much I loved being pregnant
I need.....more time with my Mammy
I forget....sometimes
I feel....blessed, busy, bloated, bubbly sometimes
I can....do anything I put my mind to.
I can't....isn't a word that I accept
I am happy....when the sun is shining
I lose.....my mind and socks
I sing....in the car until my son says "please stop your hurting my ears", and yes he says that often.
I listen...terribly, Im the worst listener ever. I struggle with it for some reason.
I shop.....at Target
I eat....just about anything
I love.....my family.

Curtain for niece

I made this curtain for my niece this weekend and finished it today. It aint pretty from the back but the front turned out pretty good. It will go in a large bay window that she has in her room so its mounted on a spring rod. I hope she likes it! (click on pictures to enlarge them).

Crafts

Today Trinity and I made these flowers for her ponytail holders. We took lei's that we bought at the dollar store, pulled the flowers off and then stacked them together by putting a little bit of hot glue in between each flower to be layered. We then took a jewel and glued it to the top. On the bottom we glued ponytail holders so now she can wear them in her hair or around her wrist as a bracelet. When we finished we had made about 25, some for her friends, some for her cousin, some for this house and some for her other house. It was a lot of fun but boy does hot glue hurt when you get it on your fingers...ouch!

Helpful hints

Heather's helpful hints:
1.Adding baking soda to your shampoo
Did you know by adding baking soda to your shampoo 2-3 times a month is good for it? Baking Soda hair wash method is a woman's best friend when it comes to hair care. A baking soda hair wash will clean out the excess product, remove impurities, and clean your hair better then any expensive product on the market. sprinkle a dash of baking soda into your palm and mix with your shampoo. Rinse and condition as usual. try this out a few times a month to get rid of hairspray build up.

2. Lemonade packet:
Original purpose: Quenching your thirst. Aha! use: Cleaning lime deposits and iron stains inside the dishwasher. Pour a packet of lemonade Kool-Aid (the only flavor that works) into the detergent cup and run the (empty) dishwasher.

scary

I have a confession to make and since Im in my 30's its a bit silly now that I think about it. I am scared of Freddy Kruegar. yep thats right the creepy guy with the razor sharp knive like things on his hands freaks me out. This wouldnt be a problem except that he never dies. His movies are still on, they still create new ones. In fact there is a new one coming out now and of course they only run the commercials at night when Im laying in bed and my thoughts and dreams are of this non hot scary man who kills instead of my hot husband (hey he reads this blog so lets pretend that he is one that I dream about instead of Pierce Brosnan). When this commercial comes on you will find me under the coveres with my hands over my ears, no joke. I dont even want to hear his voice. I once watched his movie at a friends house when I was younger and to this day it haunts me. Die Freddy, die already!

This weekend the hubby and kids spent time outside playing ball and I stayed inside and cleaned and organized the house. I vacuumed the entire house, dusted, cleaned all 3 bathrooms, organized the pantry, spent 2 hours in the playroom downstairs cleaning and organizing it, in fact my husband asked if I was cleaning or nesting. Cleaning, definitely cleaning.

This week is starting to get full already: In 2 weeks we will add in t-ball on Monday and Wednesday and keep swim lessons on Tuesday and Thursday.

Monday-School for Preston, bootcamp for me, grocery store
Tuesday-gym, playdate at our house, bake for Admin Day for Lowels work, swim lessons for Preston, Cancer Society meeting for me
Wednesday- Preston school. Helping a friend pick out paint colors for her house ,then work.
Thursday-work, swim lessons, Charter meeting
Friday-school for Preston, work for me

life is good

Preston and I had a blast yesterday. We went to my friends house who had invited all of our gym friends and their kids over. There were about 12 kids and 9 women for a playdate and lunch. It was a great time. We ate outside and talked, laughed and watched all of the kids play. As Lowel has told me many times me and my friends are like a "village" and if that's the case then Preston has his own little "mini village" going on.

Today Im working and I got an opportunity for a full time job starting in January 2011 but with Preston's kindergarten next year only being half days Im not sure that its the best timing although I have time to think about it so who knows maybe I will change my mind as the
time gets closer.

Is it a bad that I went to Walmart the other day, saw a cute shirt, tried it on, loved it then looked at the tag and it was a Miley Cyrus shirt. You know the ones you find in the junior department that are mostly skanky only this one wasnt, it was totally cute. Im too old for skanky although Im all for fun and flirty. This shirt was so cute but I just couldnt bring myself to buy a shirt inspired by a 16 year old (or however old she is now) when I am ......well not 16 years old. I havent stopped thinking about this shirt, maybe I can purchase it, cut the tag out and replace it with a JCPenney tag or Macys something more grown up. Ahhh just another dilemma of growing old I guess, maybe its time for me to stop shopping in the junior dept and move over to the misses dept. NAH!!!

So tired......today I put down 17 bags of mulch around the house, trimmed up the ornamental grass outside, went on a bike ride with the kids, took them to the park and did some house work. Now Im just plain tired. Plans for tomorrow......sleep in (yeah right with 2 kids).

