Good things

Still not feeling all that great from sinus problems even after spending lots of time in the dry sauna at the local Y. Night time is the worst when the cough keeps me awake. In the spirit of trying to be jolly anyways Im going to jot down a few of my favorite things lately and share them.

• Fresh flowers, there is nothing like having fresh flowers in your kitchen, even if you buy them yourself. You can catch them on clearance lately in your local grocery. $3.00 for a bunch is worth the smile it brings to your face every time you look at them.


• Hearing my son say "thank you mommy or thank you daddy", he says that all the time when we hand him something or full fill a request he has such as more juice. Last night he was about to get into trouble for not calming down for bed time and just as my hubby was about to tell him to calm down, my son said thank you daddy. Needless to say he did not get into trouble. Its just too cute to hear those words.


• My throat has been sore so Ive been eating soup for lunch. Its nice and warm on my throat. Ive been trying Tabatchnick, its frozen soup in the freezer section of your grocery. This week Ive been eating the Tuscany Lintel soup. You get 2 pouches in each box (enough for 2 meals) and its microwavable or you can put into boiling water on the stove. This would be good soup to store up on during winter time.


• Having the option to be a stay at home mom and my biggest decision of the day is should we go to the pool today, jump on our trampoline or run around. Both of our mothers were stay at home moms for a while and Im very glad that I get that chance to do it as well. Thank you hubby!!!!


• Catching fire flies at night with the kids.


• Looking for new potential homes, its very exciting and scary.


• My son using the cut through window that we made from kitchen to living room as is personal window to "order up". He climbs upon the love seat and puts in his request.


• Hearing my stepdaughter read a book to me. Dick and Jane books.


• Playing feed Gnocchi, a curious george game on the computer with my son.

Fun at the Pickerington Violet Festival.

For Sale

Yep, we've done it. We have put our house up for sale on the hopes that we will get the house that we found last week. We found a house down the road in Pickerington that is in one of the nicest and best school systems in Ohio. Even though Preston wont be in school for another 2-3 years its hard to pass this opportunity up. The house sits in a cul de sac, across from a pond with ducks, walking path and a playground.

We have cleaned the house from top to bottom, we have decluttered so much that Preston is going through toy withdrawl from taking 75% of his toys out of the living room and storing them in the basement. Trinitys room has been cleaned and all of the McDonalds, Wendys and Burger King cheap toys are now gone, who knew we ate out that much. I have scrubbed, cleaned, dusted, and shampooed the carpets. They say you are supposed to continue cleaning the carpets till the return water comes back somewhat clean....ha, that will never happen and I would like to know if anyone has actually seen that with their own eyes. My water never comes back somewhat clean in fact Im starting to think that my carpets are somehow connected to a black hole somewhere and Im sucking all of its nasty stuff through my carpets.

We informed our loving and wonderful neighbors of our plans prior to the sign going up in the yard. It was not easy and very upsetting. Good neighbors are hard to come by. Our neighbors come by to talk, bring cookies or cake over, we each borrow tools or other items from one another and have attended parties in the back yards of each others homes. It will be hard to leave such great neighbors.

I can surely bet that the next few weeks and months will be very trying for all of us. Im sure that getting a call 30 minutes prior to a showing and having to rush to clean up the kids rooms, put away toys, empty the dirty dishes from sink and get everyone out the door will be the true test.

Wish us luck!!!

Still sick. Going on day 8 of sinus issues. Wednesday night after not being able to put myself to sleep finally about 2am I chugged more than recommended dosage of benedryl only to be awakened at 3:30am of sounds of the electricity flickering off and on, thunder that shook the windows and my son crying from the frightening noise. At 3:35am Im laying in bed with my hubby who could sleep through anything, my son who is snoring and although you would think I would pass back out from all of the benedryl, Im wide awake with my son laying over the top of me. I recall asking God for rain however being awake at 3:35am, stoned on benedryl and having little feet digging into every part of my body was not on my prayer request. Thank you anyways God for the rain.

Life in the Bolin house

Preston is getting over pink eye from last week, I am fighting a sinus infection this week that has settled into my chest, head and eyes.....not pretty. I feel blah lately, I cant get in the mood to clean my house really good from top to bottom (not that Im ever in the mood) however I know the house needs it but instead I just make a pathway around the toys from kitchen to living room to bedroom. I also cant get into the cooking mood and Im stuck in a rut when it comes to dinner. My son refuses to eat hot dogs or chicken nuggets...what is wrong with this kid? When Preston was born my step mother, Carol, came to help me out since my mother was recovering in the hospital. Carol cooked dinner, cleaned my house and I got to sleep. I ask myself all the time why I let her leave.
The weather has been mid to low 80's which is nice in the evenings but a bit to cool for the pool in the afternoon with Preston. Instead we have been taking lots of walks around the neighborhood and jumping on the trampoline. Today I took Preston to a new park to play since we have both been sick and since he is feeling better I thought he would like to do something fun, it was fun, however, there were many moments that I wish I lived closer to family so they could take Preston to the park and I could chug the cough syrup and sleep.

