miscellany monday

1 - I have rekindled my love of water with lemon slices.  I don't know why I always forget how much I like the taste.  I am really not a big fan of water in general...much prefer a cherry coke or something else laden with calories...but when I throw in a few slices of lemon (which have to be round slices...not the chunky ones!) it tastes so much better.

2 - I must be a little dehydrated because all I'm thinking about is beverages at the moment.  I am counting down the hours until I can fulfill my Starbucks hot chocolate craving.  Tuesday mornings mean a trip to the Starbucks drive thru for my twice-a-week indulgence!  My sweet mama gave me a gift card for this guilty pleasure for Mother's Day so I don't have to feel so guilty for indulging for a few weeks, haha!

3 - So, the excavators came last Wednesday to rip up the sod in our backyard and it is now almost a week later and the 'big dig' hasn't started.  Please, please, please get this pool finished before Noelle's birthday!  I am starting to think about her 2nd birthday party and I have my heart set on a pool party. Considering we sort of skipped her 1st birthday party, I'd really like the 2nd one to be memorable.

4 - My desk is all put together!  Yay for me!  Hubby helped a bit but my impatience got the best of me and I chose the desk over sleep this weekend. The people who reviewed this desk weren't kidding when they said it took 7 hours to put together. I figured they were exaggerating. Note to self, next time pay attention to the dozen or so reviewers since there is a slim chance that they are all exaggerating. Better yet, buy large pieces of furniture with hundreds of pieces of hardware already assembled ;)

5 - To blog or work?  That is the million dollar question tonight.  It's a holiday so it should be an easy answer but the work piled up is giving me agita.  Off to work I go...

Thanking God on Friday :)

I borrowed this idea from Kelli @ Outside My Kitchen Window (come to think of it...I've "borrowed" a lot of her ideas for this blog...I just love her taste!). 


I am thankful...for my parents.  God blessed me with my Mom and Daddy.  They have both taught me so much but a few that are most important things they showed me are who Jesus is and what He has done, a loving relationship between a husband and wife and how to give back to others.  My Daddy passed away in 2000 and I still miss him more than words can say but I trust in the bigger plan!  I am so appreciative of my Mom still being here and all she does for our family (like cooking dinner almost every night and being my free babysitter whenever she gets the call :)


I am thankful...for the long weekend that is ahead!  We don't have any major plans and Rob has to work on Monday (his busiest day of the year) but it will be nice to just relax and enjoy my kids without having to run around.


I am thankful...that we've been given the means to build a pool.  It is so hot around here and I am ecstatic that my kids will be able to enjoy swimming every day without having to pack into the car to go to someone else's pool.  I am also thankful for both kids' swimming instructors who have given them the gift of knowing how to swim (or save themselves if they fell in the pool in Sycee's case!).  Noah's instructor is going off to West Point this summer and we wish him all of the best, although I know Noah is going to miss his weekly time with John! 


On a related note...I am thankful...that Noelle's 4 week "safe start" swimming program is over today, haha!  Ten minutes every day really equates to about 90 minutes when you factor in getting her ready, the drive, the clean up, etc so it will be nice to reclaim this time in our busy day.  It was worth every minute, though, to know that if she ever fell in a body of water she would immediately know what to do in order to save herself.  I'm not going to lie...it has been a bit traumatizing watching her learn...but the benefit outweighs that part!


And lastly...I am thankful...for those who gave their lives defending our country.  I am guilty of taking them for granted at most times but it is nice to have a holiday where we can remember these men and women.  Happy Memorial Day Weekend!  Thank you to those who gave their lives defending our country!

Economics 101

Here's a little lesson in supply and demand...

Lego retired the Batman series so you can no longer find these sets in stores (no supply).  Noah is obsessed with Lego Batman (high demand).  The result?  Mommy and Daddy are out $35.95 for the two teeny figures above...thanks to an eBay seller (price gouging!).

And to think, Rob had to pay all that $$ to get his economics degree from Rollins.  Too bad the internet wasn't around yet ;)

Wordless Wednesday - Excavation Begins!

Tackling it on Tuesday - the train table bites the dust!

I was going to title this post regret but the more I think about it I'm not regretful.  From the moment I saw this train table it was LOVE at first sight!  I just had to have it for my baby boy who was only a year at the time.  I had visions of him spending hours upon hours playing with trains and tracks.  I thought is was a great price and it came with a ton of goodies...not to mention two huge rolling storage bins under the table...we don't have a ton of storage space in our house so this was really enticing to me. 


Fail!  Noah much prefers playing trains on the floor and never took to the train table.  It's possible that he only played with it 2-3 times, although that was a few years ago so my memory is a little foggy :)  I might be exaggerating a little but the bottom line is that it was a waste of money.  The storage space was definitely utilized but if it was storage space that I was intending for its use I certainly could have achieved that with less spend.