Welcome back routine

Ahhh back to our routine. Routine in this house is a good thing and I must say that I thrive on it. I like to think that I used to be a fly by the seat of my pants type of gal but after having a child my pants are now stained with yogurt or capri sun and not by my doing. So these stained pants like routine. After being out of school a week for Spring break getting Preston up this morning for school was a task in itself. He was not happy about getting up but I know that he is his fathers son who does better on routines so after picking him up from school today he was much better. I was just writing things on the family calendar-yes we have one of those and realized that come May that Preston will be one very busy little boy. He will have Tball on Monday and Wednesday evenings and swim lessons on Tuesday and Thursday evenings and still go to school during the day. Im sure that being busy never killed anyone, or atleast not at this age. Welcome back routine and schedules-mommy missed you!

Easter time in TN

While in TN to had such a great time. We had an Easter egg hunt at Pepaws house, a baby shower for my sister in law, spent time with Great Mammy, Preston went to see his first 3D-Imax movie, ate, made smores outside in the fire, spent time with family, Preston came home with more toys that I can count that he "talked" family members into buying, and loved every minute of being in TN. However with that being said there is nothing like coming home to my hubby and house and having beautiful weather right here in OH. Its amazing how we can go from

having snow last Friday to 75 degrees today.

.

Gods plan

I was going to post about what a horrible drive I had to and from TN. The visit was great but the drive not so great. However after seeing something on my trip back I realized that no matter what issues I had with the drive that it didnt matter now. On Friday I passed by the site of a fatel crash that killed 11 people that morning. It was hours later that I drove past it and it was getting dark so I couldnt see much but you could definitely tell where it had taken place. Little did I know that on the way back in the daylight just how much you could see. Today driving back I drove by the accident site again but today there were members of the Mennonites at the crash site with flowers. Some were crying some were kneeling. It was the day after the burial so I assumed they stopped there before heading home. There were pieces of the vehicle still there only it was on the other side so driving down before on the other side of the road I didnt see it. It didnt hit me till about a mile up the road and then I couldnt stop crying, I couldnt catch my breath, I couldnt figure out why this hit me so hard. I started thinking of my friend Jennifer and her daughter who had died a few years earlier in a crash and realized that I was thinking of her wreck. I didnt see her wreck, I wasnt there but I could imagine that her family stopped at the site of the crash and cried on the side of the road just like the members of the Mennonites were doing. My mom said to me on the phone while driving back that some things are made visible to us for a reason. It made me thankful that we had made it back home safely and all of the other issues with the drive to and from didnt matter anymore.

Preston has been going around the house for the past few days saying "who let the dogs out, who who who who" and "thats what Im talking about". Where does he hear this stuff? If this is what he gets from PreK I can only imagine what he will pick up from kindergarten. Now Im just scared.

Disney-Woohoo

We finally got our vacation at Disney booked this weekend. Whew having to figure out times with so many schedules is not easy. In between work schedules, tball, football and Trinity we now have a week in July that is available. So many things to chose from as far as Disney packages, its a bit overwhelming. The kids know we are going but I dont think they fully get what will take this place this summer. It will be our first entire family vacation. Last year we went to Cedar Point and stayed up in Sandusky for a week but Lowel stayed back and had to work. I think that this will be a perfect vacation that will wear us out so much that we will need 2 weeks to recover and Trinity will get to fly for the first time and she sounds really excited about it. Im now counting down the days till we leave.

Trinity had a sleepover Friday night and today Preston had a playdate. Lowel and I did a lot of yardwork today as well so to say that Im tired is an understatement. Luckily it was nice so all of the kids including our sleepover, Prestons playdate and other neighbor kids that came to play at our house were all outside so that we could get a lot of yardwork completed. Im so glad it was nice weather the kids had a blast and Im glad that they spent almost all day outside, I think kids dont play outside enough. Time to start cleaning house a bit and get the kids settled in for the evening. Its family movie night at home so bring on the popcorn.

Sun YEAH

Because one day it can be 58 and the next 35 degrees Preston and I are spending as much time outside that we can. Yesterday we spent 2 hours at the playground and today we have been jumping on the trampoline and later we will go to playground. I have come to the following conclusions about the trampoline and the playground:

• I always have to pee after jumping 3 short minutes on the trampoline
• Preston always has to pee after 5 minutes of playing at the park where there are no bathrooms so we water the tree frequently.
• I can run 6 miles and work out for 2 hours but jumping on the trampoline more than 20 minutes kicks my butt.
• Boys will always come up with games to play while on a playground, yesterday it was Star Wars.
• Its a dog eat dog world when there is currently only 1 bench at the playground and our rule is that we were here first and we can totally save seats till the other friend shows up.
• When you do a seated jump on the trampoline it will jiggle everything on the outside and inside of your body and it doesnt feel good.

After having several days of cold, rainy weather today I was glad to see the sun out once again. Today has been pretty busy but fun for us. I met a great friend at the gym this morning for our first day of training with a GI Joe. He is the same person that instructs our Boot camp classes at the gym so we decided to give him a try as a personal trainer . So far so good my arms and legs are still attached to my body but that could all change. After that we ran home to eat and let the dog out then off again to meet another friend at the park so the boys could play. Now we are back home and Preston has swim lessons here in a bit then afterwards Im off to a meeting for American Cancer Society. Good day, Good day!

