just in time...

i am SO glad i did this before i started feeling so awful. jim was in utah for two weeks for military training. while he was gone, i thought i'd surprise him by re-doing the bedroom. it began with tearing off the wallpaper and border, then scraping off the adhesive layer, then washing the walls down, then filling holes and clearing a few cobwebs from the vaulted ceiling. all of this probably took a week and a half, every chance i got. a few days before he returned home, i got a babysitter and painted all day long. it was pretty fun, but yes - a chore. i watched my "friends" dvds to make it more enjoyable.

if you remember from an earlier blog, the walls were white with an ugly green border/wallpaper on the bottom. now, it's warmed up in "arabian sands" neutral. jim couldn't believe i had done all that by myself. it's so nice to get a "wow" reaction after working so hard.

fyi

we're expecting! i began feeling sick last wednesday and the nausea has not gone way ever since. if this is anything like my other pregnancies, i can expect to be miserable 24/7 for another couple months. *groan* the days are very long...

i am devoting a whole new blog to this adventure: http://mamasbun.blogspot.com/. i was going to wait til my first appointment (august 13th) to spread the news, but i've already told some people - so i figured i might as well tell everyone!

stamp of approval

jenna likes the new pool....a LOT.

5 things...

i am copying beth and doing this just for fun. that, and five is my lucky number...

what was i doing five years ago?
i was living in rexburg, idaho with my then-husband and jessica. summer 2003 has some really great memories. i miss my friends!!

what are five things on my to-do list today? in no particular order...

1. get a tan
2. run an errand for this weekend's bbq party
3. inflate the new pool
4. take down more ugly wallpaper
5. clean the bathrooms

what are five snacks i enjoy?

1. strawberry twizzlers
2. chocolate-almond rugalah
3. peanut m&ms
4. fresh fruit in vanilla yogurt
5. assorted veggies and ranch dressing

what five things i would do if i were a billionaire...

1. remodel this house, rent it out and build our dream home
2. donate money to reputable charities
3. pay off mortgages of friends and family
4. take ourselves and our loved ones on a vacation they'll never forget
5. find various useful/helpful ways to spend money on places/people that need it

what are my five bad habits

1. sweet tooth
2. impatience
3. failing to get on the treadmill :o)
4. waiting til the end of the day to read scriptures (when i am exhausted)
5. overworking myself / not giving myself a break

five places i have lived...

1. southern california
2. provo, utah
3. washington state, north of seattle
4. rexburg, idaho
5. washington state, south of seattle

five jobs i have had...

1. hostess at guiseppe's italian ristorante
2. birthday waitress (and sometimes chuck) at chuck e. cheese's
3. receptionist at artistic design hair/tanning salon
4. merry maids
5. data entry for the federal employee program at premera blue cross

five callings i've held...

1. sunbeam teacher
2. sunday school teacher for the 13 year old boys
3. ward website (for about two seconds)
4. relief society newsletter/spotlights
5. activities committee

five indulgences... (i am adding this one)

1. sweets
2. bubble baths with relaxing music & candles
3. sleeping in
4. watching a great movie (in the dark, with no kids)
5. dancing

that was fun!!

things 'n' stuff

our camera went missing for a few days (which explains my lack of recent posts). i just discovered it in the van, buried inside my new organizer. hmm...is that ironic? it was under the bag of dum-dums we took with us on our last trip to snoqualmie falls. for some reason, i didn't take any photos on that spontaneous adventure - but it sure was fun, hiking down to the falls with the kids! i love my organizer, btw. yes, my camera was buried inside it, but the van has been soooo much neater with this thing!now that i have my camera back, i just had to snap a photo of my latest indulgence! ice breakers has come out with the most mouth-watering chewy sours - EVER!! they are seriously addicting, people - so BEWARE! i am quickly learning which stores carry them and which do not (a sign of a true chewy sours addict??). the other day, i bought a pack from the gas station by the mall and by the time i arrived home (ten minutes later), i had eaten the entire contents! yes, they are that good. i need to stay away...

at the grocery store today, i was in line behind a familiar-looking woman and her two cute children. she had much more than i did, and offered that we go in front of her. i politely declined, since i was in no hurry and was still on a "date" with jessica. well, as this woman and i were both bagging our items, she said she remembered me. that's when i took a closer look and it all came back to me... the little ones and i were at the mall MONTHS ago, playing at the "boat" kiddie area. there was one other woman there with her children. our boys became instant friends and eventually the other mom and i got talking. it was fun! we walked all the way through the mall together and exchanged numbers at target, before going our separate ways.