Our house is always filled with the sounds of either Curious George or Hannah Montana, both of them I actually like as well. My husband and I will talk about how we miss the good ole' cartoons such as the Jetsons, Smurfs and Super Friends. Some of the cartoons today are a little too strange but PBS and Disney never fail and always come through. I loved Curious George as well growing up so its nice to share that with Preston and Hannah Montana is fun to watch with Trinity and listen to the southern accent come from Miley and Billy Ray Cyrus, it reminds me of home. Cute cartoon for girls. Trinity has already told me she wants a Hannah Montana birthday party this year.

We are slowly running out of things to do to the house to update or fix so I guess its time to move. Hope everyone has a great week.

Peekaboo!!!!!

Weekend at the spoilers

We spent the weekend at Grandma Linda and Papa Joe's house. They have a pool, a large swing set and too many toys to count, so its like a mini amusement park at their house. The kids have a hard time trying to figure out which area to rip through like a tornado first. Grandma Linda's house is known as the house with the never ending popsicles, she should buy stock in the popsicle company and invest in herself. Its nice visiting because my kids have a cousin there so they get to play with her as well. The kids had a great time here are some pics of them with their cousin Katie Grace.

4th festivities

This 4th of July we worked outside and finished painting the garage. Our house is about 20 yrs old and had an older couple that lived here. Needless to say it was outdated and needed sprucing up when we moved in. We have officially painted every single room in the entire house including the basement and garage. We have finally finished the landscaping. The old landscaping took up almost half of the front yard and was overgrown. We ripped all of that up, put down grass seed, finally got grass and put in new landscaping stones.
After working we celebrated the 4th by going out to eat and watching fireworks from the back porch.

Last year I stuck a small American flag in the flower garden and Trinity came running up to me excited to tell me that we grew a flag.

Crafty mood

Every now and then I get into crafty moods and look out when I do. This week my project was Trinity's room. She has been very helpful over the past few weekends with Preston while mommy and daddy were putting down wood floors. To thank her I decided to add a few additional touches to her girly girl room.
I found some great pink shaggy material on clearance for $3.o0. We had an old chandelier we used to have in kitchen so I painted it white and covered the shades in the pink material. I had some material left over so I covered her picture memory board in the same shaggy material. I put foam that was in the shape of a crown and on clearance above the canopy that I made and the mirror wasn't being used so I painted it pink and wrote "mirror, mirror on the wall..." on it and hung it up in her room.

Cost of total project =$13.00
Time spent on projects=2 hours
Look on Trinity's face when she saw it=priceless

It now is a very girly girl room that looks like a pink cat threw up in it!!!!

One of my best friends, who is also my neighbor, is moving next weekend to the south. Hot weather, very little snow, country ham and biscuits, dairy queen, sonics and krystals on every corner....lucky girl. I have been very blessed to have many great friends in my life that dont let a few hundred miles come between us.

We spent this weekend together along with the kids and took them to a local park, Slate Run Park. It has a working farm which is why there are pics of farm animals.

Good luck on your new adventure Berlin family, thank you for being in our lives and for being great neighbors. You will be missed.

Close but no cigar.....

Yep, its another post about potty. Im a stay at home mom not a whole lot of exciting things happen to me so potty talk it is. Preston pottied for the first time in the big potty, he refuses to sit to potty so its been a challenge getting him to stand on a stool in front of the big potty. Finally last night he got it...YEAH!!! As an award he got M&M's for being a big boy......only to walk through the living room, stark naked, M&M's in hand and pottying on the floor not once but twice. He then looked at me as if he was saying " I pottied again where are my M&M's"?

Thank you again to my inlaws for my carpet steam-vac, its has come in handy, especially lately.

Great signs

Down the road from our house is a church that always has great messages on their sign each week. This weeks message is simple but good.

Sign broken...message inside.


Some of my other favorites that Ive seen are......

"The Ten Commandments are not multiple choice."
”Staying in bed shouting, Oh God, Does not constitute going to church"
"THE ARGUMENT YOU JUST WON WITH YOUR WIFE ISN'T OVER YET."

Milestones.....good or bad?!?!?!?

My son has hit many milestones this week.

• Milestone #1-Preston has been able to open the fridge for a long time by pulling at the corner on the bottom and using all his weight to force it open by flinging his body on the floor. Looks painful when he lands on the floor but the pain is over when he realizes that he opened it up, only to shut it to do it again because its fun. This week he realized that he could open the fridge using the handle and doesn't have to hurt himself doing it. The high of this is that he wont get as many bruises, the low is that he opens it all the time and makes himself at home in the fridge somewhere between the 1st and 2nd shelf.

• Milestone #2-My son had his 2nd year doctor appointment yesterday. He hadn't been to the doctor since he was 18 months old. He realized for the first time where we were going as soon as we pulled into the parking lot. He let me know he was not happy to be going to the place where they give him shots by screaming bloody murder at the top of his lungs from the time we parked the car till the time we left. High of this is that he has long term memory being that it was 6 months ago since his last visit and he remembered it, low is that he realizes it now and going to the doctor will be a nightmare for both of us.