Shiny new love....

Meet my new appliance love.... isnt it a beauty.

This massive upgrade to my kitchen came from my inlaws who wanted all new appliances so they generously handed this down to me. It didnt take much to talk them in to it. I just had to promise them another grandchild...but dont tell my husband. Im sure they gave it to me cause Im the best daughter in law they have however Im also the only one they have. I did produce their first grandson but Im sticking with the story of best daughter in law. I have stared at this new fridge all day instead of doing laundry, dishes, some 4 year old boy keeps yelling something in the background about being hungry but Im just to busy staring at my new love. I wonder if I promise my inlaws twins what I could talk them into giving me next, hehe. Oh just the thought of twins makes my legs cross and uterus hurt oh wait I can actually see myself crossing my legs in the reflection of the stainless steel beauty. Gotta get some work done, must move away from fridge but the shininess attracts me like a moth to a flame. Must walk away now....

Preston is feeling better this morning and its a good thing cause its going to be a busy day. He returns to school today after missing Friday from his fever. After I drop him off at school Im going to visit a neighbor that is in the assisted living facility, off to bootcamp at the gym, pick up Preston, home to change clothes and let the dog out then we are heading to Nationwide to have lunch with hubby and to see Jack Hanna who is bringing some of his Columbus Zoo animals to Nationwide today. Should be a good day for us. Tomorrow we have a playdate so Preston got well just in time for all the fun.

Preston still has a fever, it got higher on Friday and Saturday night with 103.9. No other symptoms just high fever this weekend. He has been in bed with us since he wakes up at night after his tylenol has worn off so as you can imagine I havent slept in 3 days and to make matters worse I had a migraine this weekend. Migraine started going away on Saturday night so Trinity and I took advantage of the fact and make apple fritters. Today Im feeling a little better and so is Preston, he has a low grade fever now. Trinity and I made aprons today. I hope we both start feeling better tonight. The sun has shown for 2 days so thats always nice, in fact Preston woke up the other day and said "look mom, God didnt lose the sun, its right there".

sick tot

Got home from swim lessons last night and Preston was acting as if he didnt feel well. Put him to bed and he was shaking and shivering and with fever. Ohhh is there anything worse than a sick kid. So helpless and cant really explain what hurts. He spent the rest of the night curled up to me with goosebumps and a fever. I kept him home from school today so he could get some rest. Right now he is laying on the couch which I put bed sheets over for his comfort and also just in case he gets sick. He is playing with toys on the couch which is a good sign. Im praying its just a fever and nothing else but I know that there has been so much sickness going around lately at all the schools. Gotta get back to tending to the sick. Later.

Really? Samoas? 10 boxes?

Hubby was bragging last night that he had a box of samoas (girl scout cookies) at his desk. He knows that those are my favorite. I asked him to bring me home a couple of cookies -I was thinking 3-4 cookies, and his answer was no. What how can you tell me no. Its cookies, my favorite cookies for goodness sakes. You cant not share samoas with your wife, Im pretty sure that was written in our vows somewhere. Its the 13th commandment. After giving him a hard time about sharing his samoas with me and him not wanting to share his box he had a co-worker surprise me by delivering 10 boxes of samoas to our house today. Are you kidding me,really do you know what kind of damage I can do to a box of samoas much less 10 boxes. Im already busting my butt at the gym to stay in shape. The gesture is more than sweet however my ass is saying no to the 8 boxes.....I gotta keep alteast 2 of the boxes. Im PMS'ing so a girls gotta do what a girls gotta do and I gotta keep atleast 2 of the boxes.

Busy times

March is a busy month, in fact I had to go purchase a large dry erase calendar because I ran out of room on a normal size calendar. With dentist and doctor appointments this month for Preston, me working sometimes 2-3 days a week , swim lessons twice a week, kindergarten test and a packet of paperwork due for school, charter meeting, parks and recreation meeting, playdates, open house at Preston school, and leaving for TN for spring break during the last week of March, it has become a busy month for all of us. The good news is that each day brings us that much closer to Spring!

weekend bathroom tiling project

How I spent my weekend. We had some leftover tile from our kitchen and our master vanity had laminate on it so I decided to tile over it and update it a bit. I didn't think to take pics of the old vanity till after we had already removed sinks and started taking down backsplash so to be consistent and because we are lazy and haven't put the sinks back in yet I took after pictures without the sinks as well. I wore gloves while grouting this time-much better. (you can click on pics to make larger)

P.S-overlook the brush on the vanity that is filled with strawberry blond hair. I know ,I know gross.

