happily random

Rebekah's first layout

With a little guidance from me, Rebekah has created her very first layout. For her 7th birthday her gift from her dad & I was an 8x8 album, papers and stickers of her very own. While the sitter was over on Thursday, I had a little one-on-one time with Rebekah & helped her put her layout together. Basically we used a layout from a magazine as a guide, but she did all the the cutting, tearing, gluing and writing herself. Way to go Rebekah! She's going to surpase me as a designer in no time. :)

It looks like we're prisoners in our home today. The Ironman is making it's way through Coeur d'Alene today & our house is in the middle of the race route. Every year we're pretty much stuck at home. Oh, we could get out if we really wanted to, but it's a bit of a challenge so why bother. It's a good excuse to stay home. :)

I am amazed that anyone would torture themselves in this race. It starts off with a 2.4 mile swim in the Lake Coeur d'Alene, a 112 mile bike ride, then finishes up with a 26.2 mile run. Ugh. I'm tired just thinking about it. If you go to their website and look up the list of participants, it's long. Really, really, REALLY LOOOOONG. Definitely in hundreds, maybe in the thousands. Wow. Again, I say, wow. I would think that very few people would think that this sounds like a fun way to spend a Sunday. Of course, I guess there are a lot of people think the same thing about my desire to go to church.

Garage Sales & Dentists

I am completely hooked on garage sales. Why have I never done this before? Honestly, I'm not too proud to get other people's castoffs, especially for a good deal.

My kids love playing Lego Star Wars on the XBox (as I've mention before I know), but someone is always tripping on the cords and yanging them out of the machine to the irritation of the players and my fears that they're going to break something. I've priced wireless controllers for it to the tune of $50 or so for 2 of them. Well, guess what I found today? 2 XBox wireless controllers for just $10 a garage sale. I did a search for their manuals online, learned how they worked and the kids are playing with them right now. Score!

Yet another find was a Little Tikes Craftsman workbench with all the tools and then some for $10. After looking it up online I found it for $80. Gotta love that! Score 2!

Garage saling is like a little treasure hunt. I never know what I'm going to find, but it sure is fun looking. :) We're going to need the money after the dental bills we're going to rack up. I'm going to unload here on my feelings about dentists. If you are a dentist, are married to one or know one personally, I'm sorry, but I am completely frustrated by them.

I have never been to a dentist in which I left not feeling guilty. Either taking my kids or myself, I always feel like I'm walking in to be judged. I'm not flossing enough or well enough, too much tartar build up... something! Tyler has 3 cavities, so it must be my fault, right? I must serve him Coke for every meal and never brush his teeth. So not. But he still has 3 cavities. What's a mom to do? Turns out that he has very narrow, very deep grooves in his teeth that no tooth brush bristle could get in to clean. The dentist barely even mentions that (I only know because Rebekah's dentist mentioned it when she had a couple cavities on her first visit at 4). What I would love to hear from the dentist is a few positive things first like "You're doing an excellent job brushing and the flossing seems to be going well. Oh, but he does have a few cavities that we need to fill and we'll do some sealants to keep more from developing." I don't know if they realize that they do it, but dentist seems to be 'the glass is half-empty' sort of people. So I always walk out feeling like a whipped puppy even if no cavities are found. It's like cavities are evidence of some horrible sin that the dentist is seeking out. Okay, maybe I take it a little too personally, but I have yet to find a dentist in my 33 years that doesn't make me feel that way. Maybe I just need to keep looking...

But then the bills from the dentist. $500 for Ty's fillings and sealants. Holy cow! FIVE HUNDRED DOLLARS. There is so much I could buy with $500. Then Lucas has cavities in his 2 front teeth that he has had since he was 2 that they have been 'watching.' Now that he's 5 1/2, they have gotten bad enough that they're recommending crowns now. CROWNS??? Why didn't they just fill them 2 years ago with the other 2 he had done? Now I need to pay $900 for crowns!!! For 2 teeth that will more than likely fall out in the next 6 months to a year. We're looking at other options there as the teeth are not causing Lucas any pain right now.

