Tuesday, April 29, 2008

Facelift and Fourwheelin'

I am very affected by seasons, mainly the lack of sunshine. On a gloriously sunny day, I cannot help but be in a fantastic mood. Same goes for my blog backgrounds. As you may (or may not) remember, it went from black and white to shades of brown and now to green. I guess my moods match the seasons. Anyway....I like the change. What's in store for summer? Think blue, like a nice refreshing pool on a hot day. I bet you can't wait!

Now on to four-wheelers; a topic I struggle with. We are going to Moab this weekend for some much needed R & R (mainly to get away from the black hole of a house that dominates our lives). Sean prepared a speech on how we need to actually enjoy ourselves from time to time even if it means spending money on something other than the new house. "Jen, we still need to LIVE!" was the final blow to our debate. I have mixed feelings...four-wheelers are dangerous, true. But man, are they fun too! I have never seen such unbridled joy on Connor's face. Gavin is a little more like his momma, cautious and slow, but loves the freedom only an ATV can bring. So, with apprehensive excitement, we are now the proud owners of a used dirt bike and two kid friendly four-wheelers. I will post about our amazing adventures in Moab when we return on Sunday.

Never were there two happier boys.

Saturday, April 26, 2008

Names will never hurt me....

I got this from Emily's blog and laughed so hard I had to try it out...in fact as I went through the questions, I plugged my own in and laughed even harder. Here we go!

1. YOUR ROCK STAR NAME: (first pet & current car)
Pooper Pilot


2.YOUR GANGSTA NAME: (fave ice cream flavor, favorite cookie)
Rocky Road Macadamia Nut... (Doesn't sound too tough does it? I would get beat up.)

3. YOUR “FLY Guy/Girl” NAME: (first initial of first name, first three letters of your last name)
J-Mat


4. YOUR DETECTIVE NAME: (favorite color, favorite animal)
Green Chimpanzee

5. YOUR SOAP OPERA NAME: (middle name, city where you were born)
Barbara Ogden


6. YOUR STAR WARS NAME: (the first 3 letters of your last name, first 2 letters of your first)
Matje (kinda sounds like Padme's sister)

7. SUPERHERO NAME: (”The” + 2nd favorite color, favorite drink)
The Brown Zero (sounds more like a stain)


8. NASCAR NAME: (the first names of your grandfathers)
Wendell Reed (nice!)

9. STRIPPER NAME: (the name of your favorite perfume/cologne/scent, favorite candy)
Very Sexy Swedish Fish (my personal favorite)


10.WITNESS PROTECTION NAME: (mother’s & father’s middle names)
Mom doesn't have a middle name, so "Jackson Lee" will have to do.


11. TV WEATHER ANCHOR NAME: (Your 5th grade teacher’s last name, a major city that starts with the same letter)
Evans Eureka


12. SPY NAME: (your favorite season/holiday, flower)
Christmas Lilly

13. CARTOON NAME: (favorite fruit, article of clothing you’re wearing right now + “ie” or “y”)
Pinapplejeanie


14. HIPPIE NAME: (What you ate for breakfast, your favorite tree)
Brownie Bamboo (Hey, brownies are good for breakfast! Not healthy, but good.)


15. YOUR ROCKSTAR TOUR NAME: (The + Your fave hobby/fave weather element + Tour)
The Reading Rainbow Tour ( So where's Lavar Burton when you need him?)

This was really fun. I highly recommend it to anyone who needs a little flavor in their blog. I was feeling the need for a little spice, and now I am content.

Saturday, April 19, 2008

Mischief Maker

Toddlers are fun. They leave you little presents all over the house. Today was a trash bag collage and an empty tissue box with tissues strewn all over the house. Fun little gifts, aren't they?


Someone once said that you'll wish for the day when you have to clean sticky fingerprints off of the walls, because you won't have them anymore. I don't know about that. I do understand the thought behind it, however. So, instead of getting upset that I have yet another mess to clean up today, I think I will just smile and give my little mischief maker an extra hug and kiss.

Man, he's a mischievous child! Just look at that face!
Notice what he's sitting next to....stuffed full of toilet paper.

Thursday, April 17, 2008

Stone, Floods, and Fender-benders

It has been a crazy week. First, the good news...we have stone on our house. It's fun to see it shaping into a "Home". I wasn't sure about the stone at first, but now I really like it. My only concern is that it's light. The paint color will now have to be darker than the stone, which I hope will look good in the end. I think it will. We shall see.



I am in love with my front door. I don't know what it is about mahogany, maybe the smell of it, but it makes me all emotional, like a beautiful piece of music does. I know...I am weird. Maybe I was a carpenter in a past life.

This is just a perspective shot of the entry. We are leveling the floors in order to lay the wood planks. Let me tell you how much I loath drywall dust right now. Curse you, drywall dust! It's impossible to vacuum up. Any ideas? Should I mop it up? I haven't a clue how to get rid of it.


And now the bad.....
The basement flooded. The quick change in weather last weekend melted a lot of the massive snow mounds still present in the window wells and back porch. I have been up to the new house every 2-3 hours to be on "flood-watch" and to siphon out the window wells (with a garden hose and some good old fashioned suction by mouth) into the basement drains. Let me tell ya, that water is gross. I don't even want to know what kind of microbes/mosquito larvae/creepy-crawlies I have ingested just to keep my basement dry. Our window wells have pulled away from the foundation because of the weight of the snow and the constant expanding/contracting. I am not quite sure what we can do about this, but it's a problem.

And today, someone rear-ended us on Washington Blvd. Even though our car shows little damage, we all feel like we've been through a wreck. My neck is killing me. The kids are rattled and complaining that their backs hurt, too. Thankfully Sean pushed the brakes in time to not damage the car in front of us, even though we did end up tapping her rear bumper.
I hate that feeling of being in a wreck. It's scary...I foresee nightmares from the kids tonight.

Anyway, that's the week in a nutshell. We are laying our wood floors on Saturday if anyone would like to come and learn/help/eat some pizza. Anyone is welcome. (We kinda need the help).