Random loves

Random things that I love:

• Being able to run 5 miles right now nonstop and running atleast 10 miles throughout the week and only having to take a small handful of asprin to do so...just kidding not a handful but definitely some.
• Skinny vanilla misto's from starbucks for $2.00
• That Preston is crazy in love with Starwars right now and the fact that my hubby has been for years so they are finally on the same page.
• Preston saying "mommy I love you" out of the blue
• That when I asked Preston who his bestfriend was he said "daddy".
• When Preston and I both pick out a special cheap treat from the store (candy or something) that as soon as I open mine Preston says "your going to share that with me arent you" but when I ask him if he is going to share his with me he says "but this was my special treat that I picked out".
• New cricut cartridge
• That Preston has so many friends at school the gym and the neighborhood, sometimes his schedule is busier than mine.
• I love looking at the roses that my husband bought me this past weekend. They brighten the room up.
• Loving that I see grass finally from the snow melting.
• My gym girls-Love them!!!
• That anytime we are in the car for a long time Preston asks "are we driving to Mammy's".
• Love that Preston asks me why everyone in TN calls him George
• Love that anytime my mother in law gets a new item that I get the handmedown. SWEET!
• That Trinity told me last weekend she couldnt wait to get here and bake and do crafts with me.
• That Preston has a toy in hand 24 hours, no joke he sleeps with one in hand.

Are we at this point already?

Today I had to sign Preston up for kindergarten and pick up a packet of info to fill out and return along with a ton of things they need to make sure we are residence. Im surprised they didnt ask for blood and urine samples, seriously they asked for everything else. I cant believe its time for this moment. He has a kindergarten test in March and then come fall he will be in the "big school". Aww my baby is growing up, aww Im about to cry just thinking about it. The other day he and I were talking about kindergarten and I informed Preston that he would go to school a little more than he currently goes to prek, he turned to me and said well then I guess I will see you before I go to bed. I told him that I would see him way before bed time but he didnt believe me and said I will be there all day like a big kid mom and eat dinner there so I will be home late at night in time to kiss you goodnight. When I told him that I would see him at lunch he just shook his head and said I will be gone all day but it will be ok. Such a big boy! It seems like just the other day we were at this point, in the hospital delivering him.

This weekend we just took an easy, it was the first weekend that new snow did not fall...YEAH! We took the kids to the frosty flicks movies ($3 tickets plus free popcorn, cant beat that) and we watched Cloudy with a chance of meatballs. Trinity and I baked banana bread and made bracelets. Last weekend we did crafts all weekend so this weekend she wanted to bake but the only thing I had all the ingredients to was banana bread. It was fun and she loved it. Each weekend we try to either bake or do crafts and Im running out o craft ideas. I can always find something to bake but crafts that are easy for her is something else. I think its time to hit up the clearance fabric at walmart and make some new aprons for us. I have also seen some cute ones made from dollar store kitchen towels. Thats another idea. Other than that we havent done too much this weekend and I have been nursing a sore knee, guess thats what I get for running 10 1/2 miles last week, granted it was stretched across 3 days but still hurts. As we speak I have a heating pad on the back of my knee and boy does it feel good, heat plus injury=ahhh.
I have also decided to tile the master bathroom countertop next weekend. We have let over from our kitchen which would work perfectly in our bathroom so thats on my list as well. I think the only thing I have to purchase is more grout. Lowel will have to undo the sinks and pull them up but other than that I can do the rest. Im looking forward to seeing the end results. I will take before and after pics and show them on a later post.

Running, running, running

My friends from the gym are trying to talk me into running a half marathon, I keep saying no but my head and body keep telling me I could do it. I can run pretty far nonstop but not sure I could do just a bit over 13 miles. On Tuesday I ran 3.1 miles , Wednesday I ran 3.2 miles and today we ran 4.5 miles. Next week we are working up to 5 miles. Who knows maybe I will do it!

Preston had a playdate today so after the gym, errands and then playdate its time to clean the house, get dinner going in a bit, off to take Preston to swimlessons, watch swimlessons, then I have my Canal Winchester Charter meeting tonight at 7:30. Its going to be a long evening. Usually I try to look younger than my age of 36; however tonight being the youngest that will be at the charter meeting Im trying to not look the youngest. Im not sure which one is harder to look younger or older. Both take some time trying on different types of clothes, since not working for an actual company the past 4 years my closet now consist of blue jeans, cute Old Navy t-shirts, workout clothes and lots of sleevless shirts, none of which are appropriate for my meeting . Oh and lets not forget that I usually wear my hair in a ponytail since Im usually working at the gym. I just hope that I can keep up with the meeting and somewhat understand what is taking place. Please dont let me look like a young idiot or an old idiot for that matter. Im cool with the mayor but I gotta tell you some of the older gents who have lived here forever kind of scare me. They are very tunnel vision and dont like change. Boy are they in for a shock when this southern gal walks up in there. Gotta get started on stuff here soon so see ya later.