Sammy is going into the dentist next month. I want them to seal her teeth NOW. LOL. I don't want to come in to her first appointment at 3 (which is what my pediatrician recommends) and have 3 cavities.

Really, I do brush my kids' teeth. For the recommended 2 minutes (which they HATE). See, here I am, feeling guilty about teeth. Ugh.

At least I have my garage sales to cheer me up.

Bittersweet moments

Last night Samantha graduated to her own room. I think it was harder on me than it was on her, but she is now sleeping in her crib in Rebekah's room. Her room.

About a month ago, I went away for 2 nights for a women's retreat & came home to a baby sleeping through the night in her own bed. Up until then she slept with Joel & me, like all our other children did as babies, and she most definitely didn't sleep through the night. She was sleeping in her crib for about half the night at that point, but she always ended up back with us. But while I was gone Joel kept her in her crib and since I wasn't their to comfort her, she would just go back to sleep. I guess that broke the cycle.

Yesterday we decided to move her into what is now Rebekah & her room. With it getting light here at 4 a.m., Samantha has been getting up at 4:30 - 5 a.m. for the past couple of weeks. We thought she might sleep later in Rebekah's room since it doesn't face east like ours does, therefore staying darker in the morning. It worked! She was up at 6:30. Actually, I only woke up because I heard the pitter-patter of little feet running up and down the hallway. Rebekah had gotten her out of her crib and they were all watching TV in the living room.

So, not only did I not have my baby in our room with me last night, but I didn't get my usual early morning cuddle with her. *sigh* She's growing up. I have to let go, at least a little bit. It's one of those difficult things about being a parent: raising your children so they don't need you any more. Every day they move away just a bit more and as a good mom, I have to let them. It's so hard being a mom, in so many ways, but just the best thing in the world too.

Speaking of children growing up, Rebekah had her 7th birthday party yesterday. I was in San Diego on her birthday (oh the mommy guilt!), so I didn't make my usual birthday post. How can I possible have a 7 year old daughter!?!! Anyway, yesterday we celebrated her birthday way a horse party. Our intentions had been to find a pony to rent & give pony rides during the party. Well, you know what they say about good intentions... it just didn't happen. But we had a great time in spite of that. We played musical chairs, Rebekah's choice, and had a small scavenger hunt. Of course we also had the usual cake (Cold Stone cake... yummy!) and presents. The girls had a delightful time visiting with each other as it's been nearly a month now since school let out.

I just love home parties. I must say, they're my favorite. I know a lot of people think they're more work, but I don't agree. There is just something about having your friends over, playing in your room with them and playing a few party games. I love the simplicity. Maybe I'm quaint, but I think the whole birthday party phenomenon has gotten a touch out of hand. What's with all the over-the-top parties? I don't have parties for myself that are as elaborate as a few I have been to for my kids' friends. So here I am, staying true to my values and keeping it simple. ;)

Okay, I don't know where that came from. Anyway, Joel and I are working on infusing a bit more romance into our marriage. In the spirit of that, Joel surprised me with 1 1/2 dozen roses yesterday afternoon. There are reds, yellows, oranges & a couple in between. He made sure that I noticed the colors and the meanings behind their colors: red for love, yellow for friendship & orange for desire. I looked up all the color meanings (don't you just love the internet?) and they made me smile. He also made a delicious dinner that we ate by candlelight after the kids went to bed. My husband is definitely a keeper.

I'm back from my whirlwind adventure!

I arrived home Monday night and used yesterday to recover. Our weekend was filled with spending too much money shopping & not getting nearly enough sleep. But then, Shannon and I haven't seen each other in over a year, so we had a lot to pack in to 3 days!

We managed to visit several scrapbook stores while I was in San Diego; the Pink Pineapple & Ever After were two of my favorites. The Pink Pineapple is new since I moved up here & Ever After has moved to an enormous store since then. I guess we're a little behind up here in North Idaho, but then the whole population of the state of Idaho is the same as the whole city of San Diego, so what do you expect? I finally got to see a little of the Love, Elsie line from KI Memories, which is super cute.

