Spring Cleaning

Since I was layed off last October I've slowly been purging my home of things we no longer use, need or want by way of Ebay, Amazon or local garage sale type sites. I absolutely enjoy selling things online but alas we are about done with the 5 or 6 month long "spring" cleaning. The boys are doing fantastic and each day Andrew is actually saying more and more words. He turned 2 in January but since his big brother William "translates" everything for him he has had little need to actually speak himself. Tim and I both know he understands EVERYTHING and has for a while but it wasn't until about a month ago that he actually started saying sentences and sounding out words. The funniest thing that William does to take advantage of Andrews lack of vocabulary at the moment, is to elaborate on what Andrew is trying to say. Example:

Scene: trying to leave to go out this past Sunday, putting Andrews shoes on and William is nearby packing the stuffed animals he is taking in the car.

William: Mama, I'm putting all my stuffed animals in my backpack to take in the car.

Me: Ok sweetie, but why are you putting Andrew's doggy in there too? You have your own doggie.

William: Well, I was taking it in the car so Andrew could play with it. (emphasis on the word Andrew)

Me: Maybe you should ask Andrew if he wants to take it.

William: Andrew, do you want me to take this in the car for you so you can play with it??

Andrew: NO!

William: Andrew says he wants me to take it in the car for him...


Don't you love the artistic license he took with his translation?

Happy 16th Birthday Jordan (aka: I'm gettin' old)

Eleven years ago I met my beautiful, wonderful, music-loving, Twilight-obsessed step-daughter Jordan. She turned 16 last weekend and it made me realize that I'm getting old. I don't feel older physically but it is almost like a slap in the face when you realize that a decade+ of my life has passed. It is mind boggling to me that over a decade has passed since I met her, got married, had 2 more babies, sold a condo, bought a house, sold a house, bought another house, went through 3 different cars and more than 10 jobs....the list could go on and on of course. When you have something as definite and as real as children sitting in front of you to mark the time that has gone by you can't really ignore it or act like it hasn't been that long. They are proof that the time has passed, and that it is an exact amount of time. It is hard to put into words how it feels when my kids have birthdays or when we celebrate our wedding anniversary every year. It is a happy time but it also makes you rethink everything you are doing with your life or plan to do and also re-evaluate that path you are on. OK, I'm getting off this soap box before I get too emotional....

This week's new skill: Breaking and Entering

My parents have a stray cat they "rescued" last year. It comes and goes as it pleases and not long ago my parents found out it was pregnant. It had the kittens a couple weeks ago. Yes, they are cute. No, we aren't getting one. Long story short, my parents were in Austria and France all of last week on vacation and asked me to drive over every day to take care of the cat. One minor detail they forgot to address was giving me a key to their house. My dad thankfully had told me how the window on my brother's old bedroom could be "wiggled" open and in case of emergency I could get in that way. "Oh good" I thought to myself as I drove over the first day they were gone, realizing I was going to have to basically break in their house. Well, once at their house I tried and tried to no avail to wiggle that window open. I thought perhaps my dad had gotten the specific window wrong, perhaps he meant the window in MY old room. So I proceeded to "wiggle" that window as well. As I was wiggling trying to slide the window open while putting as little pressure as possible on the glass I actually put my entire hand through the glass, effectively breaking the whole pane. Miracle of miracles I did not have one iota of a scratch on my wrist or hand. I thanked God for that! I was able to get in through the broken window and find the house key so I could come in through the front door the rest of the week and care for the kitties. So now I can say I have broken into a house...gotta go so I can check that off my list of life goals!

Photos of the Week

I know, I know. You are saying to yourself "Nicole, it's only Thursday!". However, if I wait any longer I'm going to have to attach a whole big photo album to this post. Instead, I have carefully handpicked these random photos from throughout the week. Enjoy!

2009 Resolution: UPDATE BLOG ONCE A WEEK --oops!

...and I'm back. Not that anyone missed me since not too many know about my blog but either way. I feel a bit like a failure for not keeping up all these months and not posting pictures or updates. However, today is a new day and a new beginning for my bloggity-blog. It will soon be getting a face lift and you will definitely see an increase in posts. So, stay tuned!