Another blog entry about snow cause thats all I got

Of all the years to invest in a snow blower this would of been the year. Our news just said that this February alone we have received over 25 inches of snow and its still coming down. I just went out and measured the snow on our backporch and it is 10 inches and thats with us shoveling it off every couple of days. We are under a level 2 snow emergency. If it hits level 3 then only emergency personnel can be on the road and if you are caught on the road you will be ticketed. Im sure they will cancel Prestons swim lessons again tonight, maybe we should of signed him up for bobsledding instead. If you will excuse me Im going to look for a new screen saver that has a picture of the sun on it since I forgot what it looked like.
Here are some pics, the first 2 are of our back deck which sits 3 feet off the ground and the snow is level with it so you can walk right off without even using steps, the next one is eye level of our driveway and our poor poor mailbox which is about to be swallowed up by all the snow. The next picture is the view from our 2nd story bedroom and why we cant see it out of it because of the snow drifts on the roof,

Kissy Day

Its Valentines Day, kissy kissy! I actually feel that this has been the best year of our marriage so far, not sure why, but it feels different. The past 5 years of marriage have been good but this year has been sweet. I have woken up with many sweet notes left from my hubby, we talk on the phone a few times, we email each other throughout the day. Its been a sweet year! A girl could get used to this. I love that we eat dinner all together at the table each night, that Preston showers and lays down for night around 8ish and Lowel and I have alone time together. That we still kiss each other goodnight and that he is the first person I want to talk to in the morning. I gave my heart to this man 7 years ago and so far I dont want it back. Hehe.
HappyValentines Hubby now give me my chocolate and you wont get hurt. Actually he did get me chocolate, my favorite dark chocolate and a new cricut cartridge that I get to pick out. Love him!
Here is a pic of some cookies I made this past week some had raspberry and others had blackberry inside them, delicious.

The loves of my life!

Took Preston to school for his Valentine exchange day, went to grocery store to get items to make for Lowels boss b-day on Monday, met up with friends at the gym and ran 4 miles nonstop on treadmill, worked, limped out of gym, picked up Preston at school who came out with a large bag of candy and cards, fought in the car with Preston about how much candy he was allowed to consume in the car on the way home, came home and electricity was out for a few minutes, back on-done panicking, ate something, sat down to relax with a hot cup of coffee for the day, hold that thought cause hubby just asked if I could go to Lancaster to pick up Trinity here in a bit. Gulping coffee, getting ready to head back out, still limping, craving chocolate and hubby owes me big time.

Worked 3 days this week=hobby lobby $ for me.

10 inches of snow and wind chill of -4 today. If my sister and brother in law lived in the tropics like they hope to someday I would so be there right now.

Fun craft projects

Since getting my new cricut I have been very busy doing crafts around the house. Here are some of the projects that I have done in the past few weeks. I thought my dining room could use some color so I moved some stuff around and used my cricut to bring some color in that room. I also made a sign that says Bolin, and when we moved into the house there was leftover tile so I spraypainted them and did some cricut cutouts and the word PLAY now hangs above the steps going into playroom that is in basement. Having so much fun with my cricut.

This snow is going to be the death of me. They just said on the local news that central OH has received 30 inches of snow this winter so far, last year it was 19. We got snow Friday about 8 inches and now they are calling for another 6 -8 inches tonight-Wednesday. Goodness gracious I have never wished snow away this bad. I miss planting, digging, spring projects outside, flowers oh my flowers how I miss you but most of all I miss the SUN......its been so lonely without you. I cant wait to feel the warmth of you upon my skin, shining through the windows of the house and melting all of this darn snow. Come back Sun, I beg of you!!!

Cakestand love

I love cakestands....there I said it. I love everything about them. I keep mine on the island all the time and it usually has baked goodies inside but sometimes it has decor depending upon what season it is. I have a few cake stands and Im always on the lookout for more at thrift stores. I have even made my own cakestands by glueing large glass candeholders to the bottom of decorative glass plates that I have found at thrift stores. I then stack them on top of other cake stands to make them really tall. I think they are simple and pretty and I love them. Most of you are wondering just how many cakestands can you use at one time but in our house you would be surprised. Ive been known to use 4 at a time. Cakestands=happiness for me.

Brrrr power out

After getting about 8 inches of snow we lost electricity yesterday about 10am. The electric pole behind out house snapped in two, laid across wires and one of the wires was in our back yard ( it was behind the fence but still in the back yard). No electricity, no computer, no tv, no Wii, no heat, whats a girl to do.....go to McDonalds right down the road where they have hot food for the kiddo, coffee screaming my name and wifi for the hubby who has been working the past 3 weekends and had to have Internet connection to work. It finally came back on after about 4 hours but they were only able to get on half of the subdivision, the other half were without electricity for 10 hours. We made sure our neighbors who didnt have electricity knew that they were more than welcome to come over to keep warm but they were on their way to Walmart to waste time where everyone else in the subdivision seemed to be. There was a lot of commotion and activity in the backyard with firetrucks cause the pole caught on fire, police to shut down the road behind our house and a lot of electric trucks. They worked all day and all night to get it back on and thankfully they did. I love electricity. Its a good thing.

Go away snow

More snow, ugghhh I thought we were done with this white stuff. I guess thats what I get for living in the North. Another 8-14 inches of snow by tomorrow and we are on a level 1 snow emergency.

My hubby was able to have a friend get copies of P90X for me. I started them tonight by doing the arms and shoulders and whew. Luckily at the gym this morning I did cardio cause my arms are burning. Im glad that Ive been doing extreme bootcamp at the gym twice a week otherwise these dvd's would be a lot harder on me but since I do this stuff in class it isnt nearly as bad. So far I love the dvd's and I still have many to go through. P90X bring it on, kick my ass, give me all you got and I hope in return to be in a bikini by summer...ok maybe not a bikini but definitely not a skirted bottom bathing suit.