Saturday morning Shannon & I took a break from our scrapbook store tour to get manicures & pedicures. I just love my flower! ;)

Can you believe, I didn't take my camera with me on my trip? Yes, it was intentional. I have learned that sometimes in life, you just have to enjoy the moment and skip taking pictures. I just wanted to enjoy just being with my best friend, and I sure did. Gosh, I miss her.

Oh, I also managed to eat my way through California too. We managed to fit in El Pollo Loco, Chili's, Rubios & In N Out. So many restaurants, so little time. I gained 5 lbs on our trip... thanks Shan. ;)

And Shannon, this picture below is for you. Shannon really liked this shirt that I bought at the Gap Outlet for Lucas. She thought it would make a good title for a layout. Always a scrapbooker.

 

California, here I come!

Today I head back to San Diego to visit my most dearest friend, Shannon. It's been over a year since we have seen each other, so you can understand how I can be so excited. It's going to be a whirlwind trip, only 3 days, but I'll take what I can get. I'll update when I get home.

Garage Saling, Temperature & Surprises

I'm hooked. On Friday I went out garage saling with my friend Joeline. Basically, I just followed her around from sale to sale on Friday morning with all the kids in tow. She's a real pro at this, planning out her route the night before. I got 6 pairs of jean shorts for Rebekah & Lucas who were short on shorts (no pun intended... okay, well maybe) for $3! In my travels, I also got a brand-new, in-the-box, never-been-used ice cream maker for $5 which I have actually been pricing at stores for the last couple of weeks for about $30. I got a couple of toys for the kids, some paperback books, some picture frames & some Mary Kay cleanser. Rebekah even bought some stuff with her own allowance money, which delighted her to no end. It's like a treasure hunt, never knowing what gem you're going to find at the next sale. :)

I have decided that my kids have no sensitivity to temperature. Back in March they decided that it was spring even though it was 35 degrees during the day and there was still snow on the ground. Basically they were just excited to wear their new summer clothes, but still. I was amazed because they would be running around without a goose bump in sight. And then on Friday Tyler decides he just has to wear his long-sleeved Jeep shirt with jeans... at 90 degrees. Amazingly he wore it all day without complaint. I just don't get it. It's not like we have air conditioning.

Joel is taking a little solo fishing trip today, his first since we have been here. We have taken the kids fishing many times, but we usually spend a lot of time untangling their lines and baiting their hooks. Not a lot of time for fishing for the grown ups. So he's leaving this afternoon, staying overnight and fishing again tomorrow. I say, good for him. I honestly think that he doesn't get out alone enough to recharge his batteries. Maybe guys don't need that so much? I don't know. I go stir crazy without a little break from my life now and then. Work has been very busy for him, so I'm praying the break will help him find a little peace.

That said, he also said that he thought that I needed to get away for a bit as well. He said that while he knew that I love to fish (I do), I probably wouldn't want to take a solo fishing trip. He's right. I'm a big chicken. But he said one thing I probably would enjoy is flying down to California to visit my best friend, Shannon. That would be the understatement of the year. LOL. Shannon and I, although we have lived in different states for nearly 3 years now are still as close as ever. I cannot tell you how wonderful it is that we both have Verizon cell phones because she and I talk several times a day. So on Friday I will be flying to San Diego all by myself for a 3-day visit. No waiting 3 months. I found tickets with a new airline called Jet Express. They only do direct flights, no stops, and they have excellent fares. We'll definitely be doing more weekend get-togethers now that we know about this airline, since they fly direct from Spokane to San Diego. So California here I come!

Last night Joel & I watched Bill Engvall do standup on Comedy Central so I leave you with this.

"I stayed at work late one night and a co-worker looked at me and said, 'Are you still here?' I replied, 'No, I left about 10 minutes ago. Here's your sign.'"