well, neither one of us got around to calling each other! how fun, to run into her again! so i got her number (again) and i will definitely call her this time so we can get together. lately, i've trying to have more "girlfriend" time. sure, we moms get busy with our children, but we need to connect with other adults! so, i am trying to be better at that.

for the next month, jim will be gone for military training. we all miss him a lot. when he returns for good, the deployment will be OVER!! jim will return to amazon full-time, just in time for school to start. jessica will start piano and soccer, james will begin joy school (which i will take part in teaching), and jenna and i will have some one-on-one time we've never really had! there is a lot to look forward to...

new bikes!!

over the weekend, jim and i took a break from painting to purchase new bikes! jessica, james and i all have new bikes now. we also found a cute little trike for jenna at the DI - really solid and in great condition. it even has a little bell on it. we bought her a new basket to adorn the new tricycle.

on monday, during naptime, we revealed to jessica her new bike. she was ecstatic! right away, jim spent time teaching jessica how to ride her new bike. he was an awesome teacher! it was fun to watch them together.

when james and jenna woke from their naps, they tried out their bikes, too. we quickly learned that jenna's legs aren't long enough for her new, pink trike - so she'll be using the other one for now. james quickly hopped on his new bike and has a great time riding up and down the street.

in addition to the bikes, we bought a couple trailers - one for jess to ride behind one of us and another for james and jenna to sit in. with jim having monday off, we seized the opportunity to hit the trails!! first, we rode the new trailers up and down our cul de sac - then, we were on our way!

updating

we spent a good portion of our 4th painting the entry a lovely shade of green. painting can be a pain, but it sure is worth the effort. the walls look so much better now!! we even bought a few new, white switchplates to replace the ugly, old brown ones. amazing, how color can update a room! now we just need new carpet, railing, floors, crown molding.... haha!! we have big plans.

just look at the difference...not only in the hallway, but in the KIDS!! this before picture was taken one year ago, when we first moved in. goodbye, ugly peachy brown color!! this past weekend was only part one. we still have to finish painting the upstairs hallway in the lighter shade of green, and do some touch ups here and there. we are having so much fun making this house "our own."

independence day

we are without kids this weekend! after a YUMMY brunch at ihop, we took advantage of the military discount at home depot and purchased a bunch of paint and supplies. yep, that's right - we're gonna fix up that hallway we tore to shreds! we're also going to try squeezing in some movie-watching, bike-riding and geo-caching into our weekend. phew!

oh...and there's a huge party at the end of our cul de sac (thrown every year). there's a massive feast, volleyball, horseshoes, dunk tank - even fireworks at the end of the night! jim is making a brief appearance for our family. jess was heart-broken over missing out on the celebration this year, so i promised her i wouldn't attend it without her because she was so sad about it.

tearing it up

our front entry has been sort of a peachy brown color. we abhor it. for some delightful reason, the previous owners decided to paint this color over the hallway's wallpaper. *sigh* when we moved in, jenna had found a small piece of wallpaper sticking out, towards the bottom of the floor - and before we knew it...riiiiiip! she'd torn a big piece off. we've left it that way for several months.

last night, for some reason, i decided to start tearing the paint-covered wallpaper off. i'd just returned home from running errands. jim was working, the kids were watching "the last mimzy," and i began to pick at the walls. james wandered into the hallway, curious. he wanted to tear a piece off, too. pretty soon, all the kids were tearing wallpaper off. they'd completely lost interest in their movie.

james kept asking for help, saying "i don't know how to do this!" i'd pick at the wallpaper with my nail and start a piece for him. every time i did this, jenna would push us aside, exclaiming, "MY DO IT, MY DO IT!!!" jenna was also our trash girl, throwing wallpaper away...aaaand taking it back out again. jessica was in heaven, tearing off huge pieces and showing me her work. she certainly did the most, and we really appreciated her efforts.

messy, spontaneous fun ROCKS!!!

spontaneous

Much to the kiddos delight (and mine, because I was tired of those two, dinky, hard pools we have), we bought an inflatable! Sure enough, just as we surmised, the pool was much smaller than the picture on the box. Those deceptive pool people...

The children returned from their weekend with their father and we immediately told them to get into their swimsuits (they were more than happy to)! Pretty soon, they were outside, shrieking with delight over the whale pool that spouts water.

Meanwhile, I was in the kitchen (watching them from the window) as I prepared some fun finger foods for a late-night snack. Jim set up one of our TVs outside and we all ended up watching a movie outside on the deck. Fun, fun!!

P.S. We forgot to put the pool away and an animal chewed a hole in it during the night. The slide still works, though. Oh well....back to the hard plastic pools until we buy another inflatable!