Canal Winchester Charter Review Commission Board http://www.canalwinchesterohio.gov/Committee/charter.aspx

Bolin household update

We have been taking Preston to the gym in the evenings and playing basketball and running around the track, he has a bit of a peepaw belly but apparently he hit a growth spurt this weekend cause Lowel and I both noticed a change in him. His belly isnt what it was 2 weeks ago and he seems taller. He is now 43 inches so basically his head hits me way above my bellybutton. He is taller that some of the other boys in prek who are already 5. The boy doesnt turn 5 till June. That means at this rate that he will soon tower over me.

Went to Walmart today cause hubby told me that Hanes sweat pants were on sale for $5. Which is a good deal since I go to the gym and I can wear these or cut them to make shorts. What was even better is that when I went to check out they were actually $3 a piece. You bet I ran back and picked up a few more pairs. I also found boys transformer t-shirts for $3 a piece. Gotta love Walmart...yeah you heard me mother in law-LOVE WALMART (she is anti walmart).

Got a busy next 2 weeks in store for us, playdate Tuesday, parent teacher conference on Wednesday and Im babysitting this week for a few days. Prestons swim lessons start back up next Tuesday and Thursday night for the next month as well.


In other news: Got email today from mayor who liked my answers and I am now on the Charter Review Commission Board for our town.

Over snow

When I lived in TN I thought it was awesome to see snow, everyone would run out to the grocery stores, everything would close down from schools, to roads,to business's. Now that I live in Ohio where it seems to snow all the time and throughout the winter I barely get to see my grass.... Im no longer excited about snow. After reading comments from all of my facebook friends in TN I now laugh at how excited everyone gets about snow. I used to be like that but the excitement is gone its just another day in paradise here in Ohio with snow on the ground almost everyday of winter. No one rushes to the grocery store here because it snows all the time so more than likely you've already been. Roads and business's rarely close unless we are under a level 3 which is a blizzard. Ahh to be excited about snow once again would be nice but this gal is over it. Im ready for spring dammit

Mayor request. City domination a go I think I will change our city name to Bolinville.

Our town is developing a Charter Review Commission Board and the mayor is chosing the board members as well as alternates from the community to fill the seat in case of a vacancy. I received an email from the mayor as an alternate appointment and then he asked me to answer 3 questions for him. Really,are you kidding me. How many other residents did you ask to answer these questions. With much thought, all day and input from Dad and Lowel, thanks Dad, Lowel I will thank you later here are my answers. If chosen I will be on one more board for the city, Im already on the parks and recreation board so my plan to take over the town is coming together, haha. If you happen to see a misspelled word, fragment sentence or something that doesnt make sense please keep it to yourself cause its already gone bye bye into email world and at this point I dont want to know about it. Hopefully he likes my answers more than my grammer.

How do you feel the Villages current form of government is being run now, strong mayor vs. administrator? I feel that our Village government is more administrator than strong mayor. With that being said I believe that a Mayor at times may be required to force laws, however, we have a city council form of government. Our city council develops an overall vision for Canal Winchester. Our Village Government takes an idea and allows or appoints someone else to accomplish the idea. As an administrator government it is allowing the opportunity for residents and council to use their talents and accomplish the needs or goals of our Village vs. a strong mayor who sets the rules without input.

Would you make any changes? I would not make any changes to our current government. I believe that our community is made up of some amazing, talented persons who should be allowed to express that through our government and it allows for a diverse culture.

Do you have any concerns with the Village becoming a City as early as the Fall of 2010?
I personally do not have any concerns with our Village becoming a City, however I’m sure that with every change comes new challenges. An opportunity for new grants but more competition for those grants, new exciting changes but also new rules and regulations. There are some in the community who are afraid of losing the look and feel of our Village. I feel that you only lose that feeling when you lose your sense of community and our community is getting stronger and better each year. We have added more community activities such as the Ribfest and our Labor Day Festivities, Christmas in the Village and Art in the Park have had opportunities to grow such as our Village has but for the better.

Oh so true

Whatever you give a woman, she will make greater, give her sperm she will make a baby, give her a house she will give you a home, give her groceries she will give you a meal, give her a smile she will give you her heart. She multiplies and enlarges what she is given. So if you give her any crap, be ready to receive a ton of shit...

Happy Birthday to me

Today is my Birthday and Im 36, Id like to say that I feel 26 but that would just be a lie. I dont however feel my age I do feel younger which is nice. Now if I could just stop waking up to this deep wrinkle that has attached itself underneath my right eye. For the first time ever I have purchased eye wrinkle cream, trust me Ive been wearing all over face wrinkle cream for months now but never just for the eye...that was until the crater decided to set up camp under the eye. Its been a hell of a year but its been a great year. Not sure if you can have hell and great in the same sentence but I think its working for me.
To kick off my birthday Im having breakfast with 2 neighbors after I drop Preston off at Pre-k cause lets face it its much more fun to have breakfast every once and a while with just ladies, no kids, no one saying I gotta go poop, no cutting up pancakes for anyone else, no sticky hands and faces and spilled chocolate milk.
After that and picking up Preston from pre-k we have a playdate at a friends house. Again if your going to have kids with you then the next best thing is 2 other women with kids so that we can do our girl thing while the kids play. Much to gossip, talk about, compliments to be thrown out and all 3 of us ladies have b-days in the same week so we will definitely be telling each other we dont look our ages and much much younger.
Later after Lowel comes home we will celebrate my birthday with the pie that I picked out and picked up because God love him the hubby can cook but cant bake.

