40 Days and 40 Nights...

Not including Sundays. It's Lent peoples! This year I was actually prepared! I figured out what my lent offering was going to be a couple weeks in advance! Seriously. However, a few of the people I told about it had mini-heart attacks. So, I thought I would explain it, so that everybody's hearts can rest easy. About this anyway. My offering/sacrifice this year is to give up my computer. Not fully - as I wouldn't be able to tell you about it if I had - since today is Ash Wednesday, the first day of Lent. My offering is to limit myself to only one hour a day on the computer, and only when the kids are asleep. This means that I will still be able to blog, and keep up in the know with all the people I stalk, but I will have to give up my gossip binging (sp?), and online shopping/chatting with my favorite pickle. My hope is that this will continue to be the case even after Easter. Anyway... I've now spent 16 minutes online. I still have business to take care of. Sarah out.

"Did you like that story?"

Yesterday the boys and I went up to visit Jill and Joey, because... well they rock! And Braxton loves his "best sister". Soak it up son, its the closest to a sister you'll ever come... Anyway, Jill went off to schedule her "take the baby out of me now!" maneuver, so we hung out with Joey. Braxton and Joey get along great - unless there is a drum involved... Well about five seconds after we got there, the two of them disappeared into her room. I went to check in on them a few minutes later and this is the scene that I saw:

Joey was reading Braxton a story, and Braxton was listening ever so closely. After each page Joey would ask "did you like that story Braxton?". Braxton would nod his head yes and tell her to keep reading. It was so cute. A total "awwww" moment. I felt, for a moment, that I was intruding on this sacredness of cutedom. I got over it and fished out my phone to take a picture.

Thanks Jill and Joey for letting us come up to play.

Week Three

I'm pretty sure that nobody is nearly as excited about this house as Mark, Braxton, Kieran and I are. But, because we're excited - I'm so blogging about it.
Week three nets us windows, roofing materials and weather protection. Oh, and there are doors hung inside... which is weird cuz I was pretty sure you had to drywall first...

Those Crazy Kids

Last night on our grocery expedition. In the frozen section.
I love them so, so much!

Back in the Saddle??

The last week my blog has been silent because I've been sick. I succeeded in getting sick enough that Mark stayed home from work for two days and came home early on the third. Anyway, all the wonderful drugs that were prescribed for me have done me some good. So, I'm starting to feel human again and thought I would blog to make up for the last week.

Braxton has been officially accepted into Pre-school. Phew. I was a day late getting his application in and barely managed to snag him a spot. Now that the hard part is over all we have to do is fork over 4k and go buy his uniforms...

Kieran is talking. Sort of. Here is a list of Kenny vocabulary:

baba - Braxton

off - phone

nana - banana

iwandis - I want this

NO - no

wawa - a drink

yaga - yogurt

up - up

up - down... you have to use your deductive reasoning to figure out which he's asking for...

*big long screech* - help mom braxton is sitting on me!

He says a lot more than this, and signs - but I'm not going to bore you with all of it...

Just a picture of the flowers Mark bought me to make me feel better.

Week Two

Here is a picture of our new house. A serious growth spurt in only six days. Ours is one in from the right end.

Waiting is so hard.

I'll blog other stuff when I don't feel like my head is going to pop off from congestion. Ugh.

Wednesday's with Braxton

This afternoon after I (finally) got Kieran to take a nap, [something that hasn't happened since he got sick - again] and was sitting on the couch reading when Braxton started banging some of his kitchen utensils against his kitchen. This was the conversation that followed:

Me: Braxton, please stop banging. We need to let Kieran rest so he can get better.
B-rox: Mom, I'm not banging I'm drumming.
Me: Ok, well please stop
~the banging begins again~
Me: Braxton, please stop drumming, Kenny is resting.
B-rox: Mom, I'm not banging or drumming, I'm pounding.
Me: Ok, no more pounding, drumming or banging
~the banging begins again...~
Me: Braxton, I said you need to stop making noise. Kieran is resting and I will be very upset if you wake him.
B-rox: No mom, you said no drumming, banging or pounding!

Oi. Sometimes its humiliating to be outwitted by my three year old.