So, I bought is as Noah's Christmas present in 2006.  It became our coffee table, then an eye sore in the hallway and finally met its final resting spot in the kids' playroom.  But, that meant giving up a desk in the playroom.  Not a huge deal but a problem for me because I do the majority of my work from home and really need a dedicated work space to concentrate.  I have been 3 1/2 years without this space and it had been getting on my nerves so it was time to TACKLE IT!

On Saturday, I took the opportunity to move it out of the den and into the foyer while Noah and Rob were at Universal and Noelle was sleeping.  It had to go.  I called our church to see if the children's church had a use for it and they were thrilled to take it off our hands!  Yay for me!  It was going one way or another so I was ecstatic to be able to give it to the church that we love so much.  Noelle woke up from her nap and decided it was the perfect spot to have her afternoon snack.  This was pretty much the most action this train table ever saw from either kiddo.

Noah was less than thrilled when he got home and realized what I was up to.  I was so saddened by the way he reacted but I realize he's only four and a four year old doesn't always get "it".  For the kid who never touched the train table, it was suddenly his favorite toy and one that he absolutely couldn't part with.  It's normal.  I get it.  But, man oh man was that a frustrating experience!  It was a fabulous teaching moment (or moments as the tantrums went on all night Saturday and part of Sunday morning), though.  We had an opportunity to talk a lot about generosity, what God expects of us when it comes to blessing others and appreciation for what we do have.  By the time we dropped it off at church, he accepted the fact that it was being donated and helped me re-assemble it when we got to church.  So, while I regret the fact that it didn't get the use I expected it to get over the years, I don't regret buying it as we've now been able to share it with our church family :)

And...drum roll please...

I found the perfect desk at Costco!!  It was $250 LESS than the online price at the B&M store, to boot!!

I love it and think it's going to work out perfectly for my work needs.  The reviews say it takes 2-3 days to put together and that it is heavy so two people will probably be required to assemble it so it may be a while before it gets put together but I am hopeful.  As hopeful as I was when I bought the train table...hmmm....

miscellany monday - let's see if I can get this blog off the ground!

I am so excited to participate in miscellany monday!  I think Carissa is so amazing and I love this idea!  I always have a ton of miscellaneous thoughts floating around in my head and this is a great way to get some of them out. Plus, it's not anything I have to prepare for which is right up my alley these days :) Carissa - if you happen to read this - I have to tell you that I *just* saw that you commented on my "old" blog when I wrote about my Daddy's birthday and I am so flattered!  I had no idea anyone ever read my blog and that just made my night...you are so sweet!

1 - This is my third attempt at a blog. I really thought I was going to master it the first time around but something about welcoming a new baby into our family got in the way. The second time it was my New Year's resolution to keep up with blogging.  That lasted all of about a week.  This time is different!  I paid someone to set it up so it's exactly what I want and I'm learning how to update different 'gadgets'.  I pray the third time is the charm as this is really something I want to do to preserve some memories :)

2 - Tomorrow is Noelle's 'graduation day' at swimming lessons. We've been at it for 4 weeks, 10 minutes a day and I am really ready for the everyday thing to be over.  It's worth every second/penny to know that God-forbid she ever fell in the pool she would know what to do but it's still quite the time commitment and Lord knows time is not what I have a lot of right now!

3 - I am really excited about the new season of The Bachelorette!  Did I just admit that?  It's such garbage t.v. but I can't help myself...I love watching it and I love it even more when Rob watches it with me!  It's being DVR'ed right now and I'm hoping he'll want to watch it with me when he gets home tonight.  I have a feeling he's not going to want to though...he wasn't a big Ally fan when she was on The Bachelor last season.

4 - Noelle learned to say AUNT JEN today!  Well, it doesn't quite sound like Aunt Jen but it's close enough.  Now, I ask her "who is in Heaven?" and she says "Ann Den".  It makes my heart smile and it about brought my mom to tears tonight.  I am sad beyond words that she won't grow up on Earth knowing my sister but I am thrilled that Noah still remembers her and is able to tell Noelle about her. 

5 - It is really hard to come back to work after being on vacation for a week.  BLAH.  I still have 137 emails that haven't been touched and need some kind of action on my part.  It will be a long night and early morning tomorrow but everything will get done and I just have to tackle it head on.  It's all about attitude!  That pep talk almost has me convinced, haha!

6 - I finally got to The Pink Chalet this weekend.  I have been wanting to check this little boutique out for a few months now but didn't want to waste a family day on it and the thought of bringing both kids to a trendy, little, over-priced boutique was just not a happy thought. Rob took Noah to Universal on Saturday so it was just the girls and seemed like a good time to check it out.  It's really a cute place but definitely not somewhere I would frequent!  I did end up finding an adorable address book on the 75% off table and it had a 'J' monogrammed on it - how perfect!  I was in need of an address book and I walked out with it for $3.27!  The lady ringing me up asked if I thought I could afford it in this condescending voice.  I just smiled at her :)  She put my receipt in a little envelope which I happened to drop in the garage. Rob picked it up yesterday and got a good laugh out of my big spending.  I'm sure he was expecting a much bigger total given the Tiffany-style receipt, haha!