P.S -Every year my mom calls me to tell me the story of the morning that I was born and I do mean every year and my sister calls to sing Happy Birthday to me every year. I hear from everyone in my family but I love the the yearly story and song and its the highlight of my b-day.

Thoughts

Cleaning, cooking, baking, snotty noses, Pre -K, gym, playdates, grocery store, bills, dog, sewing, scrapbooking, errands, snacks, playdough, laundry, restless nights, neighbors, naked 4 yr old boys, cartoons, scrubbing, driving, running, fixing, bathing, planning, crying, headaches, boo boo's, crafts, thinking, sleeping, caffeine, weight, rain, sunless....just needed to get a few things off my chest from today. I will be better tomorrow, I hope.

Staying busy

Lowel has been working 24/7 lately so Ive been trying to keep myself and Preston busy. Today I got up cleaned a bit in the house, Preston and I went to the grocery, came home put up groceries and ate lunch then went back out to the AT&T store which was closed, and then to Joann Fabrics. We have been trying to find a dog pillow that was large so that Jazz could lay on it instead of the hardwood floors and it would keep us from having to bring the one from upstairs that he sleeps on at night down each day. Every one we looked at was $40-60 for the nice fluffy ones that are like fake sheepskin. I decided that I could make one for a lot less than that so I did today and the final cost of the material and stuffing and all was only $13.00 and its the same material as the expensive ones. Now if we could just keep him from wanting to chew the corners.

Naked boy

I cant figure out why my son cant keep his clothes on. I walk into the family room and there are his pants, his shirt is on the ground in the kitchen, socks in bathroom and these are all clothes that he had on today, within the past hour, that he has now shedded. Its below 30 degrees outside and we keep our heat on 67 in the house so its not like its so hot that he needs to remove layers of clothes, if anything he needs to be adding them on. For some reason he must be in his underwear as soon as we enter the house. All of our neighbors have seen Preston at one time or another in just his underwear because he goes to the door that way when someone knocks and yet they still come back so I guess thats a good thing. Id say he gets this from his dad but he only does that when I beg for something to drink in the middle of the night. I guess at some point he will cover up and until then sorry for all of those that may see a bit more than they asked for.

Desire for a village

My husband was explaining to another husband that women need a village. It was Lowels answer to the question as to why women need or want girls night out or to see each other all the time. At first I didnt think much about his answer but it does make sense to me. I have this amazing group of girls from the gym that I have met over the past 6 months and I enjoy seeing them each day. We work out together, push each other, encourage one another and just plain have fun together. We are all stay at home moms or we work from home so right there we already have a lot in common. Ive never been one of those stay at home moms to stay. As my husband would say I have a need for a village. My village are the friends that I have made or already have and that village continues to grow and grow and the village gets stronger. Men dont have villages they have friends but I dont think they have the desire to build on as women do. I hope that if I can teach Trinity anything its to build a village. Branch out there, build on, remodel everynow and then but just keep building. Friends come and go and some stay in your lives forever but never lose the desire to build your village. Its important as a women, friend, and mother. I have enjoyed the fact that in the meantime of my desire to have a village that Preston is reaping the benefits of it as well because he has more playdates as ever and talks about his friends from the gym all the time. Its fun to watch both of lives getting better and better and I know that I couldnt of done this without my husband who wants me to be with Preston and not work right now and enjoy our lives. I guess that makes my husband the investor of my village. By the way I think my village needs a Starbucks. Thanks honey!

Tickle Bear

I love the fact that Preston sleeps with my old teddy bear -Tickle Bear. He plays with it and sleeps with it at night and its so cute to watch him. Lowel on the other hand isnt a fan of Preston sleeping with a teddy bear and wasnt all that happy that I slept with Tickle Bear up until the day we had Preston. When we moved from TN to OH I think Lowel was secretly hoping that Tickle Bear would get lost and not find his way but that bear is a tropper. Im sure that if I put an Ohio State t-shirt on Tickle Bear that Lowel would feel better about the whole thing but in the meantime Im going to enjoy watching my young son play and sleep with something that brought me comfort.

Ran a 5k on the treadmill today and I just about died during it however I felt so good afterwards. Im working up to running a 10k. Since its Tuesday and Preston didnt have school he went into the gym daycare, which he loves. We always talk about who he played with that day because the kids that are in there are friends of mine and do bootcamp with me. Today he looked at me and said "who's mommy did you play with today".

Happy B-day

Lordy, Lordy my husband is 40 today. Happy Birthday to you , Happy Birthday to you, your as sexier as ever and cute to boot too!