• Milestone #3-This isn't really a great milestone other than my son is starting to repeat things just by hearing them indirectly. My son said his first cuss word on Wednesday night as my husband mumbled something under his breath while putting down the hardwood floor. He was frustrated and let a bad word out and without hesitating my son repeated that word. Preston cant say truck and instead calls it a huck but he had no problem repeating the bad word that was very close to huck. This does not give his grand-fathers permission to teach any more words to my son and see just what he will repeat to his parents after leaving your house.

Fathers Day

It wasn't the Fathers day I had planned and nothing went right on this special day for my husband. I hired a contractor to put down wood floors in our kitchen who was supposed to put them in on Saturday and Sunday, all was well until at the end of the day on Saturday he informed us that he had something he must do on Sunday and wouldn't be there until after lunch. No big deal however that news would of been more useful when I asked if he was available earlier in the week. The news would of been even more helpful had he told me before he started on Saturday and before my kitchen was turned into a disaster area. We would of instead asked him to come another week if we had known that he couldn't get it finished over the weekend. Long story short the contractor who was supposed to call me, who was supposed to show up on Sunday to finish the floors didn't call and didn't show up until 6pm. The contractor was sent home immediately and was asked to not come back.
My husband finished the floors himself and they look amazing. My husband turned the worst fathers day that I hope he will ever know into the best day for me. Every time I walk across the kitchen floor I will remember my husband and the hard work he put into finishing the floors. I hired the contractor, I wanted the floors and my husband came through for me in the end just as he always does.
When my husband wanted to propose to me he first wrote an email to my dad that told him that he couldn't give me everything I ever wanted but he would make sure that I got everything I ever needed. My husband has made sure that I got all of my needs and a lot of my wants even if it means spending hours on your knees putting in wood floors on the one day that he should be relaxing and having fun. Thank you husband for all of your hard work, for not giving me a hard time about the contractor I hired and for giving me another one of my wants in life. Your the best!!!

You have got to be kidding me!!!

What is the world coming to???? The ending of the Sopranos was the worst ending of television history and Dale Earnhardt Jr is now going to be racing for Hendric Motorsports...what??? You cant have Jeff Gordon and Earnhardt on the same team...... it doesnt work that way. Now when I cheer for Jr. I will feel that Im cheering for the one person on the track that I cant stand the most, Gordon. Talk about making the wrong decision Sopranos producer and Jr.

2nd Birthday

Birthdays-My sons birthday was last week. He has 2 parties, one in TN and one in Ohio. Our living room after birthdays and christmas looks like Toys R Us. We started the 2 parties when he was born, Im not sure how long that will last but Im sure my son wants them to last forever. He has already figured out the more parties the more cake, the more guests the more presents.

Only 5 and already acting like a teenager..help!!!

My little girl (step daughter) is growing up....here she is at graduation, ok so its just preschool graduation but its one step closer to high school graduation. She is a great girl, she loves her little brother, she is kind, she loves to learn and she loves it when I shop for girly girl things with her. She already talks about boyfriends but she doesnt talk about them in front of daddy. She loves Hannah Montana and awesome is her favorite word. When did the age of 5 become the new "tween" years?

Im starting this blog almost 2 years late, my son is getting ready to turn 2. I should of started this when he was born however the same could be said for always writing in his baby book, getting every little cute expression on film, keeping the camera with me at all times, not giving my son french fries while shopping at Target to buy me 15 extra minutes, and not giving in to another popsicle.

All because 2 people fell in love

Highlights of the first year

Potty Training Drama

My son at 23 months old can count to 3, has never had a bottle and instead has always drank from a glass or sippy cup, can climb anything, can pick out the letter 0 and the number 1 from all the magnets on our fridge, gets his own food out of the fridge and knows where the spoons are, can see a bus from 2 miles away and yet I cant get him potty trained....instead he uses his potty chair to throw balls into. He has been watching daddy too much in the bathroom and now my son refuses to sit when he has to do #1. Daddy doesnt sit so why should he. Daddy's aim is a little better...although sometimes not by much (ladies you know what Im saying). He refuses to sit even if he has a diaper on, he will put down the toy he has in his hand and stand up to do #1, he stands up to do #1 even when he is playing in the bathtub. I should just go ahead and paint a bullseye in several locations throughout the house and let him see if he can hit the mark since his mark is not in the potty chair. At this point Id pay someone to come and potty train him. I think that there should be a book full of names, numbers, and expertise when it comes to babies and whenever a mom needs their services they just call them up. You can call someone when your plumbing isnt working, you can call for someone to bring food to your house, the newspaper is full of contractors, roofers, lawn services but nothing for potty training. This reference book could be like the yellow pages, it could be full of grandmothers names because they have all been through it, and it could look something like this...Susan, mother of 3, grandmother, experienced in burping babies, making homemade baby food and potty training 1 boy and 2 girls. Call me.