Because He's Freakin' Awesome!!!

The "he" in question is my daddy. Recently he recieved an award from the homebuilders association or something (I'll call my mom and ask and edit it as soon as its polite to call three time zones back). His award was for best bathroom over $50,000.00. Yeah, I about had a heart attack too. Then they gave me the final tally for the bathroom and the heart attack became a reality. $90,000.00. No joke. Also one of the most beautiful bathrooms I've ever seen. Since he's my daddy I get to brag and blog. These are the pictures in a magazine write up done on it. The one inch tiles around that tub? Specially made - and then specially laid by my dad. According to my mom - the whole bathroom was built by my dad from the framework up. I'm so proud of him I could do a jig. Yup, a jig.

These are some pics my dad took, of the shower. Man oh man, I would feel guilty putting my pantene in a shower like that. This shower calls for serious salon type shampoos!

Way to go Dad. Love you tons.

Breath in, Breath out...

... and then do that again. This is how I made it through yesterday. Yesterday was a great day, a huge day, a monumental day for our family. I don't think I've spent over 300k in my entire life - let alone signing for it in a matter of hours. Yes, people, we bought a house!!!! We bought a brand new one, and will be able to move in at the end of May. Which is good, because I need time to pick out paint, and pack.

Anyway, I took pics of the model - so my dear bob and all our family can see the house we chose - and I took a picture of the frame. I'll be going back every other week or so to document the building of our new home. **Disclaimer** Colors may vary...

The foyer. The doorway you see at the right of the picture leads to the rec room. Aka playland for the boys. Teh door at the back leads to the garage. woot.

Taken from the landing on the main level (not the entry level). The picture is dark. I apologize. That is our living room at the end and our dining room to the left.

Taken from the corner of the living room . The dining room is further, and the kitchen is beyond that.

From the corner of the kitchen. The morning room and the second of four bathrooms. I do not dig the huge produce posters. So don't worry - I won't have ONION in my morning room. ew

The kitchen. We won't have white appliances - ours were upgraded to stainless steel "green approved".

I'm standing in the shower for this one. This is Mark and I's bathroom. There will not be ugly wallpaper in ours though...

Those are the highlights. Bedrooms are bedrooms. The only thing that sets ours apart is it has cathedral ceilings. Anyway, here is a picture of our house.

Check back for updates and watch our house "grow up".

In This Moment...

... I am currently listening to five children and one husband play rockband. On the "no fail mode" if that is any indicator to the quality of play.

... I am cursing the fates for causing me to go on yet another househunting excursion. I hate househunting. I find it incredibly stressful and so far depressing.

... I Am glad that it didn't work out to go to the aquarium today - though I'm sorry for the reason why - I enjoyed being in pj's all day.

... I am wishing I had a digital video camera. Seriously, this rockband session is youtube worthy.

... I am missing Bob. Its been a year and that sucks.

... I am trying to figure out how to save up my allowance so that I can enroll myself in an online photography school.

... I am thinking this is the lamest blog post, pretty much ever.

Because I'm That lame...

The highlight of my day: Watching this schoolbus/moving truck standoff. The school bus has been there for 34 minutes. The moving people don't intend to move their truck, and apparently the school bus doesn't know how to back up...

I'll give an update as soon as something changes.

***UPDATE***

At about 47 minutes into this awesome standoff the cops arrived on scene.

Yeah... the movers were pissed. There was lots of arms being thrown up and whatnot. Great fun to watch!

Would anybody else freak out if their kids were almost an hour late? I know I would!

A few minutes later...

We have a ton - A TON - of dress up hats. The boys love them. Its how we clean up (apparently cleaning is more fun when you are not yourself), we have dance parties in them, and randomly we wander around in hats 'cuz we feel like it. Yesterday Kieran was doing just that in his favorite of the hats. The Indiana Jones hat. I think it looks like an Amish hat... but thats ok - he doesn't care, he just likes the hat.

I tried to snap a picture of his face. But it didn't work. So, I have this instead.

Anyway, I went in a few minutes later...

And he was completely zonked out. On top of the computer, and still wearing the hat. Apparently chasing after Joey and Braxton plumb tuckered him out!