Feel yucky, am yucky, just plain yucky

Preston and I are finally feeling better after an episode of food poisoning. It snuck up on us Wednesday around 3am and it was not pretty. Poor Preston had to change clothes 4 times because of accidents. We spent the day laying around, Preston had a sick day from school, not eating and hating McDonalds (ok I was hating McDonalds, Preston will probably be asking for it this weekend). The good news is that I lost 2 pounds, the bad news is that I couldn't go to the gym yesterday or today cause I felt too weak. Preston is feeling much better and has his appetite back, I don't have my back yet which makes for a very sluggish day without food for 2 days. I made a yogurt and fruit smoothie but wasn't able to get it all down. I have lysol'ed the house down just in case so every door knob and handle has been disinfected and all clothes and towels washed in hot water. Its been a rough couple weeks here in the Bolin house with Preston getting a cold around Christmas for about 2 weeks, then I had it for a week, then food poisoning and now Lowel is feeling cold'ish. I'm tired of being sick this needs to end and quick please. Gotta get back to lysol'ing the house so hope everyone is healthy and if you are please share it with us.

This morning I got up and ran a 5k. Never actually done that without stopping for a breather but this morning I was able to do it in 28:44 minutes. Not to bad for this old gal. My girlfriends from the gym got me through it while running right along next to me on the treadmill. I have made such amazing friends from the gym since joining bootcamp. We really have fun together, push one another and encourage each other. Its been great.

Today Preston and I are watching Chip. He is a neighbors dog who lost his companion the other day and has never been without another dog. Our neighbors came home early from work the other day so that Chip wouldnt be alone all day but it wasnt feasible for them to do that each day so Preston and I went to their house packed up Chip and brought him to our house. He is sad and lonely for now but Im sure that he wont be alone soon since they are already talking about getting another playmate for him. Jazz is fascinated by this little wiener dog but Chip is just annoyed at Jazz. Its not a friendship but they tolerate one another with Jazz laying on the ground in front of the couch and Chip curled up on my lap. I think Jazz may be a tad bit jealous but its good for him to get along with other dogs as well.
I know I have spoken about all of our great neighbors in the past but I cant say enough about them. When Grandaddy died we got cards from our neighbors, we go in and out of each others homes and we all watch each others animals, kids, homes you name it. Its been a blessing to live on this court so God was definitely watching over us as we were house hunting.
Taz a new dog came to play with you her name is Pom Pom and she is a cutie so enjoy!!!

After 3 weeks of having things not so right, not in order, out of routine , today we are back to normal. YEAH!!! For a person that thrives on order and routine this is a big relief for me. Dont get me wrong it was nice having hubby working from home the past few weeks and the kids home from school cause of holidays then snow days but I was ready to have things back, back to normal, well as normal as we can be. We still have snow on the ground but its tolerable. Im pretty used to it by now but every once in a while enough is enough and I long for sunny days.

This week, in fact on Friday the hubster turns 40, you heard me correct the big 40. I think its bothering him just a bit. He wont admit it but since I just wrote it then I guess the cats out of the bag. I dont want to even thin about how I will react when I turn 40 so we will just cross that bridge when it gets here.

I have a new part time job, Im going to be keeping a friends kids each Tuesday which is nice cause I can still be home with Preston, Preston has a playdate and I will have extra $ for scrapbooking, Target, Starbucks, the necessities of life. Of course my husband doesnt see scrapbooking, Target and Starbucks, as necessities and instead of hobbies or treats but since Im the one writing this entry its a necessity darn it.
Ta Ta for now!

Go away snow

Today's snow fall as of 5pm. Bring on Spring please, snow is over rated unless your a kid.

cricut crazy

My inlaws gave me a cricut for Christmas and to say that I have broken it in would be an understatement. I am coo coo for cricut. Not only have I finished atleast 20 pages of scrapbooking in the past week I have also found other projects around the house to do. At one time we had an old free tv stand that was on its last leg so we took it apart and I have been slowly using its pieces here and there. I finished using the last 2 pieces (a small door and glass door) to create an art project with the help of my cricut. See pics. I also made a new sign for the back of our front door so you would see it as you were leaving.

New Year

Happy New Year to ya! We had a great time at the hockey game last night with Lowels co-workers in the box seats. The Blue Jackets played the Predators and Nashville won in overtime. Today is the Rose Bowl so Im sure that it will be football time in our house tonight to watch the Buckeyes. I however am not a buckeye fan yet so I will busy myself with scrapbooking or something. I have already broke one of my new years resolutions by not eating better and instead ringing in the new year with a chocolate doughnut. It was so worth it. This past year has brought us happiness, tears, more family, sickness, health, work, house remodeling, death, and love. I am sad that we lost Grandaddy this past year, we gained a new 2nd cousin, my brother and cousin are both expecting babies, Mammy is going to an assisted living place at the age of 96 (its been a good run for her at home by herself) and the kids seem to amaze me, make me laugh and make me want to pull out my hair all at once. Im excited to see what 2010 will bring us. Its hard to believe that this year Preston will be going to kindergarten and Trinity will be in the 3rd grade. Hope everyone enjoys their day and may 2010 be good to you.