Hair and the garage.

I will have to enjoy hair vicariously.  Mine isn't really growing and I see no point in getting it cut so that it can continue to get shorter??  Anyway, I trimmed it last week. Note to self: this is not really a great idea.  It would improve my outlook on hair if I had a) a great hairdresser here...still searching b) some significant growth to work with c) I had not mixed the last bottle of hair dye and THEN read the directions stating it had to sit for 25 minutes.  No time for that, I was expecting a 10 minute time frame.  Left it sitting on the sink all day.  Hair dye foams after about 8 hours.  When you shake the bottle it also makes a lovely arc of dye across the countertop and the mess of papers sitting there.  I did, however, enjoy the foamy squishing sound it made when I actually got the bottle to my HEAD.  Result: I can't tell I colored it.  Fabulous.

Cleaned out more military gear.  Going to the same surplus store for more cash.  I started to get worried that these guys will think I am gear smuggling or something.  The quantity of crap is really astounding.  I filled a foot locker today and have a big pile of stuff on top.  And that is less than I took in this weekend.

Cleaned out the garage on Monday while the big kids were home from school.  Actually, my friend took her daughter to a meeting and my seven year old and her 9 year old son to tag along and have playtime without little kids.  She left me her 6 yr old and lover of all things girly and two year olds and her 14 year old who is all about proving how helpful and strong he is...which slightly motivated MY 14 year old to stay on task.  About 5 minutes after we dragged 90% of the contents of our four car garage into the driveway the house painter showed up.  "Lot 12?  Yeah, we have to paint the garage doors."  Faintly, in the back of my mind I remembered that I told the super that I would be home Monday...faintly.  Then I turned around and surveyed the mountains of crap in the driveway and looked at the painter.  "You are going to want this stuff out of the way, right?"  Fastest garage clean up EVER.  Not the most complete but really fast.

That's all for now.  I am going to bed.  To sleep.  My own bed.  A lot of sleep.  I hope my children are telepathing this to their slumbering brains.  "Mommy wants me to sleeeeep."

Retirement, moving, new home build, school...

So we have officially moved into the world of military retirees!  Who knew that this would really ever happen??  I am still in the IRR and hoping (well, kind of passively thinking about it) that I will, at some point, accrue enough years in service on the books (as opposed to those I actually have...the paperwork doesn't reflect how close I REALLY could be...) to be able to drop those papers faster than you can say, "I'm outta here!"  But I digress.

We relocated from metro DC area (Northern Virginia, living in post housing with our kids running free through the neighborhood) to Mesa, Arizona (desert-ish and not so population dense but kids have almost zero freedom) in August.  The trip here was amazingly smooth.

The kids and I were able to precede Andy from VA to MI by three days and stop in West Virginia and visit some dear friends and their awesome kids.  We had such a good time!! Boy do we miss them.  The boys still ask if we can drive to their house for a visit.

We spent four blissful days at a lake house on Lake Michigan as guests of really wonderful friends.  They have to be wonderful to put six kids up for more than one night!!  After that we headed to the Windy City where I was totally unprepared to entertain my family for two days.  I kept thinking of all the things I love about Chicago; walking from the Loop to Michigan Ave, running along the lake, reading in the park, eating at a hole in the wall joint...ummm...with little kids...not so much.  So, we ate at Ed Debevick's, visited the HUGE American Girl store, went through the Museum of Science and Industry and rode the 'L' around the loop.  Going to have to make that trip again with only a few kids at a time and see some shows and explore a bit more...with a plan first.

Then we headed to Kansas to help my dad and his campaign staff celebrate his victory in the primaries for Kansas Senate.  He is now a sitting Senator in Topeka!!!  Way to go Dad!!!  That visit was far too short for me and the kids but our caravan must continue to AZ and my parents had a campaign to continue!

We then were able to link up with my cousin and her husband and adorable kids for dinner in OK.  I really wish we all still lived close by all our family in the same town, as we would have 100 years ago.  Or at least in neighboring towns.  There are some Mormon families here in Mesa who live in compounds with extended families.  Don't think Waco, TX compound.  Think super up-scale living, resort style compound.  Maybe not THAT close.

Another one night stop in Albuquerque, NM with another friend completed our nights on the road.  Andy's car broke down a few hours west of Albuquerque and he returned to awesome Dave's house for another night of fun and a few hours of watching his car repairs while chatting up the mechanic...Dave.  THANK YOU DAVE!!

So...we arrived in our home-sweet-furnished-rental.  Complete with a fully stocked kitchen (gear, not food) and TWO WHITE COUCHES.  HELLO??  Bed Bath & Beyond so thankfully allowed me to purchase slipcovers and those white couches were covered before any small hands, feet, mouths or toys even so much as breathed on them.  That house worked well while we figured out that we were going to build a new home.  They told us five and one half months.  February-ish.  RIIIIGHT...we close 8 April.

Going to have to sign off and get my defensive driving course finished on line so I can get that ticket taken care of!  Don't ask...

I hope this finds all of you having a Blessed and Inspired Lent.

Simplify your life in 52 weeks?? Okay.

Simplify Your Life in 52 Weeks.

I just started reading this.  It's week 45.  I think I am behind. I think that means this might not be simple.

Sigh.

Time Delay? Nahhh...

Number one way you can tell you are behind on...well, everything.  Your blog does not include the birth of your youngest child.  And she is NINE months old.  Sigh.
Here is Elizabeth Anne, born 6 August 2011.  I SAID I was behind.

ELIZABETH ANNE!!!

Elizabeth Anne made her appearance today.  She arrived at 3:15 am, 6 August 2011 at home after three hours of labor.  She weighs 8 lbs 15 oz (because I swore I was NOT going to have another 9 lb baby) and is 21 inches long.

Is there anything as sweet as the smell of a newborn baby??

PRICELESS

One can of oven cleaner...$5.00

One pair of rubber gloves for cleaning...$3.50

One mop bucket...$10

Watching my husband clean an oven for the first time after asking "Where is the oven cleaner?"
 "Why do I have to use a bucket and a rag, the paper towels are just fine?"...PRICELESS

Things Our Children Say

I always think to myself, "THAT is so funny!! I have to remember to put it on the blog."  At one time I had a notebook that I wrote these things down in and kept pictures and memories etc.  I think that ended about 10 years ago...maybe eight.

So I am going to start now and keep adding to this post in the hopes that SOME of the hilarious / noteworthy things my children say and do can be added to the collective memory.

As is true of most children who are learning to express themselves but aren't yet self- conscious, my five year old is a never ending source of quotes.  I really should get one of the older kids to just be the scribe and follow him around.

"Mommy, how many cousins do we have?"
"Well, it's probably easiest to just count first cousins.  Let's see, 2 plus 6."
"That's eight."
"Right, plus another three."
10 year old chimes in, "Eleven."
"That's it, eleven first cousins."
"How many last cousins?"
"Ohhh...lots."

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More as I remember...