new baby...

i have been coveting this bad boy over at Starbucks longer than one person should have been.
but really now, it would have cost me a months worth of tuition payments and sorry, but that ain't gonna fly.
so let me tell you why this pretty little thing is now sitting on MY counter top and my children are still being educated.

last week, i went out to help my brother with a house he was selling. was standing there chatting it up with the homeowner when i spotted, out of the corner of my eye, MY COVETED ESPRESSO MACHINE!! of course, i HAD to tell him how wonderful it looked and he, in turn told me how much HE loved it.
oooohhhhhh. it must be so nice to be him.
and then......drum roll....he says, "hey, i could get you one for really cheap. new in the box. i buy them as overstocks and would be happy to hook you up with one".
HELLO.
did he just say what i THINK he did????
did he just offer to make my dreams come true?? (ok, so that's a little dramatic but please, for the sake of the story, work with me.)
in my mind i'm thinking, 'duh, you really should talk with the hub before buying an espresso machine since we already have a perfectly good working one on our counter top.'
but shockingly, i made an executive decision and bought it.
right then and there for fear that the homeowner would take back his offer.
after i left i made 'the call'.....

ME: "hey babe. have i told you today how much i love you? have i mentioned what a FABULOUS husband you are? i am so honored to be married to you and lucky for you, you are married to SUCH a wonderfully thrifty wife!"

HUB: "spill it trac, what did you buy?"

ME: "what really matters is how happy i am right now....shouldn't that be the important thing??? and really, how happy you are going to be tomorrow morning when you make your espresso."

HUB: "whatever. WHAT DID YOU BUY???"

ME: "before i tell you, know that i just saved you about $500.00 bucks!!"

knowing that i could no longer hide the fact that i was busting with excitement (and fear), i told him.
and you know what he said, "that's awesome!! good job, honey!"

aaahhhh, this is a good man.
so, i have a happy hub, i can stop coveting, my espresso tastes better (subconsciously perhaps?) and boy-oh-boy does it ever look pretty on my counter top??

see, it pays to be dutch.

a whole new use for football gear.

i know, there will be a day in the near future when this chair will be too small to hold both of them. in the meantime, snuggle up boys.
it makes your mama smile.

purging...

i don't know, maybe it's because my mom is retiring and getting rid of her downtown business and she's purging too.

maybe it's because it's spring.

could it possibly be that i haven't been able to park in my garage ALL WINTER because it was busting at the seams with crap?

could it be that i'm watching entirely too many episodes, called 'the Hoarders', on TLC?

probably all of thee above.

Saturday, i finally had it. i hauled every last thing, out of the garage and filled up the driveway.

(can't believe NO ONE stopped to ask if we were having a garage sale!)

if you opened the door today, you'd ask what i actually accomplished on Saturday.

organized chaos.

yup, that's it.

are there piles everywhere??

yup. but at least i know what's in the piles and where their final destination will be.

look out LC thrift store, i'm coming your way. you'd better get some extra help in for the day. you'll need it.

stay tuned. once i pull my car inside, you'll be the first to know.

it only takes a spark....
should i be worried???

sledding post #2...

samuel catching air....

jack, following sam's lead. as always. :)

(here are a few more pics from cadets sledding outing)

what a smile....

don't you just wanna kiss that face? i love that smile!
Saturday morning Rye and the boys, along with the Cadets headed up to Mt. Baker for a day of sledding. there was very little sleep by any of my boys (um, except the hub) because they were SSSOOOOO excited. jack thought this was more exciting than Christmas. he told me so. :) it's late so i'll blog in tomorrow.
stay tuned!

$14.99 happiness...

TJ MAXX you made my day.

$14.99 and this pretty little number was mine, all mine.

there used to be a mirror on top but when you only pay $14.99 you can't expect big things.

surely NOT a mirror!

any thoughts on a solution?

paint? have another mirror made to fit??

i'm keeping it full of matchbox cars until i/you come up with a solution.

miss amanda, i'm sure YOU have a great idea! :)

girls can build too...

i'm a girl but i build things.
i'm not always good at it & it may take me twice as long as it would take the 'average joe' but by golly, i'm willing to give it a try.
all those Legos constantly getting sucked up in the vac was finally getting to me. and my poor vac.
we needed more storage for all those 'Lego bases'.
so when i saw these nifty Ikea shelves i knew they were the perfect organizing solution.
i bought them. two shelves, consisting of 28 cubbies.
organization heaven.
since they had been sitting on my living room floor for close to a week, i decided to stop waiting for someone else to built them and do it myself.
and you know what?
they look good. real good.
so to all you girls out there who don't think you can, you can.
build it sister.
build it.

thanks dad and gramps for not always doing it for me. girls need to learn this stuff too.

the dreaded phone call....

last week, i got the phone call that no mother wants during the middle of a school day. a call from the school nurse saying "'your son's head hit the football post he was going in for a catch and hit head on...maybe you need to come get him".

my heart sank.

will he need stitches? will he have a concussion? will i recognize him?

of course, it was NO where near that bad. in fact, when i walked in the room, he smiled.

yes, he was hurting. and yes, he was partly excited that i was going to be taking him home at 10:30-on a school day.

he was so sweet, letting me know that the boy that pushed him into the pole did it ACCIDENTALLY. by no means should i think otherwise.

funny how that mother instinct kicks in and you KNOW that surely someone other than YOUR child is to blame.

it couldn't possibly have just been an accident.

but it was.

and he is fine.

hard headed and fine.

then again, a milkshake in the middle of a school day can't hurt anyone!

since i forgot to take a picture on the day this happen, he so kindly reenacted his pain for me.

and yes, he did catch the ball.

who ARE these children????

just found this in never-ending paper pile.
good to know sam doesn't think i'm lazy.